Welcome to the world of Until They Sail, which could have been entitled Every Girl in New Zealand is Stupid: A small town is depleted of its men during the outbreak of WWII, and when America joins the war and sends an influx of soldiers to the area, all the girls go boy-crazy. Believe it or not, this is a drama. It's also supposed to be believed that Joan Fontaine, Jean Simmons, Piper Laurie, and Sandra Dee (all of varying accents, none of which sound the slightest bit New Zealand) are sisters separated by only a few years apiece. Joan Fontaine was twenty-five years older than Sandra Dee, and until the characters repeatedly called her "sister," I thought she was the mother of the three girls.
Each girl claims to have great common sense, but one by one they exercise the worst common sense imaginable. Piper Laurie marries an oaf because he's one of the only men remaining after the draft, even though she has a sweetheart fighting overseas. Then, when she gets tired of her husband, she runs off to the big city and becomes a prostitute for American GIs. Joan Fontaine is strict with her other daughters-I mean sisters-and forbids them from having anything to do with Yank soldiers, but Sandra Dee is forward enough to approach strangers, flirt, and invite them to dinner. Jean Simmons keeps defending her sister's behavior, even though she's far too young, with the lousy excuse of "it's been three years since we've even seen a man!" Jean and Joan have their own romances eventually and make incredibly stupid mistakes. Jean falls for Paul Newman, someone who bluntly tells her he doesn't want to marry her and probably won't ever love her but wants to go to bed with her.
I stuck with this movie because of the cast. Who wouldn't want to see Jean Simmons and Paul Newman together? Boy, was I disappointed. This movie's just lousy, so unless you're having trouble sleeping, don't rent it. From start to finish, it's offensive against feminine judgment and judgment of women.
Each girl claims to have great common sense, but one by one they exercise the worst common sense imaginable. Piper Laurie marries an oaf because he's one of the only men remaining after the draft, even though she has a sweetheart fighting overseas. Then, when she gets tired of her husband, she runs off to the big city and becomes a prostitute for American GIs. Joan Fontaine is strict with her other daughters-I mean sisters-and forbids them from having anything to do with Yank soldiers, but Sandra Dee is forward enough to approach strangers, flirt, and invite them to dinner. Jean Simmons keeps defending her sister's behavior, even though she's far too young, with the lousy excuse of "it's been three years since we've even seen a man!" Jean and Joan have their own romances eventually and make incredibly stupid mistakes. Jean falls for Paul Newman, someone who bluntly tells her he doesn't want to marry her and probably won't ever love her but wants to go to bed with her.
I stuck with this movie because of the cast. Who wouldn't want to see Jean Simmons and Paul Newman together? Boy, was I disappointed. This movie's just lousy, so unless you're having trouble sleeping, don't rent it. From start to finish, it's offensive against feminine judgment and judgment of women.