It's odd that a movie which received a great deal of publicity and controversy in its day is now virtually forgotten. The controversy centered on whether the original novel by Richard Pitts Powell had been justly treated in its screen adaptation. Most critics who had actually read the book agreed that the cinema version, despite its long running time, was but a pale, watered-down shadow which failed to come to grips with any of the social issues Powell had raised.
However, I personally have never read the book (though I notice it is not one of these mammoth-sized epics, but has in its hardcover edition a modest 376 pages), so I can't comment on how far it's been corrupted in this slick screen version. However, expecting the worst, I was pleasantly surprised. All the principals bring a welcome charisma to their roles, whilst Sherman's direction is much more stylish than usual. Production values and technical credits are equally solid. And what's more important, the movie held my interest throughout.
The director, Vincent Sherman, did receive a bit of attention from the auteur brigade, mainly because he replaced Robert Aldrich on The Garment Jungle (1957). A literate man whose best films were made for Warner Bros., Sherman managed to make his films sound much more exciting in retrospect than they actually were. His best films were those he made early in his career such as All Through the Night (1941), The Hard Way (1942), Old Acquaintance (1943), In Our Time (1944), Mr Skeffington (1945).
However, I personally have never read the book (though I notice it is not one of these mammoth-sized epics, but has in its hardcover edition a modest 376 pages), so I can't comment on how far it's been corrupted in this slick screen version. However, expecting the worst, I was pleasantly surprised. All the principals bring a welcome charisma to their roles, whilst Sherman's direction is much more stylish than usual. Production values and technical credits are equally solid. And what's more important, the movie held my interest throughout.
The director, Vincent Sherman, did receive a bit of attention from the auteur brigade, mainly because he replaced Robert Aldrich on The Garment Jungle (1957). A literate man whose best films were made for Warner Bros., Sherman managed to make his films sound much more exciting in retrospect than they actually were. His best films were those he made early in his career such as All Through the Night (1941), The Hard Way (1942), Old Acquaintance (1943), In Our Time (1944), Mr Skeffington (1945).