User Reviews

Producer-director Mervyn LeRoy knows how to trail a false scent or two across this story; we receive hints of other films (Gaslight, for example, or almost any Hitchcock) and begin to wonder. Keeping us doubting, and keeping us outside the vulnerable and troubled main character, played superbly by Jean Simmons, we are left in a strange, low-key state of suspense right to the end. Is she mad, is she being manipulated for some nefarious end? Are her family conspirators or just unfeeling? If the latter, who is to blame? We want to rescue this character, we have in the story two likable men who seem to be candidates for white knights. Again, LeRoy manipulates our expectations of a melodramatic plot twist, a catharsis of the sort we have seen in those other films, in which all will be revealed. But, without spoiling the story, this is a different sort of film. Between the first scene and the second to last scene, we are held in a kind of suspended animation, together with the Simmons character. It is only very late in the film, however, that LeRoy lets the scales drop from our eyes.

Some may find the other family members too unsympathetic, early on especially. If there is a weakness in the formula, this is it. For me, the powerful sequence on Christmas Eve in Boston – the shopping jaunt, the party and the confrontation back at the hotel - settles such doubts as exist.

The ledger is more than balanced, in any case, by a good script, fine black and white photography, a convincing portrayal of a hidebound and catty faculty town (politics has nothing on academe), sensitive direction by LeRoy and, especially, Jean Simmons at her considerable best. This film deserves more admirers. It is that quietly spoken guest at the party who, if you spend some time listening, has more to say than the usual cinema windbags.

When the film begins, you learn that Charlotte Bronn (Jean Simmons) had been in a mental hospital for a year and was ready for discharge. Oddly, it also seems as if there's been no family therapy or plans for after discharge...a bit of a mistake in the film, I think, as I cannot imagine the hospital doing this. Apparently, Charlotte's husband, Arnold (Dan O'Herlihy) also had not visited her during this year AND he has no plans on changing the family structure which existed when Charlotte lost her mind and attacked her step-sister, Joan (Rhonda Fleming). Yet, oddly, she's discharged. I think it would have made more sense having the staff argue with Arnold and mention these problems---and he checked her out against medical advice. This portion of the movie could have been constructed better.

When Charlotte returns home, you can almost instantly see what drove her off the deep end. Her step-mother (Mabel Albertson) is god- awful--a controlling know-it-all who would have probably gotten Mother Theresa to attack her after being around her more than five minutes! Albertson made a career out of playing these awful mothers...and anyone who knows 60s TV will instantly recognize her. As for the step- sister, there are hints through the course of the movie that Joan and Arnold MIGHT be carrying on behind Charlotte's back...or at least Arnold simply didn't care that Charlotte might think this. He was certainly very cold and very distant throughout the film. In many, many ways, the story seems like a primer to teach family members how to keep mentally ill loved ones mentally ill or drive them over the edge. Is there any hope for poor Charlotte and this kooky bunch? And what about the new boarder, Jake (Efram Zimbalist Jr.)?

As I was at one time a mental health therapist, I see that the film has an excellent point to make. Returning to the exact same unhealthy environment is a sure way for disaster if you have psychological or addiction issues. Changing the family or leaving them entirely when they are resistant to change is something most decent therapists would consider working on with their clients as they face discharge. Because of this, I really appreciate the movie and it talks about things rarely talked about in films about mental illness. It's often NOT just the mentally ill person that is sick but the family structure.

As far as entertainment value goes, this film is very enjoyable and late in the film you really begin to wonder what is actually happening. Is Charlotte losing her mind or is Arnold trying to drive her over the edge...or both? My only quibble (other than the one mentioned in the first paragraph) is that the film went on too long and the portion consisting of them going to visit Harvard didn't seem to quite fit with the rest of the movie. Still, very compelling and different..and the very end was great.

