1944's "Destiny" actually took two years to make it to the screen in its final form, only its second half intended to be part of the 1943 anthology "Flesh and Fantasy" (both titles are covered in the Brunas-Brunas-Weaver book UNIVERSAL HORRORS). Alan Curtis plays Cliff Banks, ex-con on the run, whose troubles always stem from a poor choice of women, two different flashbacks also depicting his unlucky alliance with a bank robber, and subsequent jail term. The opening 30 minutes are unquestionably shot on the cheap, like a precursor to Edgar G. Ulmer's "Detour," which starred Tom Neal as a perennial loser. Once Cliff is discovered resting in the home of farmer Clem Broderick (Frank Craven) and his blind daughter Jane (Gloria Jean), we are introduced to the "Fantasy" footage, with one notable difference; this 'Cliff' not only has a different last name, he has absolutely no redeeming features, a hardened criminal who resorts to theft and murder to get what he desires. Gloria Jean is a revelation, well cast as a sightless girl with psychic powers strengthened by her idyllic surroundings, totally helpless in the big city. Her abilities to divine water and commune with nature are superbly conveyed in the terrifying climax, the evil Cliff in pursuit through the dark, rain drenched forest, the trees parting for her like the Red Sea, all a-tangle for her would-be rapist. The tacked-on ending features a noticeably older Gloria in seven minutes of newly shot footage revealing Cliff's transgressions to be all a dream, redeemed in the end by his willingness to give. What could have been a hokey finale following such a brilliantly conceived 'nightmare' manages to 'redeem' the botched first half; a fine job on a short schedule by director Reginald Le Borg. Grace McDonald enjoys a rare dramatic role, while both Alan Curtis and Vivian Austin would soon be reduced to doing Philo Vance features at PRC (the careers for all three ended abruptly afterwards). Gloria Jean worked one more year at Universal, and joined fellow studio contractees Peggy Ryan and Lon Chaney for a last musical hurrah in Allied Artists' 1949 release "There's a Girl in My Heart."
Review of Destiny
