I'm a little surprised with the relatively high rating this film gets from of IMDb reviewers. If someone were to say to me that movies should realistically depict life, then I'd point them toward this film, which has none of the punch that many Douglas Sirk films had. And the reason that punch is missing is because it's a psychological drama that fits real people. That shouldn't be a bad thing...and it isn't here. It's just that this is a very serious drama, but not an exciting one.
The strength of this film is the acting of the lead players. I often curse "My Three Sons", MacMurray's popular television series...because it is how MacMurray is most remembered, rather than for the very fine film career he had from the later 1930s through the late 1950s...in both comedies and drams. And, though he was beginning to show his age here (certainly middle aged...but he was nearing 50), that was the perfect age for anyone to play this role...because the role is of a man in mid-life crisis. And he does exceptionally well and without any histrionics...it's all inside, but we get to see it very clearly. It's definitely MacMurray's movie, but Barbara Stanwyck is wonderful here as the "other woman" who really has no intention of being the "other woman". Stanwyck's best scene here is where she carefully tells off MacMurray's snooping children. Joan Bennett, who is lovely here, is the wife who takes her husband for granted and is a subtle nagger.
That's not to say all the performances here are superb. As for the young actors playing the children...yuck. Judy Nugent has to have one of the most annoying voices of any child actor. In terms of William Reynolds, the son, I couldn't tell if it was his role that was annoying, or his acting. And, the children and young people here are absolutely key to the plot, so you see a lot of them. I give much higher grades to the girlfriend of the son -- Gigi Perreau. Unfortunately, veteran character actor Jane Darwell is totally wasted here as an older maid.
This is a very restrained film with solid acting by the lead roles. It doesn't have the intense excitement of many of Douglas Sirk's other films, but it is also more realistic than those other films.
Recommended for the serious film-goer.
The strength of this film is the acting of the lead players. I often curse "My Three Sons", MacMurray's popular television series...because it is how MacMurray is most remembered, rather than for the very fine film career he had from the later 1930s through the late 1950s...in both comedies and drams. And, though he was beginning to show his age here (certainly middle aged...but he was nearing 50), that was the perfect age for anyone to play this role...because the role is of a man in mid-life crisis. And he does exceptionally well and without any histrionics...it's all inside, but we get to see it very clearly. It's definitely MacMurray's movie, but Barbara Stanwyck is wonderful here as the "other woman" who really has no intention of being the "other woman". Stanwyck's best scene here is where she carefully tells off MacMurray's snooping children. Joan Bennett, who is lovely here, is the wife who takes her husband for granted and is a subtle nagger.
That's not to say all the performances here are superb. As for the young actors playing the children...yuck. Judy Nugent has to have one of the most annoying voices of any child actor. In terms of William Reynolds, the son, I couldn't tell if it was his role that was annoying, or his acting. And, the children and young people here are absolutely key to the plot, so you see a lot of them. I give much higher grades to the girlfriend of the son -- Gigi Perreau. Unfortunately, veteran character actor Jane Darwell is totally wasted here as an older maid.
This is a very restrained film with solid acting by the lead roles. It doesn't have the intense excitement of many of Douglas Sirk's other films, but it is also more realistic than those other films.
Recommended for the serious film-goer.