This was a pretty good drama about men returning from World War II and trying to readjust to civilian life. In my one viewing of this film, I didn't quite know what to make of lead actor Guy Madison, whether he was a good actor or not. He wasn't bad, but sounded wooden in several scenes. Dorothy McGuire didn't look up to snuff for the leading lady role, but her acting and her voice is always top-notch, at least with me.
The story had some humor, thanks to Jean Porter's character "Helen Ingersoll," an 18-year-old bobby-sox neighbor. She was a lot of fun to watch and listen to, with her mid ''40s teen expressions of the day.
For pure drama, perhaps the most memorable scene was the veteran suffering from the shakes. It was mainly a human interest film about people who all had problems relating to their war experiences and were not handling things in a mature way. In that regard, the story got a little soapy, especially with the addition of the romance angle between Madison and McGuire.
I didn't like the typical Hollywood slam on WASPs near the end when several guys from some patriotic organization were made to look like thugs. They smugly said their group excluded "Catholics, Jews and Negroes," which, of course, started a fight with the "good guys." In the 1930s through the 1950s, Catholics were treated with tremendous reverence in films and since then they've targeted with vicious attacks by filmmakers. Protestants, meanwhile, have almost always received precious-few good mentions on film, including this one. Oh, well......it was still a good drama worth watching.
The story had some humor, thanks to Jean Porter's character "Helen Ingersoll," an 18-year-old bobby-sox neighbor. She was a lot of fun to watch and listen to, with her mid ''40s teen expressions of the day.
For pure drama, perhaps the most memorable scene was the veteran suffering from the shakes. It was mainly a human interest film about people who all had problems relating to their war experiences and were not handling things in a mature way. In that regard, the story got a little soapy, especially with the addition of the romance angle between Madison and McGuire.
I didn't like the typical Hollywood slam on WASPs near the end when several guys from some patriotic organization were made to look like thugs. They smugly said their group excluded "Catholics, Jews and Negroes," which, of course, started a fight with the "good guys." In the 1930s through the 1950s, Catholics were treated with tremendous reverence in films and since then they've targeted with vicious attacks by filmmakers. Protestants, meanwhile, have almost always received precious-few good mentions on film, including this one. Oh, well......it was still a good drama worth watching.