This cross between 'a women's picture' and a semi-serious study of mental illness isn't as well known as it ought to be. Maybe if it had been made ten or fifteen years earlier it might have been something of a classic since we're firmly in Bette Davis/Miriam Hopkins territory here. Jean Simmons, (wonderful, but then she was always wonderful), is the woman who comes home after a year in a mental hospital. Home is where she lives with hubbie Dan O'Herlihy, step-sister Rhonda Fleming, step-mother Mabel Albertson and handsome lodger Efrem Zimbalist Jr. and it isn't too long before the reason for her initial breakdown becomes all too clear.

At two and a quarter hours it's a little on the long side but director Mervyn LeRoy certainly demonstrates just why he was considered a consumate jobbing director in his handling of old-hat material and all the performances are first-rate, (Simmons was robbed of a Best Actress Oscar nomination), and its small-town New England setting is at least unusual. However, by 1958 this was a very old-fashioned film and no amount of professionalism in front of or behind the camera was going to turn this into box-office gold. A pity, as it's really rather good.

I have loved this movie since I saw it in 1958 when I was 12. I have a video copy taped from WGN in Chicago. The movie was shot around Danvers and Marblehead and Boston, Massachusetts. I grew up here and actually worked at Danvers State Hospital where the opening of the film was shot.

Jean Simmons' performance is a masterpiece! It has the feeling of real life in its depiction of depression and mental disorientation. It also points out how important one friend who believes in you can be for the emotionally wrought person. This character, Jacob Diamond, was portrayed by Efrem Zimbalist, Jr. in another overlooked fine performance. His character shows that a little kindness and understanding can go a long way.

I disagree that the film is lumbering. If someone is looking for a car chase, this is the wrong film. If one is looking for great acting and wonderful character development, this film will provide it.

Even the more minor roles are played perfectly. Rhonda Fleming is great as Charlotte's (Simmons) sister subtly wooing Dan O'Herlihy from his wife's affections.

I have seen this film many times, and each time, like a great piece of music, I see more in it.

I have never been able to find it on video. I have my copy thanks to over the air broadcasts. I taped it twice, one station inserting material that is often edited out, and dubbed it into one complete version.

I would love to hear anyone's comments, pro or con, on this film as I am fascinated by people's differing reactions to it.

Sincerely,

Peter3120

I was amused while watching this suspenseful film to notice that whole passages of the music used were lifted straight from Warner's great Bette Davis film, "Now Voyager". Since it was a Warner's film I suppose they had the right. I noticed that Max Steiner, the composer from the Davis film, was given no credit for the music that was used in this film. Seems a shame, but I suppose that's Hollywood. Still, this is a good film with a fine cast of stars and familiar character actors. I enjoyed the location photography and the chilled atmosphere of the film is enhanced by the obvious dead of winter scenery. I mainly just wanted to comment on the music, however, it just surprised me to hear such a familiar score used over again in this film.

I rated this film 6/10 and agree with most of the comments of Neil Doyle above and some of the more negative ones.This is the fifth time I have seen JS play on film mentally unstable characters, the others being: Ophelia in Olivier's Oscar winning (1948) Hamlet; with her husband of the time, Stuart Granger in "Footsteps in the Fog (1955); with Trevor Howard in "The Clouded Yellow" (1951); with Robert Mitchum in "Angel Face"(1952).Evidentally producers considered JS specialised in these troubled parts.Oh it was a terribly long film at 136 minutes and it was the first time I wished the film editor could have snipped say 30 minutes off the overall time.We had already got the message long before JS started her long overdue mental counter attack versus her husband and step-family.

Immediately I saw JS in an early scene at the mental hospital sporting an obviously artificial blond wig, I irrationally felt less sympathy for her character Charlotte.With her natural beautiful dark brunette looks, the blond wig did not sit well with JS's lovely darkly arched eyebrows.How refreshing then to see Charlotte later in the film with some almost Liz Taylor type dark raven hair and looking more natural.JS looked ravishing!Yes it was a wordy film but the words did not personally resonate with me as they could have been said in fewer sentences.

From the responses on view it's clear that many were greatly affected by this movie and have much nostalgia for it. "Home Before Dark" is one of those movies that strangely disappear, hardly ever shown on television and not available in any other form. This state of rarity often bestows a movie a quality of being somehow special, which is not always the case.

