This searing drama by Paddy Chayefsky offers great roles for Kim Novak and Fredric March as a mismatched couple battling their families to maintain a fragile relationship. The trouble is he's 56 and she's 24.
March plays a tough, self-made businessman in New York's garment district. He's been alone since his wife died a year before and he has a pretty office girl (Novak) who's still recovering from a divorce. Both are emotionally fragile and unsure of themselves.
March lives with his bossy, old-maid sister and has a vulgar business partner who talks about nothing but his sexual conquests. Novak lives with her mother and sister and doesn't know what she wants. She's attracted to March's money and maturity but at first somehow repulsed by his sexual attentions.
They secretly date and fall into an uneasy alliance against the storm they know will come from family.
March and Novak are just superb in this gritty romantic drama. He swings between emotional highs and realistic lows facing the reality that Novak is younger than his daughter. Novak has a gnawing attraction for her no-good ex-husband that won't go away yet she wants the protection of a man in her life. They are realistic, sympathetic, and desperate.
The supporting cast offers top-notch performances. Lee Grant has a great scene as Novak's neighbor, nagging her about marrying an old man. Glenda Farrell as Novak's mother is also excellent as she rails against March and the inequities of life. Joan Copeland offers a fascinating portrait of neuroses as March's clinging daughter. Edith Meiser is solid as March's older sister. Martin Balsam simmers as Copeland's ignored husband. Albert Dekker is good as the vulgar partner. And then there's Betty Walker, best remembered as a stand-up comic, giving a great performance as a desperate widow interested in March.
Each performance was Oscar worthy. March received a Golden Globe nomination. Novak has stated this was her best and favorite performance.
March plays a tough, self-made businessman in New York's garment district. He's been alone since his wife died a year before and he has a pretty office girl (Novak) who's still recovering from a divorce. Both are emotionally fragile and unsure of themselves.
March lives with his bossy, old-maid sister and has a vulgar business partner who talks about nothing but his sexual conquests. Novak lives with her mother and sister and doesn't know what she wants. She's attracted to March's money and maturity but at first somehow repulsed by his sexual attentions.
They secretly date and fall into an uneasy alliance against the storm they know will come from family.
March and Novak are just superb in this gritty romantic drama. He swings between emotional highs and realistic lows facing the reality that Novak is younger than his daughter. Novak has a gnawing attraction for her no-good ex-husband that won't go away yet she wants the protection of a man in her life. They are realistic, sympathetic, and desperate.
The supporting cast offers top-notch performances. Lee Grant has a great scene as Novak's neighbor, nagging her about marrying an old man. Glenda Farrell as Novak's mother is also excellent as she rails against March and the inequities of life. Joan Copeland offers a fascinating portrait of neuroses as March's clinging daughter. Edith Meiser is solid as March's older sister. Martin Balsam simmers as Copeland's ignored husband. Albert Dekker is good as the vulgar partner. And then there's Betty Walker, best remembered as a stand-up comic, giving a great performance as a desperate widow interested in March.
Each performance was Oscar worthy. March received a Golden Globe nomination. Novak has stated this was her best and favorite performance.