It seems odd that a Christian inspired drama should have a cast of fairly well known Hollywood actors and be directed by none other than William "one take" Beaudine, the emperor of the poverty row programmer. What is also unique is the fact that this film was not made for theatrical release, but for church basements to remind the congregation of their duties as Christians. It surrounds the drama of an angst ridden woman (Ruth Warrick) who faces her mortality by being reminded of her more innocent days where as a young bride, she enjoyed a busy Christian life along with her bank clerk husband (John Hubbard) and inspiration from her pastor (Hugh Beaumont). As an idealistic young couple, they visit non-active parishioners and try to bring them back to the church. But as his success grows and her attitudes towards home and family change, she becomes less involved, turning the couple into the type of people they had visited earlier.
Viewed today, this may seem like an agenda based drama with only limited audience appeal. Indeed, it is very old fashioned in its story-telling structure with attitudes that have turned many Christians away from the church. Opening and closing with church hymns may come off as an instant turn-off for some, and indeed, I found myself fast forwarding to the credits. Warrick's character is fascinating to watch, however, going from newlywed hoping for the perfect first meal, welcoming their first child, and as Hubbard's status grows, turning into a carbon copy of her own greatest role, "All My Children's" snooty matriarch Phoebe Tyler Wallingford.
Part of Emily's story seems parallel to Phoebe's. While the newlywed couple start off happy, her nagging and seeming contempt for their lack of gratitude towards her housekeeping skills turns her into a viperous harpy. This is dramatized in a scene where she storms out of the living room after balling out the entire family. Stock footage is utilized to show the oldest son going off to fight in World War II, and later, Emily is at her worst when her youngest son comes back with a new wife whom she despises immediately. Her fans from "All My Children" will recognize this as Phoebe's antipathy to son Linc's wives whose marriages Phoebe did everything possible in her power to prevent.
If Phoebe treated her first husband, Charles Tyler, the same way Hubbard's Ed Dean is treated here, you can see why Charles turned to his secretary, Mona. While Hubbard remains faithful, he does tell her off in two sequences to which her indignity explodes in outrage that he would dare tell her the truth. It is the second occurrence of this which begins to wake her up to how she has failed as a wife and mother, leading to a fright that would turn the strongest non-believer back to God and reminding her what was important during the happier days of their marriage should be what guides her now.
Even if the strongest pro-church message doesn't reach everybody, the one that should is the theory that it is only with sincere motives can good deeds aid the Christian mission. The statement that foreign countries can only be improved with Christian influence is certainly an outdated theory that should be taken here with a grain of salt. The film works best as a character study of a woman torn asunder from her Christian doctrine and how basic human failures help turn her around and find again, not only herself, but those things she slowly lost that somehow remained in the background ready for her to rediscover when she was ready to open up both her eyes and her heart.
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