I would guess that the reason that so many remember this movie is solely the performance of Jean Simmons. It's a very tricky role and Simmons really does extremely well in the part. She manages to walk the tightrope between mental unbalance and lucidity in the most credible fashion.

The rest of the cast are competent but hardly memorable and the film is way too long. There is a lovely theme song, (whose lyrics as is often the case, have nothing to do with the plot), it's credited to McHugh and Cahn, though no credit is given at all to the lovely vocal by Mary Kaye

A terrific actress, Jean Simmons never quite reached the top rung of Hollywood stardom the way her contemporaries did (e.g., Elizabeth Taylor or even Kim Novak). Tiny (in an era of big buxom beauties), dark, intense, and British, she had somewhat limited appeal among American audiences. And now, she's often overlooked or forgotten when we think of actresses of her era. But, looking back at much of her work, it's clear she was probably the finest screen actress of the lot working in Hollywood in her time.

This is nowhere more apparent than this film where Simmmons brings some emotional truth to every frame she's in. She elevates even the most maudlin dialog she must deliver in what is essentially a potboiler with the intensity she brings to her performance. She plays it like it's Shakespearean tragedy, and is simply heart-breaking as well as mesmerizing as a woman desperately struggling to recover from a breakdown and save her failing marriage.

It's truly sad this film has been largely forgotten because Jean Simmons and her performance shouldn't be.

The film begins well, with Jean Simmons being released from a state mental institution after suffering a mental breakdown a year before. Her ambitious university professor husband drives her home through wintry New England and arrives home. She lives in a large home with her selfish, indifferent husband, her noisy stepmother, and her vain, glamorous stepsister, whom she envies and had suspected of having an affair with her husband. In addition, there is a boarder, a young Jewish professor who works for her husband, and a crotchety, condescending maid. Everyone is polite, but the issues that led to her breakdown are still in the home and she also has to deal with gossipy neighbors. Then, it seems that the story is at a loss. The film is overwrought, to be honest. Even with the people problems she faces, Simmons' life is better than those of many people- she's attractive, has inherited money, lives in a beautiful, two-story home, can afford a servant to prepare meals and clean the home, and she has no children to take care of. I couldn't help if boredom and too much time on her hands wasn't one of her problems. Everyone talks about the same thing over and over again and the film could have been thirty minutes shorter without losing anything. It becomes like a merry-go-round of talk. Then I have to talk about the music. Max Steiner is a brilliant composer, but his music is way over the top for this personal and intimate film. Something much more low-key was needed. Two things save this film. One is the excellent locations, which are filmed in the dead of winter and make a perfect backdrop. The other is Simmons' performance, which capture a woman trapped in a marriage and family that are good in all the official ways but are lacking in all the ways that matter. She makes us care about her character even when her behavior is exasperating, which is quite an accomplishment.

This is a very good movie for which Jean Simmons won the prestigious New York Film Critics award for best actress. It used to be shown regularly on TV in the 1960s and '70s. Those of us who remember it know it deserves to be brought out of obscurity.

Vivien Leigh wasn't the only dark English beauty to don a blonde hairdo in a black-and-white psychological drama. Perhaps platinum blonde hair and black eyebrows meant mentally unhinged in the 1950s. Jean Simmons, who ironically looked a lot like Miss Leigh with her natural color, also looked a lot like her when she went blonde in Home Before Dark. This tense, overlooked drama is a fascinating piece that won Miss Simmons a Rag nomination.

Jean starts the movie leaving a sanitarium. She's been resting for an entire year after a nervous breakdown, and her doctor warns her that her troubled mental state will immediately return if she's returned to the same surroundings that bothered her. Jean believes she'll be perfectly alright, but his prediction turns out to be true. And, as sad as it is, the movie is incredibly true to life. Jean's husband, Dan O'Herlihy, is more irritated than sympathetic as he's anxious to return to normal life. Her mother, Mabel Albertson, is completely self-absorbed and doesn't care about noise or calmness for her daughter's first day back. Her sister, Rhonda Fleming, is the only one who seems to care - but are there ulterior motives at work?

