As I read through all the reviews for this film, I was shocked by two things--that people thought it was a good film and that they thought it was a drama. Considering how over the top melodramatic it is, I really thought it was a comedy--albeit an unintentional one! The film starts with Holly (Lana Turner--who was too old for the part) marrying John--a very wealthy man who has ambitions to go into politics. At first, they are happy but after a while John's ambitions take him away from home--a lot. In the meantime, she spends time with another man (Ricardo Montalban) but their relationship is quite chaste. However, when he slips and falls down some stairs to his death, Holly's mother-in-law (Constance Bennett) blackmails her into running off and faking her death, as the mother-in-law THINKS Holly killed her lover! I have no idea why, but Holly agrees--and most of the rest of the film is spent watching Turner show a wide variety of pained looks--ones that look like she's dealing with a bad case of the cramps. All the while, you CONSTANTLY hear the most ridiculously overbearing and ridiculous music. In fact, clearly the music is the worst thing about the film. But you also can't ignore the last half hour--one of the most ridiculously sentimental and stupid half hours in film history (you've just gotta hear Keir Dullea's speech to believe it)! Overall, this is a glossy and beautiful looking bad movie...in a kitschy sort of way. I frankly found much of it laugh out loud funny because the film took itself so seriously but was so seriously bad in the process.
By the way, the doctor's comments about absinthe, though believed at the time, are utter nonsense. In fact, the wine industry created all these rumors about absinthe causing brain abnormalities and death! In recent years, it's once again been legalized because it's a potent yet harmless liquor.
By the way, the doctor's comments about absinthe, though believed at the time, are utter nonsense. In fact, the wine industry created all these rumors about absinthe causing brain abnormalities and death! In recent years, it's once again been legalized because it's a potent yet harmless liquor.