There is a lot of good in "No Down Payment". Excellent on location shots of southern California in the late 1950's showcases the flight to the suburban tract housing built for the white Truman middle class of that time. You will not see one minority in the entire movie, not even in the background.
While this backdrop is very interesting to watch, the actual story and social norms of that time, and in that place, are painful. The husbands in the film are all miserable. Stuck in jobs they hate and buried in debt. Their relationships are boring and restricted by the 1950's conformist norms of the time. In one scene a husband is scolded by his wife for washing his car on Sunday morning instead of going to church, ugh.
The women are no more happier. Each hopes that no one finds out how dysfunctional their families really are. They spend most their time and energy trying to be just like everyone else and their misery can be seen in their faces.
The performances are all very good except for Joanne Woodward who's southern accent and "trailer park background" just does not work for me. I think she could have played the role as a naive housewife married to a cad using her own voice much more effectively. It diminishes the performance and I just found her to be irritating.
Hats off to Tony Randall for playing a really unlikable character unlike I have ever seen him play, this was a step out for him and he does it well. This is worth watching but it does make me thankful that I'm not living in the prison of that time.
While this backdrop is very interesting to watch, the actual story and social norms of that time, and in that place, are painful. The husbands in the film are all miserable. Stuck in jobs they hate and buried in debt. Their relationships are boring and restricted by the 1950's conformist norms of the time. In one scene a husband is scolded by his wife for washing his car on Sunday morning instead of going to church, ugh.
The women are no more happier. Each hopes that no one finds out how dysfunctional their families really are. They spend most their time and energy trying to be just like everyone else and their misery can be seen in their faces.
The performances are all very good except for Joanne Woodward who's southern accent and "trailer park background" just does not work for me. I think she could have played the role as a naive housewife married to a cad using her own voice much more effectively. It diminishes the performance and I just found her to be irritating.
Hats off to Tony Randall for playing a really unlikable character unlike I have ever seen him play, this was a step out for him and he does it well. This is worth watching but it does make me thankful that I'm not living in the prison of that time.