From my perspective, this is a pretty good film with one huge and one small flaw. The huge flaw is making June Allyson's character a buffoon. The small flaw is the lovely Arlene Dahl, who just doesn't work out in this project.
The story is interesting. There's a major opening in the management of an auto company owned by Clifton Webb. Webb believes that in such a position, a wife's role is almost as important as her husband's role. So he invites 3 couples to New York City to try out for the position. The first couple is June Allyson and Cornel Wilde. The second is Fred MacMurray and Lauren Bacall. The third is Van Heflin and Arlene Dahl.
The most interesting couple is MacMurray and Bacall. They're having serious marriage problems. It's not that they don't love each other. It's that they have different goals. MacMurray isn't dealing well with the pressures of business, and Bacall thinks that the promotion will kill him. Will she stay or go? Will he turn down the opportunity or go for it? Then there's June Allyson and Cornel Wilde. He wants the job, but his wife wants "small town" life in Kansas City.
And third is Van Heflin and Arlene Dahl -- Texans. Dahl is overly ambitious, and seemingly more for herself than her very down to earth husband. Loving partner or slut? And then there's Clifton Webb, who is a clever owner of the company. Observing each of the couples carefully while playing things close to his chest.
As mentioned, June Allyson plays the down-to-earth housewife from the mid-west who doesn't feel she will fit in New York City. She doesn't plot to intentionally sabotage her husband, but she's like a hick bull in c china shop. The trouble is, it's overdone and would have been even more effective had it been more subtle. Cornel Wilde is very good as the husband, and it seems like a very different role for him, Van Heflin seems oblivious to his handicap -- his wife. But he learns, and in doing so it's a fairly strong performance (for an actor I don;t usually enjoy much). Arlene Dahl just seems all wrong for this role -- a totally unlikable character that is all to beautiful; and I say that usually having liked her as a second tier actress.
This is hardly Fred MacMurray's best role, but he does "alright" with it. Lauren Bacall shines in it as his wife.
Clifton Webb is excellent here, although his role is secondary here. But he is controlled and poised, just as the role calls for. Webb always had a way of stealing scenes, although here he doesn't. Nevertheless, it's a fine performance. His sister in the film is a sort of balance to him; Margaret Gillmore plays the role just right.
The success of the film turns on whether or not Webb chooses the "right" man/couple for the promotion. He does, although who that right person is will surprise some, although the groundwork for the decision is not laid until late in the film. Interesting turn of events.
Despite the flaws, a unusually interesting film of the type that 20th Century Fox was quite well known for in the 1950s.
The story is interesting. There's a major opening in the management of an auto company owned by Clifton Webb. Webb believes that in such a position, a wife's role is almost as important as her husband's role. So he invites 3 couples to New York City to try out for the position. The first couple is June Allyson and Cornel Wilde. The second is Fred MacMurray and Lauren Bacall. The third is Van Heflin and Arlene Dahl.
The most interesting couple is MacMurray and Bacall. They're having serious marriage problems. It's not that they don't love each other. It's that they have different goals. MacMurray isn't dealing well with the pressures of business, and Bacall thinks that the promotion will kill him. Will she stay or go? Will he turn down the opportunity or go for it? Then there's June Allyson and Cornel Wilde. He wants the job, but his wife wants "small town" life in Kansas City.
And third is Van Heflin and Arlene Dahl -- Texans. Dahl is overly ambitious, and seemingly more for herself than her very down to earth husband. Loving partner or slut? And then there's Clifton Webb, who is a clever owner of the company. Observing each of the couples carefully while playing things close to his chest.
As mentioned, June Allyson plays the down-to-earth housewife from the mid-west who doesn't feel she will fit in New York City. She doesn't plot to intentionally sabotage her husband, but she's like a hick bull in c china shop. The trouble is, it's overdone and would have been even more effective had it been more subtle. Cornel Wilde is very good as the husband, and it seems like a very different role for him, Van Heflin seems oblivious to his handicap -- his wife. But he learns, and in doing so it's a fairly strong performance (for an actor I don;t usually enjoy much). Arlene Dahl just seems all wrong for this role -- a totally unlikable character that is all to beautiful; and I say that usually having liked her as a second tier actress.
This is hardly Fred MacMurray's best role, but he does "alright" with it. Lauren Bacall shines in it as his wife.
Clifton Webb is excellent here, although his role is secondary here. But he is controlled and poised, just as the role calls for. Webb always had a way of stealing scenes, although here he doesn't. Nevertheless, it's a fine performance. His sister in the film is a sort of balance to him; Margaret Gillmore plays the role just right.
The success of the film turns on whether or not Webb chooses the "right" man/couple for the promotion. He does, although who that right person is will surprise some, although the groundwork for the decision is not laid until late in the film. Interesting turn of events.
Despite the flaws, a unusually interesting film of the type that 20th Century Fox was quite well known for in the 1950s.