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Everybody in this film talks about their feelings (or lack of feelings) in surprisingly articulate ways. The dialogue crackles and the actors are all in top form. Crawford and Sullavan have the best moments, but Douglas, Young and Bainter all create believable characters, too. Not a great film, but an interesting sexual, social and moral snapshot of the era. A must for admirers of Borzage and/or Margaret Sullavan.

Joan Crawford disrupts a family in "The Shining Hour," a 1938 film also starring Melvyn Douglas, Margaret Sullavan, Robert Young, and Fay Bainter.

Crawford is Olivia Reilly, a New York City dancer who works in a nightclub with a partner doing an act sort of modeled on Astaire and Rogers though it's clearly down several levels.

Melvyn Douglas is Henry Linden, a gentleman farmer who wants to take her away from all this to Wisconsin, and sick of her present life, she marries him. Arriving on the farm, she finds herself hated by Henry's sister, Hannah (Bainter), lusted after by Henry's brother David (Young) and loved and envied by David's wife Judy (Sullavan).

Before long, David is making overt passes, Henry has figured out David is in love with his wife, and in spite of herself, Judy begins to suspect the same thing.

This film is a little overdone, as it seems like the tension in the house never lets up. David always looks miserable, Judy always looks nervous, Olivia is always trying to be nice except when she's trading barbs with Hannah, and Hannah is nasty.

How any of them stood one another for more than ten minutes is a miracle. We are never allowed to see any happiness.

Also, the entire end of the film is a mess -- Judy takes a ridiculous step to make everything right, but it all goes in the opposite direction.

The most absurd part of the whole film, without giving anything away, is that one of the characters ends up wearing bandages - covering their nose and mouth with only the eyes showing. Now, how is anyone supposed to breathe like that? How did the actor breathe, in fact?

Joan Crawford looks beautiful and is very good in her role as a city slicker who wants to love her husband and environment but is finding it difficult.

Tall, elegant Melvyn Douglas, who thirty years later would emerge as one of the truly great actors in cinema, does a wonderful job as the even-tempered one of the family. For so many years, he played the family friend, the family lawyer, the other man - how, with all that magnificent talent, did he ever stand it?

Robert Young is fine as David, though Margaret Sullavan is so nice and sweet and so much in love with him that he's somewhat unlikable for coming on to Olivia. As the vicious Hannah, Fay Bainter is effective, though I'd have thrown her out of the house.

All in all, it's just okay.

The performances in this film are adequate, with standout performances by Margaret Sullivan and Fay Bainter. It is the writing that fell short.

The romance and sexual tension are never fleshed out. In fact, most of it is unbelievable. The film is still entertaining but only because of star power and the snide remarks Bainter flings at Crawford.

Had this not been made during the production code they might have been able to explore the seamier side of it. The way it is handled you just don't care about any of the relationships in the film.

Hattie McDaniel is always a delight to see and always leaves you wanting more.

Contrary to most of the opinions I read here, I did not find this film "soapy." I found it, refreshingly, a film for adults. For me, that's all too rare. I think it's about what relationship is, what love is and isn't, and most of all about the experience it takes and the resulting wisdom to build relationship beyond an adolescent understanding of love and attraction. And the great value of the self-knowledge that results. For me, that adult perspective was so refreshing and so rare that it beats out every other consideration. (Especially given the idiotic popular fare we're used to these days which substitutes a junior high school age cynicism for the difficult work of love.) Along with, say, "Dodsworth," for some reason Hollywood in this period was capable of some genuinely mature work for adults. The popular culture could use a little more. With Ogden Nash in the writing credits, I shouldn't be surprised at what I found valuable in this film.

Nightclub dancer Joan Crawford marries Melvyn Douglas, despite the disapproval of his brother, Robert Young. When he takes her back to the immense family farm, there are mixed reactions to her; sister-in-law Fay Bainter hates her, but Margaret Sullavan is friendly. When, however, it becomes clear that Young and Miss Crawford lust for each other, things become dramatic.

