At first, I thought it was a complete joke showing Dorothy Malone, two years after her Oscar win for "Written on the Wind," as a teenager. In fact, with her southern drawl, I thought that Miss Malone was mismatched for the part. How wrong I was once Malone, as Diana Barrymore, has a life that heads downhill rather quickly. Malone etches an unforgettable character, looking for love from a father too drunk to give it, and a mother who was so indifferent.
Errol Flynn was excellent as John Barrymore. Consumed by alcohol, he, too, followed a downward path leading to his death.
The 1950s was certainly a decade of films dealing with known women whose lives evaporated with their alcoholism. We saw it with Helen Morgan (Ann Blyth) and Susan Hayward as Lillian Roth.
As was the case with the latter, we see an assortment of men who entered and left Barrymore's difficult life. Efraim Zimbalist represented a marriage estranged by excessively being away; Ray Danton as a cad, a gigolo tennis player, and finally her last husband, who shared her alcoholism.
Martin Milner did a very good job as the man Barrymore should have married had her life been under control.
Errol Flynn was excellent as John Barrymore. Consumed by alcohol, he, too, followed a downward path leading to his death.
The 1950s was certainly a decade of films dealing with known women whose lives evaporated with their alcoholism. We saw it with Helen Morgan (Ann Blyth) and Susan Hayward as Lillian Roth.
As was the case with the latter, we see an assortment of men who entered and left Barrymore's difficult life. Efraim Zimbalist represented a marriage estranged by excessively being away; Ray Danton as a cad, a gigolo tennis player, and finally her last husband, who shared her alcoholism.
Martin Milner did a very good job as the man Barrymore should have married had her life been under control.