This is a tough one to rate, because I'm a sucker for romantic films and I'm a sucker for Barbara Stanwyck, but the first 40+ minutes of this film are really not very good. The lengthy courtroom scene in the beginning is silly, we see a lot of shambling from an African-American servant, and the premise of the film which unfolds - that a prosecutor (Fred MacMurray) would bail a defendant (Stanwyck) out and then drive across the country with her to Indiana - is ridiculous. The scene in the cow pasture they end up in one night before being hauled in before a small town judge is too. This is definitely a film where you'll need to be patient.
The point at which MacMurray escorts Stanwyck to her estranged mother's home and she turns to him and says "Gee, you're sweet" in such a wonderfully authentic tone is where the film gets good. Stanwyck is a thief who is literally from the wrong side of the tracks, and the following scene which explains her difficult upbringing is quite good. Soon afterwards MacMurray takes her to his own home, where his loving family embrace her and act with incredible decency and kindness. His mother (Beulah Bondi) and aunt (Elizabeth Patterson) are such a sweet old pair, and a joy to watch. One of the points of the film is that the family we're born into and the love we receive is so important in life, and I liked this message. Meanwhile, as you undoubtedly guess, Stanwyck and MacMurray begin falling for one another.
The romantic scenes are engaging, helped considerably by how attractive and talented Stanwyck and MacMurray are. Stanwyck lights up the screen from the minute she casts a sharp glance at MacMurray in the courtroom, and never lets up. I don't for a second believe her as the product of a broken home and a grifter with a rap sheet - she simply doesn't convey the necessary edge for that here - but the film isn't really going for that. There is an underlying sweetness all around, and the scenes between Stanwyck and Bondi, which might have otherwise been full of suspicion on one side and defiance on the other, have none of that. Instead we see things like Bondi lacing Stanwyck into her old corset ("When I was young, we thought 19 (inch waste) was big"), and having rational heart to heart talks about the feelings that she sees developing. These scenes are just as good as those between Stanwyck and MacMurray.
The softy in me suspends disbelief and is swayed by the love story and touching ending, but I'm not sure I can go higher on the rating. If you're looking for a feel-good movie though, this one is pretty good.
The point at which MacMurray escorts Stanwyck to her estranged mother's home and she turns to him and says "Gee, you're sweet" in such a wonderfully authentic tone is where the film gets good. Stanwyck is a thief who is literally from the wrong side of the tracks, and the following scene which explains her difficult upbringing is quite good. Soon afterwards MacMurray takes her to his own home, where his loving family embrace her and act with incredible decency and kindness. His mother (Beulah Bondi) and aunt (Elizabeth Patterson) are such a sweet old pair, and a joy to watch. One of the points of the film is that the family we're born into and the love we receive is so important in life, and I liked this message. Meanwhile, as you undoubtedly guess, Stanwyck and MacMurray begin falling for one another.
The romantic scenes are engaging, helped considerably by how attractive and talented Stanwyck and MacMurray are. Stanwyck lights up the screen from the minute she casts a sharp glance at MacMurray in the courtroom, and never lets up. I don't for a second believe her as the product of a broken home and a grifter with a rap sheet - she simply doesn't convey the necessary edge for that here - but the film isn't really going for that. There is an underlying sweetness all around, and the scenes between Stanwyck and Bondi, which might have otherwise been full of suspicion on one side and defiance on the other, have none of that. Instead we see things like Bondi lacing Stanwyck into her old corset ("When I was young, we thought 19 (inch waste) was big"), and having rational heart to heart talks about the feelings that she sees developing. These scenes are just as good as those between Stanwyck and MacMurray.
The softy in me suspends disbelief and is swayed by the love story and touching ending, but I'm not sure I can go higher on the rating. If you're looking for a feel-good movie though, this one is pretty good.