When a Joan Crawford movie pops up on TCM, I'll usually watch it. And there are some great ones...but not this late in her career. Add to it that after all we have learned about the real Crawford, it was impossible for me to buy her as such a totally sympathetic wife, particularly under the circumstances of this story. In fact, she literally made me cringe here. Perhaps it would have been more believable back in 1956, but not in this day and age. In my view, there was virtually nothing credible in her performance here, although you can revel in the scene where she tells of Vera Miles and Lorne Greene.
And then there's the way they met -- in a restaurant over chicken salad, in one of the most awkward and asinine scenes I have ever seen in a movie.
On the positive side, Cliff Robertson -- no favorite of mine -- is very good here. I guess he was bi-polar in the film, and he was believable in that role. Kudos to Robertson. Lorne Greene and (in a very atypical role) Vera Miles play sleaze-balls here. Given their typical roles it's a little difficult to swallow...but okay, it's acting. And, in fact, the initial mystery in what they are up to is one of the highlights of the film.
Also, the scenes of Robertson undergoing electric shock treatments are quite powerful (pun intended), but the downer at the end of the film is that after all Robertson and Crawford have gone through -- spousal abuse and intense psychiatric care -- there is a totally happy ending. Well, gag me with a spoon.
It's worth watching for the camp, but not for the overall quality of the movie.
And then there's the way they met -- in a restaurant over chicken salad, in one of the most awkward and asinine scenes I have ever seen in a movie.
On the positive side, Cliff Robertson -- no favorite of mine -- is very good here. I guess he was bi-polar in the film, and he was believable in that role. Kudos to Robertson. Lorne Greene and (in a very atypical role) Vera Miles play sleaze-balls here. Given their typical roles it's a little difficult to swallow...but okay, it's acting. And, in fact, the initial mystery in what they are up to is one of the highlights of the film.
Also, the scenes of Robertson undergoing electric shock treatments are quite powerful (pun intended), but the downer at the end of the film is that after all Robertson and Crawford have gone through -- spousal abuse and intense psychiatric care -- there is a totally happy ending. Well, gag me with a spoon.
It's worth watching for the camp, but not for the overall quality of the movie.