For years, jockey Dan Butler (Garfield) has been throwing races, and the reputation he has gained as a result has kept him from settling long in any one city. Now in Italy, Dan wins a race he was supposed to lose, and he knows he's got to get out of town before he pays the price for double-crossing mobster Louis Bork (Luther Adler). Dan's young son, Joe, (Orley Lindgren), wants to return to America, where his late mother is from, but Dan can't go back. In fact, Dan realizes, he's really running out of places to live. Paris is his next target city, and he miraculously manages to escape Bork and his henchmen, and he and Joe make it to Paris, where they hope to connect with an old friend of Dan's.
Unfortunately, Dan's old friend has died, but the man's former flame, Paule (Micheline Presle), runs a cafe in the city. Because Dan's corruption ultimately brought about her lover's death, she immediately despises him; however, she is quite smitten with Joe, as is he with her, and she takes on the job of tutoring him in French, all the while growing more and more attracted to Dan.
Bork hasn't forgotten Dan's double-cross, though, and soon tracks him down in Paris. Demanding Dan pay him back, he sets up another race---a steeplechase---with Dan riding none other than Joe's own personal horse, which the little boy trained himself. Again expected to throw the race, Joe must choose whether to obey and, thus, disappoint the son who trusts him and believes in him, or to defy the powers-that-be and pay the consequences. How it all plays out is the balance of the film.
In many ways, Under My Skin is a parallel to the life Mr. Garfield would soon be living. Just as he himself was forced to choose whether to do what the "higher-ups" wanted him to do (provide names in the HUAC hearings), or whether to oppose them, so, too, is the character of the film forced to make that decision. Even though both the character and the man himself knew there would be repercussions for failure to comply, both, in the end, have to do what they know, deep down, they need to do.
As always, Garfield gives a riveting performance. He's terrific in his role, and I must admit, I was teary-eyed in this film. It's not often that happens in a John Garfield film! He looks fantastic at this point in his career. (He always looked terrific, but from about the mid '40's on, I think his maturity made him even better-looking!)
Micheline Presle, who I have only seen in one other film (If a Man Answers) is beautiful, and her accent is delightful. Plus, her character is strong and confident. I really liked her...both the character and the actress. She and Mr. Garfield appeared to have great chemistry. (The Swindell biography reports that he was enamored of her, but as she was involved with someone else, there was no affair.) Orley Lindgren was sweet and quite a good-looking young man. For whatever reason, though, he did not have a long show business career. Within four years of this film, he would make his last screen appearance.
This film is out on DVD, as part of the Ernest Hemingway Film Collection, but other than that highly expensive collection, it is difficult to track down. I've never seen it on the TCM schedule, and I was unable to find it on YouTube. If you are a Classic Flix member, however, it's available through there (that is how I obtained it). While not near the caliber of The Breaking Point (my personal favorite Garfield film) or Body and Soul, it is, nevertheless, a solid, 4-star viewing experience. Definitely, all Garfield fans will want to see this one.
Happy viewing!!
