This glossy 1960 melodrama was part of a wave of elegantly mounted Eisenhower-era films that dealt with seemingly normal people caught in situations in which they violate socially acceptable behavior but of course, not without a lot of grief, much of it self-inflicted. The acknowledged master of the genre was German-born filmmaker Douglas Sirk ("All That Heaven Allows", "Imitation of Life"), but this especially soapish entry is definitely cut from the same cloth. Directed by journeyman Richard Quine ("Paris When It Sizzles"), it doesn't have the Baroque-level sensibilities to make this quite the wallow that Sirk's films have become over the years. Part of the reason is that the story is told mostly from a decidedly male perspective, which appears to run counter to the viewing audience one would expect for this film. It also feels overlong at 117 minutes.
Written by Evan Hunter ("The Birds") based on his own novel, the plot concerns successful architect Larry Coe frustrated by his inability to live out his Frank Lloyd Wright-level aspirations while married to Eve, a sharp woman whose innate pragmatism encourages him to take on unappealing commercial projects. At the local supermarket, he meets Maggie Gault, beautiful but also married, and sparks are inevitable. She helps him get a commission to build a mid-century stunner of a cliff-side house for commercial novelist Roger Altar. The out-of-the-box design and construction of the house appears to parallel the illicit affair that develops between Larry and Maggie. What's most interesting about the story is not so much the adultery but the motivations behind the affair. Larry is not running away from a shrewish wife but rather looking for a kindred spirit who understands his artistic aspirations, while Maggie is married to an indifferent, probably impotent husband and trying to escape the stigma of "the other woman" already lived out by her mother. Nonetheless, what really dates the film is the underlying misogyny toward both Maggie and Eve as both appear victimized by how men define them.
Quine gathered an intriguing cast here. Just before taking on Kubrick's "Spartacus", Kirk Douglas can't help but look heroic with his clenched jaw and chiseled features, but he is also surprisingly reserved and life-sized as a suburban father who waits with his children at the bus stop. Still fresh from Hitchcock's "Vertigo", Kim Novak uses her glamorous allure and hesitant manner to solid effect here. Truth be told, despite the attractiveness of the leads, the sideline performances are comparatively more interesting - Barbara Rush shifting mercurially from sensible to distraught as Eve; TV comedian Ernie Kovacs likeably vulnerable in a rare dramatic role as Altar; and best of all, a young Walter Matthau as caddish neighbor Felix whose prurient interests become fully exposed when he discovers the affair. There is a particularly unnerving scene between him and Rush that makes you wish Quine took even more chances with the trite story. The movie even comes with a syrupy, overblown theme song with a full orchestra and chorus. Unfortunately, the 2005 DVD offers no extras except previews for three other films. I would have liked to have seen a featurette on the modern Japanese-style house Larry designed.
Written by Evan Hunter ("The Birds") based on his own novel, the plot concerns successful architect Larry Coe frustrated by his inability to live out his Frank Lloyd Wright-level aspirations while married to Eve, a sharp woman whose innate pragmatism encourages him to take on unappealing commercial projects. At the local supermarket, he meets Maggie Gault, beautiful but also married, and sparks are inevitable. She helps him get a commission to build a mid-century stunner of a cliff-side house for commercial novelist Roger Altar. The out-of-the-box design and construction of the house appears to parallel the illicit affair that develops between Larry and Maggie. What's most interesting about the story is not so much the adultery but the motivations behind the affair. Larry is not running away from a shrewish wife but rather looking for a kindred spirit who understands his artistic aspirations, while Maggie is married to an indifferent, probably impotent husband and trying to escape the stigma of "the other woman" already lived out by her mother. Nonetheless, what really dates the film is the underlying misogyny toward both Maggie and Eve as both appear victimized by how men define them.
Quine gathered an intriguing cast here. Just before taking on Kubrick's "Spartacus", Kirk Douglas can't help but look heroic with his clenched jaw and chiseled features, but he is also surprisingly reserved and life-sized as a suburban father who waits with his children at the bus stop. Still fresh from Hitchcock's "Vertigo", Kim Novak uses her glamorous allure and hesitant manner to solid effect here. Truth be told, despite the attractiveness of the leads, the sideline performances are comparatively more interesting - Barbara Rush shifting mercurially from sensible to distraught as Eve; TV comedian Ernie Kovacs likeably vulnerable in a rare dramatic role as Altar; and best of all, a young Walter Matthau as caddish neighbor Felix whose prurient interests become fully exposed when he discovers the affair. There is a particularly unnerving scene between him and Rush that makes you wish Quine took even more chances with the trite story. The movie even comes with a syrupy, overblown theme song with a full orchestra and chorus. Unfortunately, the 2005 DVD offers no extras except previews for three other films. I would have liked to have seen a featurette on the modern Japanese-style house Larry designed.