Brusque, dour pathologist, Broderick Crawford unveils a corpse and proceeds with a dissection. A variety of reactions ensue from the assembled medical students: Uneasiness, queasiness and one fainting episode, whilst Robert Mitchum staunchly greets the stiff with a steely stare. One obstacle lies in the way of his grim, iron-willed ambition to become a doctor.....He's skint! Unless outstanding fees are quickly paid his operations will be limited to the elevator heading for the ground floor and the door marked EXIT. Unshaven, alcoholic father, Lon Chaney Jr, has boozed away all the money put aside to finance Mitchum's dream. (Fat lot of use he'd have been to Hawkeye in that state!)
Befriending nurse colleague Olivia de Havilland, who resides with her family and adopts a 'padlock on the dustbin' approach to frugality, he targets her savings as a passport to achieving his goal. They soon marry, the besotted de Havilland initially oblivious to his reprehensible motives. Over time, his harsh, unbending, opinionated demeanour causes marital strain. The devoted wife, catching the fiery end of his tongue, is prepared to shut herself in a room with the world's most hideous wallpaper in order to escape his overbearing behavior. After best buddy, Frank Sinatra, does something stupid, he too is not immune from the dogged doctor's wrath and his insistence on doing everything HIS way! As his career as a country doctor becomes established, he develops an over-familiarity with attractive, alluring widow, Gloria Grahame. Is there any way back for this wholly self-absorbed figure?
By turns, Not as a Stranger is both stirring and moving, but also stilted, overlong and at times unnecessarily overwrought. A strong supporting cast includes Lee Marvin, Charles Bickford and Nancy Kulp. Furthermore, Will Wright adds to his extensive repertoire of bit parts, as a cynical, cigar smoking colitis patient. Maybe it runs in his family! This early Stanley Kramer entry steers a course somewhere between heart-rending noir and afternoon soap. If you have 135 minutes to spare, it's worth investigating. Suture self.
Befriending nurse colleague Olivia de Havilland, who resides with her family and adopts a 'padlock on the dustbin' approach to frugality, he targets her savings as a passport to achieving his goal. They soon marry, the besotted de Havilland initially oblivious to his reprehensible motives. Over time, his harsh, unbending, opinionated demeanour causes marital strain. The devoted wife, catching the fiery end of his tongue, is prepared to shut herself in a room with the world's most hideous wallpaper in order to escape his overbearing behavior. After best buddy, Frank Sinatra, does something stupid, he too is not immune from the dogged doctor's wrath and his insistence on doing everything HIS way! As his career as a country doctor becomes established, he develops an over-familiarity with attractive, alluring widow, Gloria Grahame. Is there any way back for this wholly self-absorbed figure?
By turns, Not as a Stranger is both stirring and moving, but also stilted, overlong and at times unnecessarily overwrought. A strong supporting cast includes Lee Marvin, Charles Bickford and Nancy Kulp. Furthermore, Will Wright adds to his extensive repertoire of bit parts, as a cynical, cigar smoking colitis patient. Maybe it runs in his family! This early Stanley Kramer entry steers a course somewhere between heart-rending noir and afternoon soap. If you have 135 minutes to spare, it's worth investigating. Suture self.