Month: December 2021

The film begins with Robert Preston explaining to a doctor the circumstances that led his estranged wife Barbara Stanwyck to being found severely beaten and winding in the hospital. Finding herself bored during her husband’s reporting assignments at the Hoover Dam, she is introduced to the Las Vegas betting tables. The thrill she finds at the casino takes a hold on her as great as any addiction. The ending is a bit simplistic, but Stanwyck brings her A game to the role, believably portraying the downward spiral of the addiction from ‘borrowing’ money from her husband’s expense account to pairing with shady characters who won’t stand to being double-crossed.

Hayley Mills stars as an American heiress who, despite the disapproval of her family, suddenly marries Hywel Bennett, a working class photographer and chauffeur with dreams of upward mobility. When the young Hayley dies unexpectedly, Hywel is of course a prime suspect. I watched this solely to see Mills in a post-Disney role and she is indeed beautiful and charming in the role. After the death of her character, the film takes a sudden whiplash turn and becomes much more surreal with a mix of psychological and mystical elements. Although overall it’s a strange affair, I enjoyed the 1970s feel, particularly in the design of the couple’s dream home, and the small supporting cast with George Sanders as Hayley’s family attorney and Britt Eklund as her doppelganger companion.