The first twenty minutes of this, set in the big city, are excellent, with the cocktail set the brothers associate with having many catty remarks to make about La Crawford, and Young certainly plays grumpy well. Once it gets to the country, however, this turns into a Code-compliant, Peyton Place film, and those two simply do not mix well. Everyone does well in their roles, although Douglas isn't given much to do, and only Miss Sullavan is excellent. Crawford had wanted her for the role, and Mayer had tried to talk her out of it, pointing out that Miss Sullavan would steal the show. Miss Crawford responded that she would rather be a supporting player in a great movie than a lead in a stinker. This one is neither, but although I enjoyed it a lot, I don't think it's a very good film.

Joan shined in-spite of the poor writing. Her performance and character was the only fully formed one. Definitely worth watching but be prepared for whiplash. The speed racer juggling relationships leave one asking, how did that happen. It's really too bad they didn't spend more time with character development. It would have been possibly an Oscar nominated movie. I understand better why Crawford was considered a star after she put with the poor writing in this movie. I know I've been critical of this movie but it really is worth seeing Crawford's performance. She is honest and true to her acting craft.

A promising, although hardly unique premise – wicked city woman (Joan Crawford) marries good ol' boy (this time a gentleman farmer, played by Melvyn Douglas) not for love, but because she's sick of her current lifestyle. Of course, plans go awry and this `intruder' into their pat little lives and old family ways unduly disrupts the farmer's whole family.

Unfortunately, The Shining Hour's structure is so episodic and choppy that none of the characters has time to be fully developed. This is a shame, as each of them appears quite interesting in the limited screen time allotted them. A longer running time and more character exploration would have benefitted the film greatly. As it is, every time a new tidbit of information is revealed that may be of interest to the viewer, some obvious plot point takes over and speeds things along toward the ludicrous ending. I was left shaking my head, groaning and shouting `NO!, NO!' at the screen more than once. Horrors.

CAST/PERFORMANCES: Joan Crawford gives a good performance here, and her beauty is almost overwhelming. Melodrama (which this film most definitely is) was her forte, and she excels as wrong-side-of-the-tracks dancer Olivia Reilly, looking to better her stature and improve her social standing through her association with new husband Harry Linden (Melvyn Douglas) and his well-established, none-too-poor family. Crawford comes off very believably in this role, and she's great in it.

Melvyn Douglas does an excellent job as Crawford's husband. I thought he was very adept at both the tender, quieter scenes as well as the angrier ones. As Harry Linden, he is a very sympathetic character who tries to keep everyone happy, and almost loses everything despite his efforts.

Robert Young's character is an enigma, and he plays the complex role of David Linden, Harry's brother, very well. David is a moody individual, and the viewer is never sure how he will act or react next. Young gives a thoughtful, yet strong performance. Having had quite a few roles like this in his younger days, it's unfortunate that he lapsed into mawkish television roles later in his career.

I can't relate at all to the character of Judy Linden, played by Margaret Sullavan. I like her performance, and think she does well with the words she is given to say. She cries well, too, which I always admire in an actor or actress, yet for me the role is too self-sacrificing, and her unbelievable character is the downfall of the entire scenario. Why, why, why???

Fay Bainter is usually better than she is here. I just didn't feel the menace that her character (Hannah Linden) was supposed to evoke, except for the party and fire scenes – those were done very well. Hannah's character seems to be the forerunner of Luz Benedict (played by Mercedes McCambridge) in Giant. There are several similarities between the two. It's too bad that both performances are also somewhat lackluster.

GOOD POINTS, BAD POINTS: If you can ignore the implausibility of the outcome and the fact that some of the action is simply mind-numbingly hard to take, you might consider watching this film. My advice is to give The Shining Hour a chance, because aside from the goofy, terribly abrupt ending, it does have some elements to admire, including some thoughtful dialog and especially the humanity of the characters, which is surely the film's strongest point. However, this ruined potential makes it extra frustrating to watch, so keep all heavy objects out of your reach as you tune in.

High class soap opera with the MGM sheen and a cast of great actors. Joan's a respectable if restless performer who marries Melvyn Douglas on a whim and goes back to his family home where trouble awaits and that's when the fun begins.

The story of family animosity and dangerous attraction isn't anything new but as presented here by these super professionals and director Borzage they find ways to make it compelling.

Joan is unquestionably the star of this enterprise and she holds her own with the strong cast that surrounds her while looking glamorous and suffering nobly.

