There's plenty to appreciate in this lesser known Sirk enterprise, from the sumptuous black and white cinematography of Russell Metty (for once studio budget-busting was a good thing, as I cannot imagine these people or the world they live in in color), to another intelligent, perfectly modulated performance from a very chic Barbara Stanwyck, to a final scene more harrowing than anything in Double Indemnity, a final scene which has one of Fred MacMurray's finest, most emotionally eviscerating turns. This is also a film where the death throes of the Hays Code are a benefit, as in later years, the MacMurray and Stanwyck characters likely would have slept together, which would have trampled over the bleakly repressive atmosphere. Unfortunately, in spite of these strengths, something doesn't quite mesh for me in the final product.
My biggest problem with the film involves the heavy presence of Vinnie's girlfriend, played by Pat Crowley. Perhaps Sirk was attempting to balance out his use of younger characters as stupid, selfish obstacles to the happiness or their parents by having her repeatedly dismiss Vinnie's anxieties, but the main difference in this film and something like All That Heaven Allows is that in the latter, Jane Wyman's children were horrible toward her for finding love again after being widowed, whereas Vinnie was trying to grapple with just learning that the father he'd assumed was happily married to his mother was instead on an intimate getaway with another woman. She also doesn't want him to confront his father, which just leads his anger to build and build. We can't even say this was the right advice, because ultimately, confronting Stanwyck is what resolves the situation, so when she and Vinnie reunite at the end of the film, rather than seeing them as some sort of young, honest contrast to the denial-choked marriage of his parents, I was mostly left wondering why they would get back together. And I was confused as to why she would want to be so emotionally invested in this family in the first place, as she and Vinnie were still early in their life together. Making matters worse is that Crowley, while certainly a decent enough actress, feels very out of place, a very broad performance which suggests a sitcom figure from that era who somehow wandered into Sirkland. It's unfortunate that so much of Vinnie's screentime revolves around this tedious relationship, because the moment where he and his sister confront Stanwyck is by far his strongest, and a much stronger showcase of William Reynolds than anything in All That Heaven Allows - the black and white also intensify the haunted nature of his complexion.
The outsized nature of this part of the narrative means the MacMurray/Stanwyck/Joan Bennett triangle never captures my interest the way it should have. I know there is no actual "triangle," as the movie is less about love between man and wife and more about being torn between love of self vs society's expectations of what a man is supposed to do, Still, moments like Stanwyck accusing Vinnie of only taking his mother's side doesn't land the way it could because we see so little of their relationship. I feel like the movie needed a few, or even just one strong scene for Bennett to have an impact.
Overall, this is a good movie, at times a great one, but is a reminder that performances and the Sirk touch are still not enough when the script isn't there.
My biggest problem with the film involves the heavy presence of Vinnie's girlfriend, played by Pat Crowley. Perhaps Sirk was attempting to balance out his use of younger characters as stupid, selfish obstacles to the happiness or their parents by having her repeatedly dismiss Vinnie's anxieties, but the main difference in this film and something like All That Heaven Allows is that in the latter, Jane Wyman's children were horrible toward her for finding love again after being widowed, whereas Vinnie was trying to grapple with just learning that the father he'd assumed was happily married to his mother was instead on an intimate getaway with another woman. She also doesn't want him to confront his father, which just leads his anger to build and build. We can't even say this was the right advice, because ultimately, confronting Stanwyck is what resolves the situation, so when she and Vinnie reunite at the end of the film, rather than seeing them as some sort of young, honest contrast to the denial-choked marriage of his parents, I was mostly left wondering why they would get back together. And I was confused as to why she would want to be so emotionally invested in this family in the first place, as she and Vinnie were still early in their life together. Making matters worse is that Crowley, while certainly a decent enough actress, feels very out of place, a very broad performance which suggests a sitcom figure from that era who somehow wandered into Sirkland. It's unfortunate that so much of Vinnie's screentime revolves around this tedious relationship, because the moment where he and his sister confront Stanwyck is by far his strongest, and a much stronger showcase of William Reynolds than anything in All That Heaven Allows - the black and white also intensify the haunted nature of his complexion.
The outsized nature of this part of the narrative means the MacMurray/Stanwyck/Joan Bennett triangle never captures my interest the way it should have. I know there is no actual "triangle," as the movie is less about love between man and wife and more about being torn between love of self vs society's expectations of what a man is supposed to do, Still, moments like Stanwyck accusing Vinnie of only taking his mother's side doesn't land the way it could because we see so little of their relationship. I feel like the movie needed a few, or even just one strong scene for Bennett to have an impact.
Overall, this is a good movie, at times a great one, but is a reminder that performances and the Sirk touch are still not enough when the script isn't there.