If you were flipping channels, you would never know these were great actors from glancing at this movie, but don't let that fool you. It's got a fine script: a plot with plenty of O. Henry curve balls and mature, romantic dialogue.
The situations are realistic. Guys, if you are with your girlfriend, don't yell at her kids - discipline is the mother's job. The Mitchum character got it right: you need to be able to speak to kid man to man/boy to boy. Right there, Steve won her heart, and Carl nearly lost her.
Speaking of Carl, Wendell Corey's little Dear Jane speech was very wisely written and delivered. Corey had the hardest job in the movie, and he delivered the nuances just right. The Steve and Connie roles almost seem like generic acting. It was Harry Morgan who stole the show in the police station.
That said, any movie with Robert Mitchum in it is worth watching. He has 1,000 watt charisma, even if it is turned down here. I suppose if he were overly radiant, it wouldn't seem plausible for Connie to keep turning him down. This role is Mitchum the humble.
The directing is surprisingly good, in light of the nondescript credits of Don Hartman. The movie could have been brightened up with someone with more of a Capra touch - or George Seaton, the director of Miracle on 34th Street, which came out two years earlier. I think this movie holds up remarkable well over time because of the mature, realistic writing. It would work well as a chick flick, a couples flick, or a family flick. There are life lessons for guys, gals and children.
It's interesting to see that it wasn't a success at the time, though. Perhaps it was a bit too mature -- I was a surprised by the graphic smooching for the time. And perhaps it didn't work too well shown at Christmas, when a more fun, upbeat movie was called for. But now it would work any time of year, and is better appreciated as a dryer alternative to the overly saccharine fare sometimes shown around this time.
Spoiler alert:
I suspect people were hoping for something more like Miracle on 34th Street. There are echoes of of the earlier story here, including a child wishing for something impossible, a woman getting remarried, a lawyer courting her. And the child, Timmy, really wants his mother to marry Steve, so he gets his real wish - but the movie doesn't hit that note clearly at the end. We do, however, see a reversion to the toy train, which was clever. But the movie almost might have been better if Timmy had hugged Steve aboard the train, instead of the drunk. Or was that Timmy?
The situations are realistic. Guys, if you are with your girlfriend, don't yell at her kids - discipline is the mother's job. The Mitchum character got it right: you need to be able to speak to kid man to man/boy to boy. Right there, Steve won her heart, and Carl nearly lost her.
Speaking of Carl, Wendell Corey's little Dear Jane speech was very wisely written and delivered. Corey had the hardest job in the movie, and he delivered the nuances just right. The Steve and Connie roles almost seem like generic acting. It was Harry Morgan who stole the show in the police station.
That said, any movie with Robert Mitchum in it is worth watching. He has 1,000 watt charisma, even if it is turned down here. I suppose if he were overly radiant, it wouldn't seem plausible for Connie to keep turning him down. This role is Mitchum the humble.
The directing is surprisingly good, in light of the nondescript credits of Don Hartman. The movie could have been brightened up with someone with more of a Capra touch - or George Seaton, the director of Miracle on 34th Street, which came out two years earlier. I think this movie holds up remarkable well over time because of the mature, realistic writing. It would work well as a chick flick, a couples flick, or a family flick. There are life lessons for guys, gals and children.
It's interesting to see that it wasn't a success at the time, though. Perhaps it was a bit too mature -- I was a surprised by the graphic smooching for the time. And perhaps it didn't work too well shown at Christmas, when a more fun, upbeat movie was called for. But now it would work any time of year, and is better appreciated as a dryer alternative to the overly saccharine fare sometimes shown around this time.
Spoiler alert:
I suspect people were hoping for something more like Miracle on 34th Street. There are echoes of of the earlier story here, including a child wishing for something impossible, a woman getting remarried, a lawyer courting her. And the child, Timmy, really wants his mother to marry Steve, so he gets his real wish - but the movie doesn't hit that note clearly at the end. We do, however, see a reversion to the toy train, which was clever. But the movie almost might have been better if Timmy had hugged Steve aboard the train, instead of the drunk. Or was that Timmy?