You have to get into the rhythm of this movie to enjoy it. I think if you had bought a ticket to it, in 1961, and had settled down in your seat to watch a good story unfold, you would have enjoyed it. It's a well-made, well-acted, interesting drama. It's not a masterpiece of cinema and I doubt anyone intended it to be.
Too many people seem to have expected a Douglas Sirk melodrama, and to have been disappointed because this wasn't Imitation Of Life. But this is a completely different sort of story with different themes, and an altogether different tone and style.
It's about the inter-relationships of the families of three men who are law partners in a small New England town. It was filmed partly on location in Groton, Pepperell, and Fitchburg, Massachusetts.
At the start of things, we note that all these wealthy people seem to be living lives of quiet desperation (to quote a local author, Thoreau). Some problems are out in the open - Jason Robards has had an accident in the past which leaves him unable to physically satisfy his beautiful wife, Lana Turner, who drinks and sometimes rides a horse at the gallop to compensate.
Some are more sub-surface: Efrem Zimbalist and Barbara Bel Geddes were childhood friends but have a marriage without real love or passion. At present she's in the local hospital (that bears their last name - as does the county - Winner), She's had a minor tennis accident but they're keeping her there for days. Her husband brings her wine and good food, she plays cards with the doctor. Their son (George Hamilton) is in a relationship with the ward of the elderly third partner (Thomas Mitchell). This ward, Susan Kohner, is a lovely girl, but not very exciting, even a bit downbeat - and the young man seeks out the local bad girl (Yvonne Craig) who works as a waitress at the town diner, for some tawdry sexual fulfillment.
The things driving the plot are that Mitchell has somehow juggled the books and used money that didn't belong to him for his own purposes. The other partners discover this but don't know what to do about it. And Hamilton's affair with the waitress has gotten him into a legal situation. And Zimbalist has begun an affair with his partner's wife, Turner.
A tragedy brings things to a head, and the plot threads eventually come together, for a rather satisfying ending.
It's an enjoyable story, like one of those old-fashioned novels. It rings true most of the time. It isn't overblown. The acting is good, the writing is good.
The only thing you might need to be aware of is that Lana Turner doesn't carry the bulk of the plot (despite her top billing). She's offscreen for long periods of time. She does have some good scenes, though. It's really more of an ensemble film.
Too many people seem to have expected a Douglas Sirk melodrama, and to have been disappointed because this wasn't Imitation Of Life. But this is a completely different sort of story with different themes, and an altogether different tone and style.
It's about the inter-relationships of the families of three men who are law partners in a small New England town. It was filmed partly on location in Groton, Pepperell, and Fitchburg, Massachusetts.
At the start of things, we note that all these wealthy people seem to be living lives of quiet desperation (to quote a local author, Thoreau). Some problems are out in the open - Jason Robards has had an accident in the past which leaves him unable to physically satisfy his beautiful wife, Lana Turner, who drinks and sometimes rides a horse at the gallop to compensate.
Some are more sub-surface: Efrem Zimbalist and Barbara Bel Geddes were childhood friends but have a marriage without real love or passion. At present she's in the local hospital (that bears their last name - as does the county - Winner), She's had a minor tennis accident but they're keeping her there for days. Her husband brings her wine and good food, she plays cards with the doctor. Their son (George Hamilton) is in a relationship with the ward of the elderly third partner (Thomas Mitchell). This ward, Susan Kohner, is a lovely girl, but not very exciting, even a bit downbeat - and the young man seeks out the local bad girl (Yvonne Craig) who works as a waitress at the town diner, for some tawdry sexual fulfillment.
The things driving the plot are that Mitchell has somehow juggled the books and used money that didn't belong to him for his own purposes. The other partners discover this but don't know what to do about it. And Hamilton's affair with the waitress has gotten him into a legal situation. And Zimbalist has begun an affair with his partner's wife, Turner.
A tragedy brings things to a head, and the plot threads eventually come together, for a rather satisfying ending.
It's an enjoyable story, like one of those old-fashioned novels. It rings true most of the time. It isn't overblown. The acting is good, the writing is good.
The only thing you might need to be aware of is that Lana Turner doesn't carry the bulk of the plot (despite her top billing). She's offscreen for long periods of time. She does have some good scenes, though. It's really more of an ensemble film.