Edmund Gwenn starts the movie off as an old professor who believes he's outlived his usefulness. He sees the new generation and the young people who made it home from the war who need to use the country's valuable resources far more than he does, and so he plans to commit suicide after getting his affairs in order. A pregnant Jeanne Crain and her GI husband William Holden rent his apartment while they readjust to post-war life.
This premise in itself isn't very appealing, but since the old gentleman is played by Edmund Gwenn, it takes an extra turn for the worse. Does anyone really want to see Santa Claus contemplating suicide? I certainly didn't, and I found much of this movie far too depressing to sit through. Since I'm not a William Holden fan, many of the other scenes didn't catch my interest either. One notable aspect of the movie is the appearance of maternity smocks. Up until this point, pregnant women did not display any hint of bump or bulge. Unless you're really dying to see Jeanne Crain in a smock, you don't have to rent this movie.
This premise in itself isn't very appealing, but since the old gentleman is played by Edmund Gwenn, it takes an extra turn for the worse. Does anyone really want to see Santa Claus contemplating suicide? I certainly didn't, and I found much of this movie far too depressing to sit through. Since I'm not a William Holden fan, many of the other scenes didn't catch my interest either. One notable aspect of the movie is the appearance of maternity smocks. Up until this point, pregnant women did not display any hint of bump or bulge. Unless you're really dying to see Jeanne Crain in a smock, you don't have to rent this movie.