Susan Peters Won an Academy Award as Best Supporting Actress for "Random Harvest" (1942), only Her 3rd Year in Hollywood.
Unfortunately Tragic Struck Her in a Hunting Accident that Resulted in Paralysis and She was Confined to a Wheel-Chair for the Remainder of Her Life.
3 Years Later She was Offered the Role of a Sinister Evil Step-Mother, who Saved Her Best-Friends Children from Drowning,
Subsequently Marrying the Father (Alexander Knox) but Suffered in the Rescue Breaking Her Spine, and Therefore Unable to Walk and Wheel-Chair-Bound (like Susan).
That Caused Her to Go Insane, and She Became a Domineering, Deceitful Tyrant to the Children. Subtly Manipulating Them (now all grown up save Christine, a Tween).
The Challenge for Susan Peters, Beyond Being Handicapped, was the Nuance of Projecting a Loving, Calm Demeanor while Underneath Plotting and Spoiling the Lives of Her Step-Family.
She Does an Excellent Job, Standing Out Among the Willing and Dedicated Cast with a Production that Delivered a Lackluster Melodramatic Goth-Noir.
Some May Say that it was Brought to the Screen with a "Heavy-Hand". The New York Times Critic, the Ever-Elitist Bosley Crowther Panned it with a Passion and Employed an Ink-Stained "Heavy-Hand" to Trash it Completely.
Although She was Grateful for the Columbia Studio Effort but it was Unable to Fully Fulfill Her Life and With a Heavy-Heart and Suffering So Much Emotional and Physical Pain, She Ended Her Own Life a Few Year Later.
The Film, Her Last On-Screen Appearance, Billed as a Come-Back, is Inherently Morbid, but a Noble Good-Try from All Involved.
But it was Not Enough to Rejuvenate Her Interest in Life.
The Production is More About Susan Peters and the Human Condition then an Average Story,
with Below Average Production Values, and it's Only the Sad Back-Stage Real-Life Horror that Makes it a Must-See.
Everything Else is Average and Below-Average, it's Only Her Demanding Effort that Elevates it All to an Anomaly so Strange it Can Not be Ignored.
Perhaps as an Inspiration, Unrealized, but Still an Inspiration to Admire.
It's a Movie Well Worth a Watch to See a Good, but Stagy, Film and to Witness a Gallant, but Ultimately Unsuccessful "Return to the Screen" for a Young Woman.
After the Accident Unable to Heal Not Only Her Physical Injury, but it also Broke Her Will to Survive.
Unfortunately Tragic Struck Her in a Hunting Accident that Resulted in Paralysis and She was Confined to a Wheel-Chair for the Remainder of Her Life.
3 Years Later She was Offered the Role of a Sinister Evil Step-Mother, who Saved Her Best-Friends Children from Drowning,
Subsequently Marrying the Father (Alexander Knox) but Suffered in the Rescue Breaking Her Spine, and Therefore Unable to Walk and Wheel-Chair-Bound (like Susan).
That Caused Her to Go Insane, and She Became a Domineering, Deceitful Tyrant to the Children. Subtly Manipulating Them (now all grown up save Christine, a Tween).
The Challenge for Susan Peters, Beyond Being Handicapped, was the Nuance of Projecting a Loving, Calm Demeanor while Underneath Plotting and Spoiling the Lives of Her Step-Family.
She Does an Excellent Job, Standing Out Among the Willing and Dedicated Cast with a Production that Delivered a Lackluster Melodramatic Goth-Noir.
Some May Say that it was Brought to the Screen with a "Heavy-Hand". The New York Times Critic, the Ever-Elitist Bosley Crowther Panned it with a Passion and Employed an Ink-Stained "Heavy-Hand" to Trash it Completely.
Although She was Grateful for the Columbia Studio Effort but it was Unable to Fully Fulfill Her Life and With a Heavy-Heart and Suffering So Much Emotional and Physical Pain, She Ended Her Own Life a Few Year Later.
The Film, Her Last On-Screen Appearance, Billed as a Come-Back, is Inherently Morbid, but a Noble Good-Try from All Involved.
But it was Not Enough to Rejuvenate Her Interest in Life.
The Production is More About Susan Peters and the Human Condition then an Average Story,
with Below Average Production Values, and it's Only the Sad Back-Stage Real-Life Horror that Makes it a Must-See.
Everything Else is Average and Below-Average, it's Only Her Demanding Effort that Elevates it All to an Anomaly so Strange it Can Not be Ignored.
Perhaps as an Inspiration, Unrealized, but Still an Inspiration to Admire.
It's a Movie Well Worth a Watch to See a Good, but Stagy, Film and to Witness a Gallant, but Ultimately Unsuccessful "Return to the Screen" for a Young Woman.
After the Accident Unable to Heal Not Only Her Physical Injury, but it also Broke Her Will to Survive.