The Return of the Soldier

I was drawn to this film because of the cast and the fact that it was a Rebecca West story. After viewing the film I found myself so overwhelmed by it that I had to return to the theater the next day to see it again. In the second viewing I was able to truly "watch" the film. Alan Bridges attention to detail was astounding, as when Jenny dropped a comb onto the white fur rug in the window area of Kitty's bedroom as she saw Margaret approaching their house. When Margaret sat in the foyer waiting and gently touched a small figurine of a little boy with her loving finger. All one needed to know about the character of Margaret Allington was revealed. One tends to overlook the work of Ann-Margaret among this seasoned,professional cast. Her connection with Chris Baldry was completely believable,poignant and ultimately heart breaking. Excellent work. In a stroke of genius Bridges set the deciding scene in which Margaret tells Chris of his dead son (and is ultimately restored to a present day state of mind) far away from our viewing eyes. We cannot see the expression on Chris' face as he hears the news. We can only see his physical reaction to the tragic news and then finally Margaret standing a minute alone as he "returns" to the house before she turns and walks away. A brilliant handling of arguably the most important scene in the film. Alan Bridges was among the greatest of directors.