IDA LUPINO may well have been one of our great dramatic actresses, but the feminist films she chose to direct in the '50s were not up to the standards of her best acting performances while under contract to Warner Bros. in the '40s in the films that established her as a star.
Nor are any of her co-stars seen at their best in this story of a man (EDMUND O'BRIEN) who keeps the secrets of his unscrupulous behavior (which gets sympathetic treatment here) from the women who love and marry him. The story is told from his viewpoint, as he recalls how he met a lonely woman (IDA LUPINO) and fell quickly in love with her while his marriage to JOAN FONTAINE was suffering from a lack of time spent together.
It's rather smoothly directed and acted by the cast, including KENNETH TOBEY as a lawyer friend who makes a courtroom plea for understanding O'Brien's situation. The presiding judge also passes comment that seems to suggest society is somewhat to blame for what happened.
Summing up: A strange film that really avoids taking a stand on the issues involved and leaves the viewer feeling as remote from the events on screen as O'Brien's attitude toward his loving wife, Fontaine.
Trivia note: Ida's landlady, Miss Higgins, is played by none other than Lilian Fontaine, mother of Joan Fontaine and Olivia de Havilland.
Nor are any of her co-stars seen at their best in this story of a man (EDMUND O'BRIEN) who keeps the secrets of his unscrupulous behavior (which gets sympathetic treatment here) from the women who love and marry him. The story is told from his viewpoint, as he recalls how he met a lonely woman (IDA LUPINO) and fell quickly in love with her while his marriage to JOAN FONTAINE was suffering from a lack of time spent together.
It's rather smoothly directed and acted by the cast, including KENNETH TOBEY as a lawyer friend who makes a courtroom plea for understanding O'Brien's situation. The presiding judge also passes comment that seems to suggest society is somewhat to blame for what happened.
Summing up: A strange film that really avoids taking a stand on the issues involved and leaves the viewer feeling as remote from the events on screen as O'Brien's attitude toward his loving wife, Fontaine.
Trivia note: Ida's landlady, Miss Higgins, is played by none other than Lilian Fontaine, mother of Joan Fontaine and Olivia de Havilland.