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Marriage is a 30 billion dollar business! And that's just to get married.
When Fred asked for Mary's hand in marriage, she thought she had the happy ending she only read about in fairy tales. Now it's 16 years later; Fred has had an affair, and Mary drowns her sorrows in pills and booze, a dangerous combination that nearly resulted in her death the year before. As Mary rushes off to the Bahamas for a relaxing escape from her crumbling marriage, she reflects on the past and wonders just where it all went wrong.
CinemaSerf
Jun 3, 2023 · via TMDB
The interesting topic for this film just about gives it enough steam to sustain the almost two hours of screen time. Jean Simmons ("Mary") is suffering from a long-term ennui with husband "Fred" (John Forsythe) and after trying drink and drugs to stimulate her existence, she absconds to the Bahamas (pawning her watch to fund this) on the evening of their wedding anniversary. It's on the plane that she encounters old friend "Flo" (Shirley Jones) and her pal "Sam" (Lloyd Bridges) and upon arrival they take the now penniless "Mary" in charge. It doesn't take long for the disillusioned lady to start to release that the grass is never really any greener, but her time in this idyllic location does allow her to recalibrate her priorities and sense of self (as well as to evaluate how her own life bears comparison with those of her friends). Simmons reminded me a little of Liz Taylor in this film. She has a confidence to portray a middle aged woman with demons and doubts; flawed and envious but kind and lonely too. Jones is good, also, as the friend whose life adds up to little more than series of relationships with wealthy men who have delivered fun and luxury, but little of substance. It falls to Bobby Darin's ("Franco") to finally help the penny to drop. Sadly, the film also focusses on the other half of this partnership a little too much, as Forsythe just had no weight as actor. Sure he was debonaire and had a certain class about him, but even at his ostensibly most impassioned in this film, his characterisation of the loving husband was more akin to that of a caring doctor. There was nothing remotely visceral about his effort, and that - I felt - really compromised the overall value of the film. Lloyd Bridges was never my favourite actor either, and here he contributes little of value by way of a foil to the kindly but selfish Jones. Plenty for us to get our teeth into, with a good strong story (though I didn't much like the ending) directed with a pace that suited the star. The dialogue is wordy, and sometimes a little melodramatic, but it is still a vehicle for fans of Jean Simmons to enjoy. Could have been much better, though.
User reviews courtesy of TMDB.
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Jean Simmons
Mary Wilson
John Forsythe
Fred Wilson
Shirley Jones
Flo Harrigan
Lloyd Bridges
Sam
Teresa Wright
Mrs. Spencer
Dick Shawn
Harry Bricker
Nanette Fabray
Agnes
Bobby Darin
Franco
Tina Louise
Helen Bricker
Karen Steele
Divorcee
Eve Brent
Ethel
William O'Connell
Minister
Erin Moran
Marge as a Child (uncredited)
Ingrid Bergman
Self - Actress in 'Casablanca' (archive footage) (uncredited)
Humphrey Bogart
Self - Actor in 'Casablanca' (archive footage) (uncredited)
Clark Gable
Self - Actor in 'Susan Lenox' (archive footage) (uncredited)
John Gallaudet
Airplane Passenger (uncredited)
Greta Garbo
Self - Actress in 'Susan Lennox' (archive footage) (uncredited)
Leslie Howard
Self - Actor in 'Smilin' Through' (archive footage) (uncredited)
Jack LaLanne
Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
Pat Nixon
Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
Richard Nixon
Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom
Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
Elizabeth Taylor
Kay Banks (archive footage) (uncredited)
Spencer Tracy
Self - Stanley T. Banks (archive footage) (uncredited)
Conrad Hall
Director of Photography
Sydney Guilaroff
Hairstylist
Richard Brooks
Director
Richard Brooks
Producer
Michel Legrand
Original Music Composer
Michel Legrand
Songs
Harry Warren
Sound Recordist
Alan Bergman
Lyricist
Marilyn Bergman
Lyricist
Richard Brooks
Writer
1961
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