That Uncertain Feeling (1941)
(Ernst Lubitsch, US 1941, 84 min., 35mm)
Lubitsch’s first film as an “independent” producer is this contemplation on modern marriage and psychotherapy. Jill Baker (Merle Oberon), a New York City socialite, in an effort to cure her insomnia and an acute case of hiccups, seeks the help of eminent psychoanalyst Dr. Vengard (Alan Mowbray). As part of the session, Vanguard asks her about her marriage to insurance executive Larry (Melvyn Douglas). As Jill begins to look at her home life in a different way, she realizes there is an underlying unhappiness, though she is unable to express it. She forms a friendship with another of Vengard’s patients, Alexander Sebastian (Burgess Meredith), who is being treated for “artistic inhibition.” As Jill becomes more interested in Sebastian, Larry becomes more interested in Jill and concocts a plan to steer Jill back into his arms.