So faces the reflective Robert Young, a wealthy Bostonian heir who is asked by old college chums to write out biographies of some of the most influential class men. The film does not concentrate on the reunion at all, only the life of the seemingly stuffy Young who counts each step he takes to get to his office, shares two peanuts with the squirrels and has a cigar waiting for him as he arrives at the office building. Sitting back for a minute and relaxing, he begins to remember everything from day one, including his internship at an advertising firm in New York where he met the beautiful Hedy Lamarr. But family responsibilities took him back to Boston, and that re-paired him with an old flame (Ruth Hussey) who twenty years later makes him feel as if he's in need of something new. Will his reunion with the still lovely Lamarr threaten the staidness of the marriage he's seemingly stuck in, or will it light a fire under his belt to try to make things a little better?
Every glamorous trick in the MGM book was pulled out for this initially dull version of the John P. Marquand novel that somehow springs to life in the second half. The film is cinematically beautiful to look at, but certain aspects of it leave uncomfortable feelings, particularly Young's frequent hearing of the voices of his past within his own imagination, the sounds of these voices seemingly coming out of nowhere and rather piercingly recorded. Lamarr is a spitfire from the minute we meet her, and she lights up his stuffy world, especially when they go on a public relations trip to push the greatness of a soap detergent they are promoting. Washing socks leads to romance between the two and when Lamarr tries to fit into Young's world outside of New York, it is clear that the two could never be happy.
The wonderful Charles Coburn is only briefly seen as Young's tycoon father, but even in his few scenes, he is completely touching. "Ma Hardy", Fay Holden, takes a different turn as Young's stuffy mother, and it is ironic that "Aunt Millie" (Sara Haden") has a small role as Young's secretary. When first seen, Ruth Hussey's character of Young's matron wife seems lifeless, like one of those cold society women of old who have no passion for anything but shopping, country clubs and fake good breeding. But there's something different in her as the second half of the film reveals, and it is apparent that she realizes that in order to get her man back, she has to practically loose him. The finale reunion between Young and Lamarr is heart-breaking, and for one of the few times (other than as Tondelao), Lamarr is quite alive, perhaps better directed for a change, here by King Vidor, not the usual beautiful "Ice Princess" of most of her MGM films.
Van Heflin and Leif Erickson offer interesting characterizations as two of Young's pals. There's a great snow sledding sequence which sped up the film quite a bit, and a subtle underlying message when Lamarr briefly meets Ma Pulham. The problem is that the film just takes too long to get going, even though the three stars are trying their best to sparkle things up. It's like a ballet with too many slow dances and not enough up-beat music to keep the attention going, or a play where the second act is much better than the first and makes you say, "Now that was worth waiting for!".
Every glamorous trick in the MGM book was pulled out for this initially dull version of the John P. Marquand novel that somehow springs to life in the second half. The film is cinematically beautiful to look at, but certain aspects of it leave uncomfortable feelings, particularly Young's frequent hearing of the voices of his past within his own imagination, the sounds of these voices seemingly coming out of nowhere and rather piercingly recorded. Lamarr is a spitfire from the minute we meet her, and she lights up his stuffy world, especially when they go on a public relations trip to push the greatness of a soap detergent they are promoting. Washing socks leads to romance between the two and when Lamarr tries to fit into Young's world outside of New York, it is clear that the two could never be happy.
The wonderful Charles Coburn is only briefly seen as Young's tycoon father, but even in his few scenes, he is completely touching. "Ma Hardy", Fay Holden, takes a different turn as Young's stuffy mother, and it is ironic that "Aunt Millie" (Sara Haden") has a small role as Young's secretary. When first seen, Ruth Hussey's character of Young's matron wife seems lifeless, like one of those cold society women of old who have no passion for anything but shopping, country clubs and fake good breeding. But there's something different in her as the second half of the film reveals, and it is apparent that she realizes that in order to get her man back, she has to practically loose him. The finale reunion between Young and Lamarr is heart-breaking, and for one of the few times (other than as Tondelao), Lamarr is quite alive, perhaps better directed for a change, here by King Vidor, not the usual beautiful "Ice Princess" of most of her MGM films.
Van Heflin and Leif Erickson offer interesting characterizations as two of Young's pals. There's a great snow sledding sequence which sped up the film quite a bit, and a subtle underlying message when Lamarr briefly meets Ma Pulham. The problem is that the film just takes too long to get going, even though the three stars are trying their best to sparkle things up. It's like a ballet with too many slow dances and not enough up-beat music to keep the attention going, or a play where the second act is much better than the first and makes you say, "Now that was worth waiting for!".