So her husband (whom she's mourning in the opening scene) was a mobster. Is that Sophia Loren's fault? She's got a young son (Jimmy Baird) who needs a decent father figure in his life, so when the long time widower Anthony Quinn comes along, she agrees to go out with him and they are soon engaged. But his grown daughter (Ina Balin) disapproves, referring to Loren in derogatory terms. Quinn doesn't cotton to anyone deriding Loren and threatens Balin with a smack across the face, and then sets out to win over pre-teen Baird.
Both Loren and Quinn are great as wonderful people whose problems to be created by those around him, although Baird is quickly won over. There's a subplot between Balin and her fiancee ("Dynasty's" Peter Mark Richman) that isn't as interesting as the Quinn and Loren pairing, dealing with her continued resentment of her father moving on. She's bratty and controlling and rather one dimensional, but I guess it sets up conflict.
This soap opera like drama, well directed by Martin Ritt, should have been done in color, as it focuses on two very colorful characters. There's no temperament about them, another positive aspect, and the scenes where they're just having fun are wonderful even if the moments are invariably interrupted by Balin. But like life where joy is often interrupted by interlopers, this has its emotional ups and downs. It's this realism and mixture of darkness and light that makes this avl terrific drama.
Both Loren and Quinn are great as wonderful people whose problems to be created by those around him, although Baird is quickly won over. There's a subplot between Balin and her fiancee ("Dynasty's" Peter Mark Richman) that isn't as interesting as the Quinn and Loren pairing, dealing with her continued resentment of her father moving on. She's bratty and controlling and rather one dimensional, but I guess it sets up conflict.
This soap opera like drama, well directed by Martin Ritt, should have been done in color, as it focuses on two very colorful characters. There's no temperament about them, another positive aspect, and the scenes where they're just having fun are wonderful even if the moments are invariably interrupted by Balin. But like life where joy is often interrupted by interlopers, this has its emotional ups and downs. It's this realism and mixture of darkness and light that makes this avl terrific drama.