Let's here it for Barbara Stanwyck! The former Stella Dallas gets her grove back as Jessica Drummond in this war era women's picture about a lovely widow who wakes up to discover that she still has it. Having been dominated by her old school mama (Lucille Watson) and pampered by her late husband, she has to wake up and smell the martinis, which she admits, like anchovies, are an acquired taste. All of a sudden after a liberating skiing trip with pal Eve Arden and her husband (John Ridgely), she meets Army officer George Brent on the slopes. Bashful with eyes avoiding the bedroom, Stanwyck slowly wakes up, after spending the holidays with Brent and friends until pesky Watson interrupts. Stanwyck must discover herself in spite of the regulation of her café society past and stand up for what she really wants while keeping her self-respect, if not her old reputation.
Stanwyck was at the height of her leading lady status when she made this in 1944 (held back for two years, although it was shown to men in the military) and the highest paid woman in America. This is also one of her most subtle performances, sweet yet honest about herself, devoted to her two sons, and tired of all the B.S. of society. Brent, a frequent Stanwyck leading man, goes well with her like butter does with bread, and is, as always, likable even if pain in the butt mother Watson thinks he's of the devil. The highlight of the film are the scenes between Stanwyck and Arden (their only film together!) which really shows what a real female friendship should be about.
A bedroom scene with Arden and Ridgely (no double beds for this one) somehow slipped past the censors and features some amusing pillow talk. It's not just the bitter old ladies like Watson and her uppity friend Cecil Cunningham who gossip, but Stanwyck's supposed friends as well, which results in a scene with the strong Stanwyck we all have come to expect to finally explode. The conclusion between Stanwyck and her sons is appropriate for the time of war, if not satisfactorily in the romantic sense, it still holds promise and hope, and considering America was still at war when this was made, that is conclusion enough.
Stanwyck was at the height of her leading lady status when she made this in 1944 (held back for two years, although it was shown to men in the military) and the highest paid woman in America. This is also one of her most subtle performances, sweet yet honest about herself, devoted to her two sons, and tired of all the B.S. of society. Brent, a frequent Stanwyck leading man, goes well with her like butter does with bread, and is, as always, likable even if pain in the butt mother Watson thinks he's of the devil. The highlight of the film are the scenes between Stanwyck and Arden (their only film together!) which really shows what a real female friendship should be about.
A bedroom scene with Arden and Ridgely (no double beds for this one) somehow slipped past the censors and features some amusing pillow talk. It's not just the bitter old ladies like Watson and her uppity friend Cecil Cunningham who gossip, but Stanwyck's supposed friends as well, which results in a scene with the strong Stanwyck we all have come to expect to finally explode. The conclusion between Stanwyck and her sons is appropriate for the time of war, if not satisfactorily in the romantic sense, it still holds promise and hope, and considering America was still at war when this was made, that is conclusion enough.