Unhappy housewife Eloise Winters (Susan Hayward) is visited by old friend Mary Jane. There is a suggestion about Eloise's daughter Ramona and another man named Walt Dreiser (Dana Andrews). Her husband Lew Wengler is not happy either and threatens to take away Ramona. Eloise recalls happier days when she met her true love during the war.
The unhappy marriage is actually interesting. The true romance is less so. It also doesn't help that the story is told in flashback. Those are usually less compelling unless the structure injects something special. I kept thinking the divorce and fight over Ramona would be more compelling and more dramatic to watch. The love story struggles to gain traction. Its doom is expected and its drama comes off somewhat soapy. The melodrama is almost old fashion. The heat in the relationship is not as effective as expected. There is a possibility that the expectation is too high for this projected perfect love. That is why I think the idea of this love is more compelling than the actual telling of this love. Quite frankly, simple little flashbacks would be enough as Eloise and Lew have their divorce battles. This is trying for something artistically. I think it fails.
The unhappy marriage is actually interesting. The true romance is less so. It also doesn't help that the story is told in flashback. Those are usually less compelling unless the structure injects something special. I kept thinking the divorce and fight over Ramona would be more compelling and more dramatic to watch. The love story struggles to gain traction. Its doom is expected and its drama comes off somewhat soapy. The melodrama is almost old fashion. The heat in the relationship is not as effective as expected. There is a possibility that the expectation is too high for this projected perfect love. That is why I think the idea of this love is more compelling than the actual telling of this love. Quite frankly, simple little flashbacks would be enough as Eloise and Lew have their divorce battles. This is trying for something artistically. I think it fails.