Reviews

I have to agree generally with the range of other comments made about this film. Given the decade (1950s), the subject matter is particularly "brave," and is commendable. The acting is a bit uneven, but with Bing Crosby, Inger Stevens, and E. G. Marshall performing well. With only one short exception that I can identify, Crosby played his part honestly without overt pandering to his fans. For the bulk of the film, he was very much out of his normal character.

The style is late 1950s-ish, as is appropriate given the film's 1957 release. The issues still are relevant, but I also enjoy the feeling of place and time.

The film's significant weakness comes in the script. The script butchers King Solomon's well known ruling. Unfortunately, the film relies on this misunderstanding not only to set up the film's most dramatic moment in the judge's chambers, but then carries the resulting theme from that point forward through to the end of the movie.

I also think that the principle characters could have been developed more fully. This failure may come from over-attention to Crosby's face time. Why did Stevens' character love Crosby's character? We should have been told more. Why did Fickett's character divorce Crosby's character? We heard from Crosby, but why not from Fickett?

All in all, though, the film is enjoyable and worth seeing.

I think Philby-3's earlier comment sets up the film well from a factual standpoint. However, I would be less harsh on Brenda Blethyn's performance. What Philby-3 takes as over-acting, I consider to be her playing the part as written. It's her character who "over-acts." I also think Philby-3 might misjudge Blethyn's character, Jean Dwight. What Philby-3 takes as indications that Jean is "not a very nice person," I think is a pretty good effort to show a middle-aged mom with grown sons, under stress from several directions.

The story suffers (slightly) by too much time spent with the relationship between Chittenden and Booth's characters, Tim and Jill. Some of the time spent in the film on Tim and Jill's relationship could have been put to better use in setting up the credibility of the ending sequences ... reference anchors could have been better developed. This is not intended as a harsh criticism ... rather, the film, nicely done, could have been more more powerful. Likewise, the film does a very nice job in development of multiple characters, but a few of the minutes spent on Tim and Jill's time together would have been used better to develop some of the characters even more fully.

Perhaps the film's strongest performance comes from Richard Wilson, who portrays Mark Dwight, Jean's brain-damaged son. The role of Mark also is critical to the chemistry of both the Dwight family and the film itself.

This is NOT a comedy, but a dramatic film with comedic elements. Some of the lovemaking scenes and nudity might be offensive to some viewers. Overall, this is a low-key, well-done, enjoyable film.