Home Before Dark will keep you guessing as to whether Jean's actually insane or those around her are trying to "gaslight" her. It's very entertaining, but at times it's tough to watch. But if you usually think of Jean Simmons as the same in all her movies, you should rent this to see the one time she's not Sister Sarah. I was very impressed. I didn't know she had it in her!

Charlotte Bronn (Jean Simmons), the wife of a college professor (Dan O'Herlihy), has been released from a State Mental Hospital only to return to the same environment that led to her breakdown. Adapted by Robert and Eileen Bassing from Eileen's novel of the same name and nominated for a Golden Globe in three categories, Mervyn LeRoy's 1958 masterpiece Home Before Dark is a devastating yet remarkably liberating exploration of a woman's struggle to achieve mental health. I first saw this film many years ago and I never forgot the towering performance of Jean Simmons or the film's shattering emotional truth -- that some people are simply incapable of showing compassion to those who are vulnerable. On a bootleg copy taped from television, I was able to revisit it again this week and it flooded my mind with memories of those days of turmoil.

The film is set in an upwardly mobile neighborhood in suburban Massachusetts. Charlotte has long suspected that her husband, Arnold Bronn, was secretly in love with her stepsister Joan Carlisle (Rhonda Fleming). But is unable to confront the fact that her husband does not love her, and slips into mental illness. After one year in treatment, she is released but goes back to face the same nagging suspicions and the same well-meaning but overbearing people including her sister Joan, stepmother Inez Winthrop (Mabel Albertson), and housekeeper Mattie (Kathryn Card). Charlotte does have some support, however, in the person of Jacob Diamond (Efrem Zimbalist, Jr.), a visiting professor that is living with the family for one semester and has to confront anti-Semitic innuendoes at the college.

Diamond reaches out to Charlotte and provides some much-needed kindness but she has difficulty gathering the emotional strength to accept his support. She continues to blame herself for her illness and clings to the notion that her previous suspicions were delusions. Still unsteady and trying to please everybody, she buys a dress that doesn't fit and has her hair done to look like her stepsister Joan, then shows up at a dinner party out of control. Little by little, however, Charlotte begins to muster the strength to confront the truth and the film delivers its message without having to resort to the intervention of a hero-psychiatrist who makes everything right. Charlotte's growth is achieved through her own personal transformation and the payoff is deliciously worth the 136-minute length of the film. Sadly, the original negative of this great movie has been lost and Home Before Dark may never be released on DVD, a loss not only to cinema buffs but also to a world needing an injection of love and inspiration.

Jean Simmons is luminous, despite attempts to dowdify her. All other actors are strong. This is in spite of the silly plot. Never understood why Charlotte fell in love with her future husband, why she continued to love him later, why he didn't divorce her and marry Joan (since he does not seem to be after her money). Did someone try to drug her? Did she become better after she stopped drinking the supposedly doctored drinks? Was there a liaison between the husband and Joan? Was the mother malicious or just a loud, insensitive woman? Most of all - why is it that Hollywood movies always have a nice, sensitive guy waiting in the wings for the mistreated, at-risk heroine in its suspense movies? (See Gaslight, Midnight Lace, this movie, and many others.)

Charlotte (Jean Simmons) comes home from a mental hospital, shaky but game. She's been cured of all her delusions - that her husband and stepsister are having an affair, and conspiring behind her back. Except that her husband (Dan O'Herlihy) really does crave her stepsister (Rhonda Fleming) and they do talk about her in whispered tones. Even their new lodger (Efrem Zimbalist) can see it. But they deny it and she tries to deny it some more, to keep peace in the family. Finally, she can't. Is she having a breakdown or a breakout?

Admittedly, it is slow - the direction is cumbersome. But occasionally, it nails Eileen Bassing's novel with its stifling New England academic atmosphere and the rigidity of its codes. Jean Simmons was nominated for Best Actress in this role, and small wonder; it's one of her best this side of Elmer Gantry. Steve Dunne has an engaging appearance, and it's Rhonda Fleming who gets to be unsympathetic for a change.

