Miss Sadie Thompson (1953)

Miss Sadie Thompson (1953), directed by Curtis Bernhardt.

Another edition of a W. Somerset Maugham story, previously filmed as Sadie Thompson (1928) with Gloria Swanson and Rain (1932) with Joan Crawford. A prostitute on a south-sea island is persecuted by a self-righteous missionary who ought to remove the plank from his own eye.

It's mostly a Rita Hayworth vehicle and she is perfectly fine, but overall it is not an exciting production. Too much sun and some musical numbers take us out of the drama. They add a happy ending.

Filmed in 3D (for no particular reason?) at the end of that craze in the 1950s. It was in 3D theaters for two weeks, then recalled and released in a traditional flat format.

Twilight Time Blu-ray with 3D. Heavy grain in the image and the colors seem faded.

The informative soundtrack is mostly about Rita Hayworth and the history of the short story, play and other film productions. They also want to stress that, contrary to common wisdom, the plot is not sanitized for Code compliance. Sadie is a part-time prostitute running from the law and the film doesn't disguise that.