While the silent melodramas of Frank Borzage sweep me away, the talking ones of Douglas Sirk leave me cold.
1910: Vaudeville performer Naomi Murdoch walked out on her husband and 3 children ten years before to become an actress but now receives a letter from her youngest daughter who is starring in a school play and wants Naomi to see it.
Naomi has lied that she is a successful dramatic actress but is sure she can play the grande dame for her family.
Naomi thinks her daughter shows talent but is alarmed when she says she wants to join Naomi in New York.
Naomi's presence causes her husband to rediscover his love for her while the eldest daughter and young son question their feelings of abandonment.
Much more disruptive is the presence of Naomi's old lover Dutch who is determined to force his way into her evolving re-adjusted priorities.
Shelf or charity shop? I think I can let this one go... the only reason to watch it is the usual take-no-prisoners performance of Barbara Stanwyck as Naomi. Her purring, husky delivery and powerful presence dominate the film - it's just a pity that she acts up a storm in a vacuum as Sirk cast a right load of luggage opposite her: Richard Carlson as her husband is dull, the two daughters deliver various levels of lethal pertness while Lyle Bettger as the lurking ex-lover doesn't have to act as the soundtrack signals he is no good by the dramatic stab of strings at his every appearance. Much better is Maureen O'Sullivan as the drama teacher slowly edged out of the husband's affections the more he falls back in love with his wife, and Richard Long makes an impression as the oldest daughter's beau. I can appreciate the air of small-town Americana that Sirk conjurs up but find him almost wilfully over-rated.
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