Robert J. Maxwell Maureen O'Hara, the protagonist, was unique. She wasn't a staggering beauty like Gene Tierney, and not a bravura actress, but she was still magnetic on screen. Maybe to fully appreciate Maureen Fitzsimmons, you have to assess her as a gestalt, an entire package. She was innocently delicious in black and white, and in technicolor throw-aways her hair was the lustrous color of coquelicots. She narrates part of this movie and her voice has an earnest, lyrical that lilt sounds like something you might find at the end of the rainbow. She never showed much interest in being a great movie star or an exceptionally skilled "actress". With those attributes alone she deserves attention. But more than that, she was earthy and sassy, and called all kinds of posturing phony. Who else, when criticized by the authoritarian John Ford while filming "The Quiet Man," would shout back at him, "What does a bald-headed old SOB like you know about having your hair blown in your face?" That's sass.It's the late 1800s. O'Hara is the well-bred daughter of two stuffy parents and lives in a large house whose rear window opens on a squalid street Brittania Mews, which would be quite a classy name in, say, Bakersfield, California. You can tell THIS street is infra dig because you hear the music of a hurdy gurdy and a tinkling piano. O'Hara is forbidden to visit the street because it's filthy and the people are poor and nasty. Still, she's drawn to it. And you can see why. It may be all brick and wrought iron stairways and louche taverns and Dollar Stores but it's colorful and the residents are vibrant with hatred. O'Hara is courted by her art teacher, Dana Andrews, dubbed and so bearded and bushy haired that he's barely recognizable. But her parents reject the notion of marriage because he's frankly too poor, artist or not. She manages to marry him anyway and lives happily on a small stash of her own with him in Brittania Mews. And her family remains estranged.That is, until he begins to turn down commissions in order to paint what he likes and play with his beloved marionettes. He gets regularly boozed up too, and it develops that he's had previous liaisons. One night, drunk as usual, he admits to having had multiple affairs -- but not with all the women he's been accused of having had as lovers. "Some of them were too repulsive." And then -- the worst words a wife can hear. He doesn't love her. He never did. He courted her because he didn't want to lose the fees from a client. His protestations of love had all been a rich buffet of bullshite. So saying, he falls down the stairs and breaks his neck.Then the story gets a little weird. An ugly old lady called "the Sow" accuses O'Hara of murder and blackmails her. I kind of like the Sow. She's a fat old witch straight out of Dickens. And then, miraculously, so to speak, a drunk is thrown out of the Red Lion Tavern (not the one downstairs in Greenwich Village) and he looks just like a shaven Dana Andrews, which in fact he is. This incarnation of Andrews is poor but honest. O'Hara, mystified, allows him to sleep in the coach room. Soon he reveals that he is a barrister and puts an end to the Sow's blackmail. He also shows an eerie fascination with Andrew 1.0's collection of puppets. He buffs and restores them, takes lessons in puppeteering, and soon has them dancing around. He and O'Hara find an angel and open a puppet theater in Brittania Mews, staging fairy tales and plays by Moliere, and bringing new life to the crummy alley. The bawdy house piano is now practicing Chopin. It's a roaring success. Of course, by this time the duo are in love, but Andrews 2.0 must still sleep in the coach room because he's married to a wife long gone to America.The experienced viewer knows that with ten minutes to go, this happiness can't last. And it doesn't. The puppet theater has gained international notice and the original wife of Andrews 2.0 returns from America to cash in on the deal, revealing that she divorced Andrews while she was in Milwaukee. Andrews explains that everything belongs to O'Hara and that he owns nothing. Exit Mrs. Dana Andrews 2.0. It isn't long before O'Hara's family reconciles with the pair. Andrews and O'Hara are promptly married and, boys and girls, they lived happily ever after.I rather enjoyed it as light entertainment. It's a riches to rags to riches story and a familiar format indeed. But the script has some cute dialog, the acting isn't intolerable, O'Hara shines, and Brittania Mews is enthralling.

