Robert Ryan, Charles Bickford, and Joan Bennett all give fine performances, but the parts never quite add up to a proper sum.
Why does Bennett's character, the nymphomaniac wife who blinded her artist husband (Bickford) seduce young men inside a derelict wreck on the beach? Aren't there any motels?
Why does Bickford's character, the blinded sadistic artist keep throwing young men at his wife only to become resentful when she catches them? Why does he continue to believe that Ryan's character is his friend even after he pushes him over a cliff and tries to drown him in a storm at sea?
Why does Ryan's character, a Coast Guard Lieutenant, spend all of his time riding around on a horse? Is he in the Coast Guard, or the Cavalry?
What was meant by the ambiguous ending? Did any of the principals wind up with each other, or are they all three finally free of their obsessions?
Why does Bennett's character, the nymphomaniac wife who blinded her artist husband (Bickford) seduce young men inside a derelict wreck on the beach? Aren't there any motels?
Why does Bickford's character, the blinded sadistic artist keep throwing young men at his wife only to become resentful when she catches them? Why does he continue to believe that Ryan's character is his friend even after he pushes him over a cliff and tries to drown him in a storm at sea?
Why does Ryan's character, a Coast Guard Lieutenant, spend all of his time riding around on a horse? Is he in the Coast Guard, or the Cavalry?
What was meant by the ambiguous ending? Did any of the principals wind up with each other, or are they all three finally free of their obsessions?