This movie makes uneasy viewing for some streteches. The audienced is exposed to long scenes of really unpleasant sexual intercourse. They are camp but typical for the era (I was reminded of "Coming Home", released a year earlier which features a very long sex scene, showing that a tetraplegic can also supply orgasms). OK, the intention is to make a point there but this is an instant in which graphic detail is used in a wrong and misleading way.
The title character is a teacher of good social standing, a woman with an opinion, moral principles and with guts. But she is sexualy repressed. Following a recommendation she sees a shrink and responds well to the "treatment". Then she is the victim of a brutal rape. Just a she is "opening up", the door is forced. Unfortunately this dramatic event does not tie in well with the earlier story. Rather surprisingly, the title character loses all sense of reason and duty and does not report the incident but lets herself be bullied around and humiliated by the perpetrator. The inevitable consequences ensue and lead to a decent ending.
It ist not a bad melodrama - as a matter of fact the story would have been perfect for a director like Douglas Sirk. I wonder what he would have done with the material and the same actors. (Incidentally, Dolores Malone has a small part - she was always great in every performance)
The title character is a teacher of good social standing, a woman with an opinion, moral principles and with guts. But she is sexualy repressed. Following a recommendation she sees a shrink and responds well to the "treatment". Then she is the victim of a brutal rape. Just a she is "opening up", the door is forced. Unfortunately this dramatic event does not tie in well with the earlier story. Rather surprisingly, the title character loses all sense of reason and duty and does not report the incident but lets herself be bullied around and humiliated by the perpetrator. The inevitable consequences ensue and lead to a decent ending.
It ist not a bad melodrama - as a matter of fact the story would have been perfect for a director like Douglas Sirk. I wonder what he would have done with the material and the same actors. (Incidentally, Dolores Malone has a small part - she was always great in every performance)