wes-connors While a little girl, beautiful Maureen O'Hara (as Adelaide "Addie" Culver) was fascinated by a seedy section of 19th century London known as "Britannia Mews". Quickly developing into an adult woman, Ms. O'Hara appears enchanted by both the area and her art teacher – British-accented Dana Andrews (as Henry Lambert). A romance develops, but O'Hara's wealthy parents do not approve of O'Hara seeing the artist. He turns out to have a weakness for alcohol and not much money, but Mr. Andrews is expert at making charming and lifelike puppets. Later on, Andrews appears as another character (Gilbert Lauderdale) – he is a similar man, but learns to control his alcohol intake. Both men are involved in an increasingly complicated relationship with O'Hara...The oddest thing about "The Forbidden Street" is that the first Andrews character's voice is dubbed by another actor. While the voice matches Andrews' lip movements, it sounds like it is coming from another room – via a deep echo chamber. Playing the film on mute during a second viewing reveals Andrews would have made a fine "silent" film actor; it is interesting to study his performance. O'Hara shows some of the same skills...The cast works very well for director Jean Negulesco, who creates an atmospheric story with fine black and white photography from Georges Perinal. The soundtrack, while good, could have been a little more subtle. The obvious dubbing, perhaps done to differentiate Andrews' two characters, wasn't wise. However, stay tuned as Andrews' voice and the film improve. Also watch for a couple of outstanding supporting performances – from haggish old "sow" Sybil Thorndike (as Mrs. Mounsey) and O'Hara's inquisitive little brother Anthony Tancred (as Treff Culver). The two not only perform exceptionally, they also perfectly illustrate the "opposite sides of the tracks." And, surprise visitor Mary Martlew (as Milly) is quite memorably amusing, in her single scene.******* The Forbidden Street (Britannia Mews) (3/31/49) Jean Negulesco ~ Maureen O'Hara, Dana Andrews, Sybil Thorndike, Anthony Tancred

moonspinner55 Not-bad studio-set drama, also known as "The Forbidden Street", involves miscast Maureen O'Hara (her rolling Irish burr more pronounced than ever) as a wealthy young British woman in Victorian England who marries a penniless art-instructor and moves with him into the slums of London; after an accidental death, O'Hara is blackmailed by the local busybody, but finds redemption in congenial--though already married--Dana Andrews. Neither O'Hara nor Andrews gives a particularly strong performance, but the supporting players are good and the screenplay (by talented Ring Lardner Jr., from a book by Margery Sharp) nicely avoids soap opera and predictability by continually changing its tone and direction. O'Hara's character goes through just as many changes, turning from wide-eyed girl to fed-up housewife to salty broad to society bride! The set designs are impeccable, and the film is well-mounted and paced with a jovial step. *** from ****

theowinthrop This film has not appeared on television since the 1970s, when it appeared as "Forbidden Street". It is a little film with some melodrama in it regarding the death of Dana Andrews' first character (who falls out of a window) and the blackmail of Maureen O'Hara by Sybil Thorndike, but it is really of interest in the second half when Andrews (in his second role) uses a set of hand carved puppets to change this street in the slums into a thriving middle class neighborhood. An odd way to prosperity, but interesting nonetheless.Sybil Thorndike was a remarkable actress, whose film career is not as strong as the other actors and actresses of her generation who reached stardom. Her performances on film go back to the silent films (of England), but in sound films she appeared in good cameo parts, but she never had a set of critically acclaimed leading roles like Olivier, Richardson, Redgrave, Coward, Guilgud, Evans, Ashcroft, or Rutherford. Ashcroft and Rutherford also had supporting roles in film too but both actresses had "Oscars" to show for these, as did Olivier, Guilgud, and even Coward. Yet Thorndike did get recognition for her acting with a title as "Dame" Sybil Thorndike (like "Dame" Edith Evans, and "Dame" Peggy Ashcroft). Today, to catch her performances, one has to see her in MAJOR BARBARA as the Salvation Army General or in THE PRINCE AND THE SHOWGIRL as the Queen Mother (Lawrence Olivier's mother-in-law). Both roles certainly give you an idea of her range as an actress in comedy, but FORBIDDEN STREET shows how she was in a dramatic role - as a elderly hag who blackmails Maureen O'Hara into tolerating her continuous presence, and who actually just wanted O'Hara to love her as a mother (or so she claims). It is an odd role, and she handles it with great ability. One wishes that sound had existed in the films of her youth (the silent period). At that time Thorndike played the role of Ophelia opposite John Barrymore's Hamlet. It would have been worth seeing. Let us hope that FORBIDDEN STREET is released again on dvd or video, so we can see Dame Sybil in a dramatic part again.