Fay Bainter turns her usual warm and understanding persona on its ear as a harridan twisted by jealousy and bitterness. Robert Young turns in good work as a bit of a weasel and Melvyn Douglas although Joan titular co-star really doesn't have much to do and is absent from a good deal of the film but he does what is required of him with his usual skill. The marvelous Hattie McDaniel has a tiny role as Joan's maid with the improbable name of Belvedere and injects a small dose of levity into the heavy going dramatics.

Good though they may be and Joan is the queen of this little opus they are all outshone by one of their fellow actors. Margaret Sullavan as Young wife gives a performance of such quiet beauty she wipes anyone else off the screen whenever she's on it. An actress of great skill and subtle intensity she makes her Judy a character that seems far more real and relatable than anybody else on screen. Her output was small, only 16 films in total, but she always had a vivid and alive presence on screen.

If you enjoy dramas with an adult, if a tad melodramatic, outlook enacted by talented performers this is for you.

Olivia Riley (Joan Crawford) is a New York nightclub dancer. She finally accepts the marriage proposal from Henry Linden (Melvyn Douglas) who comes from a wealthy Wisconsin family. His brother David (Robert Young) and sister Hannah (Fay Bainter) try to dissuade them from their union. David's wife, Judy (Margaret Sullavan), seems to be Olivia's only ally.

It's soapy and a pulpy romantic melodrama. It's also Crawford. She's a shining star whenever she's on the screen and she outshines the material. The question is whether she can elevate this movie enough and that's still in doubt.

What a weird one. Starts out as a relatively normal soaper about a nightclub dancer (Joan Crawford) who marries a wealthy farmer, played by Melvyn Douglas. There's all the usual tropes you would expect from a class warfare type of drama. But added to that are some bizarre characterizations from Fay Bainter as Douglas' jealous sister, Robert Young as Douglas' moody brother who is suddenly overcome with lust for Joan, and Margaret Sullavan as Young's poor wife who is the most sympathetic character in the movie until the hysterical climax. Add to this a scene with a dimwitted farm hand trying to force himself on Joan and she punches him out and you've got a pretty overwrought melodrama. Nice cast, and it's definitely interesting, but it's a little hard to take seriously at times. Soap opera fans will probably enjoy it most.

A perfect example of the Thalberg/Selnick/MGM high-style at its most polished. Flawlessly directed by the under-rated contract director Frank Borzage, the film features superb ensemble work from the entire stellar cast plus an unusually malicious turn by Fay Bainter who never quite showed her lady-like fangs like this before. Adapted from a well-made Broadway play of 1934, the sexual tension between the two unloving couples could never be realized as it might have been had there not been censorship so instead of a little explosive adultery and fiery hanky-panky, as the plot seems to suggest, we end up with a hot summer night instead with everyone complaining about the heat until the "burning" resolution --but not the one you might think. (Had Tennessee Williams been around in those days we might have had an entirely different ending.) Yes, it is definitely a soap opera but MGM always gave us the best soap money could buy!

I always wanted to see this movie. It was one that Joan Crawford wanted to do after so many mediocre movies in the mid-30's. But I just did not like it. It was based on Keith Winter's Broadway hit but it was probably overly sanitized for the post-1933 censors that did not allow characters to have real problems unless they were killed for their human indiscretions. The cast is tops. Youthful Joan , the lovely Margaret Sullivan, the excellent Robert Young, the charming Melvyn Douglas and the superb character actress Fay Bainter. The script just does not properly develop why these characters especially Bainter's are so conflicted. And Joan seems too mannered in that way that made it look like she was just walking through the part. Not one of Joan's classics but watchable nonetheless. Bainter walks away with it though her character's sudden change at the end does not make any sense.

What a waste of talent. This film had such potential, the cast is excellent and the story idea is good. Glamorous city girl Olivia (Crawford) marries "country farmer" (who farms in suits?) Henry Linden (Douglas), from an old family. They move to Wisconsin to live with the Linden family, supposedly dour spinster sister Hannah (Bainter), lifeless brother David (Young) and his loving wife Judy (Sullavan).