If I could find the video, I'd buy it. But it's not for teenaged boys.

With a perfectly selected cast Mervyn LeRoy got good performances out of the ensemble, especially star Jean Simmons in Home Before Dark. The story could have used a bit of fine tuning.

Jean Simmons who is an heiress is married to college professor Dan O'Herlihy who is one cold drip of a human being. She's had a breakdown and she's come home to O'Herlihy and the rest of her household which consists of stepmother Mabel Albertson, stepsister Rhonda Fleming, maid Kathryn Card as well as O'Herlihy. She has the pursestrings so the others have to be nice you would think. But she's treated like a doormat especially by her husband.

It's never really explained but Simmons has some deep seated inferiority issues, especially concerning the glamorous Fleming. When she gets home she finds they have a houseguest in Efrem Zimbalist, Jr., a colleague of O'Herlihy's. He's the one truly sympathetic ear in the place.

I did love the scenes with O'Herlihy's faculty colleagues. My father was a professor and for a bit as a lad I worked in a college. Those academicians can be some of the most vain and petty people you will ever run across in the film and in real life. Zimbalist is having trouble fitting in at this Ivy League tower of learning, not the least of which is because he's Jewish. The faculty wives are petty group too and my mother hated it I can tell you as much as Simmons does.

Simmons is wonderful, surprised she got no Oscar nod for her performance. Home Before Dark is a few centimeters short of a classic, with a tighter script it would have been.

A lumbering, exceedingly slow psychological drama. It contains many intriguing elements and characters, and Jean Simmons' performance as the slightly neurotic heroine is courageous; she isn't afraid to appear less attractive than usual. But the pace is so slow that the film becomes heavy-going at times.

This is a strong drama built entirely on Jean Simmons' outstanding performance as a woman recovering from a breakdown and searching for love and a home, only to find her own strength instead. Director Mervyn LeRoy and novelist/screenwriter Eileen Bassing confidently put the entire burden on Simmons, who appears in nearly every scene, and the actress delivers a character who continually defies and exceeds the expectations of those around her, and the viewer.

We meet Charlotte Bronn as she is returning from a long stay in a mental hospital following a nervous breakdown that included episodes of violence and paranoia. She's shaky and vulnerable and painfully self-aware. But even before she first appears at the end of the long hallway, walking towards the camera and into her new life, those closest to her have already begun to let her down.

We quickly begin to learn the source of her downfall, but Simmons doesn't give us a victim and the film doesn't back away from real mental illness- the portrayal of Charlotte's recovery and gradual tilt towards relapse is surprisingly sharp and modern.

"Home Before Dark" is understated, in an almost documentary style, more smart than clever, but the energy and pacing are crisp enough that the film always seems within one twist of becoming a noir thriller or Hitchcock suspense. Charlotte is desperate for acceptance, her husband's love, and the truth about her marriage, all of which are withheld, and we naturally expect a handsome man- any of several on hand- to step forward and solve her problems, either romantically or as a confidant. The film's value comes from its steady refusal to take those easy paths.

The pathos is tastefully understated but powerful nonetheless- Charlotte says she's not beautiful, she says she knows her husband doesn't love her and that she's not worthy of love- and her husband simply fails to contradict her. The film is, among other things, a relentless study of one spouse failing another.

We root for Charlotte Bronn as she stumbles- her story never does. This is one of Simmons' best.

