What it’s about
A custom-made tailcoat is cursed and said to bring misfortune to whoever wears it. The original owner, a successful actor (Boyer), is in love with the beautiful Ethel (Hayworth), but she has a distrustful, gun-wielding husband (Mitchell). The tuxedo jacket next passes to a wealthy playboy (Romero) whose fiancee (Rogers) is rightly suspicious of his philandering ways. Subsequent wearers include a struggling composer (Laughton), a down-on-his-luck alcoholic (Robinson), and a poor sharecropper (Robeson).
Why we love it
An anthology of vignettes is a stellar way to jam-pack the screen with stars and more stars! Watch for Laughton’s real-life wife Lanchester playing the musician’s loving spouse, the suave Sanders popping up as a caddish varsity man, and Fonda as a suddenly love-struck bachelor. Other highlights include Joseph Walker’s moody cinematography on the noir-ish Boyer/Hayworth segment, and Robeson’s rich baritone voice joined by the Hall Johnson choir to end the film. The tailcoat may just be a cinematic device, but its odyssey unites some of Hollywood’s greatest names and talents in this series of uplifting, entertaining stories. Devour these “Tales”!
Rita Hayworth, Ginger Rogers, Ethel Waters, Marion Martin, Elsa Lanchester, Charles Boyer, Charles Laughton, Cesar Romero, Henry Fonda, Paul Robeson, Edward G. Robinson, George Sanders, Thomas Mitchell Julien Duvivier
