Back Street

Back Street is a 1941 American drama film directed by Robert Stevenson and starring Charles Boyer and Margaret Sullavan. It is a remake of the 1932 film of the same name, also from Universal. The film is adapted from the 1931 Fannie Hurst novel and the 1932 film version which it follows very closely, in some cases recalling the earlier film scene-for-scene. It is a sympathetic tale of an adulterous couple. The 1941 version was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Music (Score of a Dramatic Picture) (Frank Skinner). Margaret Sullavan so much wanted Charles Boyer to play her leading man, that she relinquished top billing in order to persuade him to appear in this unsympathetic role. Plot summary The film is set in the early 1900s. It tells the story of a pretty and independent young woman, Ray Smith, who lives in Cincinnati. She has many suitors, none of whom she takes seriously. One day she meets an extremely charming and handsome banker named Walter Louis Saxel, and they fall immediately into a strong attraction, which for her is real love. After a few days of closeness she is shocked when he tells her he is already engaged to someone else. Nonetheless, the two of them very nearly marry one another on an impulse, but they are prevented from doing so by arbitrary external forces.