This is an inferior attempt at a film noir, directed by Mervyn LeRoy, who really should not have bothered. The film stars Jean Simmons, whose attractiveness is ruined for most of the film by the most odious wig imaginable. She has a difficult role to play, for the script is not very good, and one minute she is meant to be sane and the next minute she is meant to be crazy. Admittedly, this is true of many people, but in films we are meant to keep things simple so that the audience can follow the plot. This plot wanders around in a daze like a drunken script writer. I must confess myself to have been deeply annoyed by Dan O'Herlihy, who plays the indifferent husband of Jean Simmons. Not only can he not act very well, but when he tries, he is often more offensive than when he is not trying. I would have preferred him to sit in a corner and let the story take place without him. Rhonda Fleming is present as a flaming femme fatale, and although we cannot see her red hair because the film is in black and white, she blazes nevertheless. She plays a most unpleasant, vain, pinhead of a woman who glides along on her rather too obvious glamour like a ship on a calm sea of soapsuds. Efrem Zimbalist Junior falls for Jean Simmons but does nothing about it except look earnest and offer his friendship. His father was much better at playing the violin than he was at playing the heartstrings. Poor Jean Simmons has come out of an insane asylum where she spent an entire year without treatment. Now, upon returning home, she has what can only be called a delayed reaction, one year delayed to be precise. She begins to realize just how intolerable her home situation really is. Or maybe she watched this film, which is why she looks so uncomfortable. A surprising number of people think this film is wonderful, so it clearly speaks to others, and that shows just how different we all are. But would so many people say how they loved the film if Jean Simmons had not been in it?

I haven't seen this film since the mid seventies. I've been waiting, not very patiently for it to aire again. It was also a favorite of an older sibling of mine. We often discuss scenes from this film and Jean Simmons' performance that still rings clear in our heads today. If anyone ever ask us what movie we'd like to see that we haven't seen in years, we'll both shout out, "Home Before Dark" unanimously. We've tried to contact the studio where the film was made. We've looked high and low, written movie stations that aire the classics but no one has yet to answer our request. It's a great film! If ANYONE is willing to sell us a copy, please feel free to contact me. I've always thought Jean Simmons was an awesome actress. This movie confirms my conviction.

Mervin Le Roy's entry into the 50s Melodrama sweepstakes is, like most of this veteran director's work, compulsively watchable, and some sequences, like Charlotte's hysterical, Boston, Christmas shopping spree, is even a cut above that entertaining level and encroaches on the territory of interestingly deranged, a space in which better directors like Sirk and Minnelli luxuriated. Also helping elevate this film above the category of luridly trashy fun is wonderfully bleak, winter New England cinematography and location shooting by Joe Biroc in which you can literally feel the damp chill even if you're watching it on a couch in Los Angeles. Finally, there is Jean Simmons doing her best acting in a long, solid career (indeed it is not amiss to describe Ms. Simmons as the Mervin Le Roy of actresses). She is so good as the neurotic yet indomitable Charlotte that you forgive her an old England accent in one supposed to be from New. She certainly should have at least nabbed the Oscar nomination that absurdly went to Lana Turner for a lesser 50s meller, "Peyton Place". Ably assisting her are Dan O'Herlihy as her cold, stuffy husband, Mabel Albertson as her supremely annoying step mother and Rhonda Fleming, as always shining in a bad girl turn, as Charlotte's deceitful step sister.

So why just a 7/10? Blame the Bassings. Their adaptation of Ms. Bassing's novel is, by any measure, wanting. Not only do they provide us with a too stolid, dull love interest for Charlotte (played by stolid, dull Efrem Zimbalest Jr. In full on "FBI Story" as opposed to "77 Sunset Strip" mode) but they spend way too much time on Charlotte's unhappy marriage and not enough time on key subsidiary characters like step sister Joan and nasty servant Mattie. This results in scenes in the last third of the film, when Charlotte finally works up the courage to confront Joan and fire Mattie, not having the emotional and dramatic impact they should have.

Bottom Line: Not as good as "Some Came Running" but a helluva lot better than "Butterfield 8". Give it a B minus.

PS...Great moody, jazzy title song. Wonder why the singer, someone I've not heard of named Mary Kay, wasn't credited? Was she a lefty? Or did she just have a bad agent?

Each actor/actress perfectly cast for his/her role. Arnold, the cold, loveless husband, aloof yet kissing up to his colleagues at the college (in the movie Ballou Hall is in reality on the Medford campus of Tufts University) to assure his promotion. Charlotte's house, warm, cozy, nicely furnished, typically old New England upscale. Hamilton Gregory, the lovable drunk, crazy about "Charl" and the smooth, kindly Jake Diamond who also loves Charlotte. Inez, Joan and Mattie, the female antagonists, perfectly played. I remember the eerie Danvers Mental Hospital up on a hill on old route one from when I was a kid living in Massachusetts. A shame this movie has never been available on VHS or DVD. I have an old copy I taped many years ago from a local TV station, uncut but with a few rough spots where I edited out commercials. Would like to obtain a better uncut copy and have made into a DVD, but legal problems rear their ugly heads. Warner Bros never responds to my e-mail inquiries about this Mervyn LeRoy film from 1958. Another interesting note, despite their apparent affluence, Arnold drives an ordinary black, 1954 Ford V-8 Fordor Sedan (Crestline or Customline)...nothing flashy. Charlotte Bronn's house (2 Crockett St) is the old "Lafayette House" in Marblehead, MA and is located at the corner of Hooper and Union Sts. (2 Union St). It contains 13 total rooms, 5 bedrooms, 4 baths and in 2003 its assessed value was $1,001,700.

It's not easy to portray a character who might be crazy, might be well, might be both at the same time. Jean Simmons delivers an absolute tour-de-force performance that was gripping from start to finish.

Here's the deal, though. The character of Charlotte Bronn is such a brittle paranoiac that most people in her life would run, not walk, away from her after a while.

At the beginning of the film her stiff husband, Dan O'Herlihy, is checking her out of the Gov. Willliam J. Le Petomane Memorial Gambling Casino For The Insane.

She comes home to an over-bearing step-mother (Albertson), a beautiful step-sister (Fleming), and a tactless maid (Card). In short order we also meet the boarder, a non-tenured professor and protege (Zimbalist) of her husband. Only the latter seems to be fully at ease with Simmons, since he's never previously met her. Whereas the others are all walking on eggshells.

As the movie unfolds, Simmons becomes increasingly unhinged, spurred at times by the often self-serving gossip of "Ham" and her longtime friend Cathy (Barnes) that O'Herlihy is having an affair with Fleming.

I found Jake Diamond's (Zimbalist) affection for Simmons to be entirely ungrounded in reality. He's a great-looking young academic in a college town. Hamiltion Gregory's (Dunne) affection for Simmons at least has nostalgia going for it, but he could have any woman after his divorce, with his job as a Boston bank manager and that killer apartment.

Ultimately, while I found Simmons' portrayal mesmerizing and tragic, by the end I felt at least as much sympathy for O'Herlihy, Albertson and Fleming. This really is a family destroyed by mental illness, with no easy answers. Cut out of Harvard scenes and reduce the set changes a bit, and you would have a very moving night at the live theatre.

Of course, this is Hollywood. So we're treated to one final act of defiance from Simmons. How anybody could see that as her discovering self-empowerment rather than the next rung down the drain, I am mystified. That final scene outside is trite and entirely unrealistic.

Nevertheless, this is a movie for ''mature audiences only" as the TV disclaimers used to warn. ''Some subject matter may not be suitable for younger audiences. Viewer discretion if advised."

Furthermore, it illustrates the artistic bankruptcy of of the Academy of Motion Pictures that they gave the Oscar to hammy Susan Hayward, who on her BEST day wasn't fit to answer the mail for Jean Simmons, never mind prevail as Best Actress in 1959 for I Want To Live! Good lord, what an injustice.

I was never too fond of this depressing story that serves only to prove that JEAN SIMMONS could play an emotional role with the best of them. But it's disheartening to see the sort of suffering she has to go through when she exits a mental hospital, only to return home to a situation that has grown even worse in her absence.

That she has the good sense to finally declare her independence from a cold and indifferent husband is the only satisfaction the viewer may get from this classy looking soap opera. Otherwise, it becomes a bit tedious to watch the homefront situation get worse by the minute.

DAN O'HERLIHY is the cold professorial husband who finally gets told off by a transformed Simmons and RHONDA FLEMING is appropriately overly glamorous as the step-sister Simmons is jealous of, but both characters are strictly one-dimensional. It's a tribute to Miss Simmons that at least her performance does give more layers to her role than the script provides and she was justifiably nominated for a Best Actress Oscar.

Summing up: Not my cup of tea, but Simmons shows she has what it takes.