Before you know it, David and Olivia are apparently, passionately, in love. How did this love develop? Nothing real is shown; Henry and Olivia arrive in Wisconsin and suddenly, love! No tension, buildup, or even scenes between the two until suddenly, David proclaims it! And the great fuss that is made about Hannah's hatred of Olivia, it is not really shown and developed either, just some rather mild comments and barbs from Hannah, directed at Olivia. No tension between the characters at all. It is a jarring moment, during the fire, when Hannah looks gleefully on as the fire burns and then screams crazily at Henry. Next, the siblings are together and all is well between Henry and Hannah, she is smiling at him and nice to Olivia. What? It's all just out of the blue and doesn't fit.

Sullavan's character Judy is the most interesting at first, she is realistic about her relationship with her husband David. She doesn't believe Hannah initially, that something is happening between Olivia and David. Why should she, the film doesn't develop any attraction between the two! In the end, Judy is the one martyred, as so many films then must have a suffering female. Yes, sacrifice her man, for love.

And then the movie ends with Olivia joining her city friend who was only in the movie for a few moments? This movie is disjointed and has no real development of the characters and story lines. Terrible waste of talent and potential.

I happened to catch this film one afternoon on TCM and was pleasantly surprised. Joan Crawford and Margaret Sullavan had amazing chemistry. Melvyn Douglas, Robert Young and Fay Bainter were also their usual wonderful selves. I was very taken when Joan lovingly embraced her maid played by the amazing Hattie McDaniel. I'm sure that raised eyebrows back in 1938, especially in the South. It was most poignant. Overall, it was a good movie, well directed and well played.

'The Shining Hour' had great potential to be at least a very good film, even a great one. It should have been really. Considering that it had such a talented cast involved in Joan Crawford, Margaret Sullavan, Melvyn Douglas, Robert Young and Fay Bainter, not to mention Hattie McDaniel. Also like Frank Borzage as a director a good deal, usually in lighter fare, but it did seem like 'The Shining Hour' would have material that he could do a lot with.

A great film 'The Shining Hour' sadly was not and it did disappoint, it is the sort of film that has a type of story that has been known to work very well but sadly this falls into most of the potential traps. Irredeemable films are come to think of it a minority handful, and 'The Shining Hour' is a long way from being in that minority handful. The atmosphere, visuals and especially the cast make it worth a one-time watch for curiosity and completest sake (Crawford was my biggest reason), but the numerous big problems (mostly story-related) mar the film badly and makes it a rather average effort.

What saves 'The Shining Hour' in particular is the acting, which is so good and so committed that it is worth more than one star. The best performance comes from Sullavan, her embittered and conflicted character is the most interesting and Sullavan is moving in the part. Very close behind is Crawford, Crawford really throws herself into her role, without resorting to unbalanced over-acting. Young's character sounds bland on paper, but actually his performance is surprisingly complex and nuanced. Douglas doesn't have a lot to do but is his suave and charming self. Bainter is typically more than reliable, making the most of her screen time, same with McDaniel in a type of role she played very well and one of the best at the time at.

Borzage generally keeps things moving at a decent clip, visually his direction is stylish and the atmosphere he creates is often vivid. 'The Shining Hour' has very atmospheric and glossy production values, some thoughtful scripting, moments where it's moving and Franz Waxman's (another interest point, he was one of the best film composers at the time) score is typically lush and haunting.

It is a shame though that the script and especially the story don't fare anywhere near as well. The script mostly was undercooked depth-wise and was very soapy and over-heated, especially in the second half. Some of the film could have had a lot more momentum and done a lot more with the subject matter it had, meaning more tension.

Furthermore, the story felt rather choppily told, with a lot of going on to the next event/idea quite quickly without developing the previous idea enough. It can get very silly and some very senseless character decisions can be seen. A major character change for one character towards the end comes completely out of the blue and doesn't make any sense. We never really get to know the characters, ones that are pretty underdeveloped and it is not always clear why they makes the decisions they make. As for the ending, it is very abrupt, in introduction and round-off, strains credibility and very contrived.

Concluding, disappointingly average but a long way from unwatchable. 5/10

Although not the most exciting film, this soap opera is one of the 1930's most intelligent films. Crawford, Bainter and Sullivan are riviting in their respective roles. Crawford's stock-in-trade intelligent line readings are never more clearly outlined than in this film.

This movie is far more interesting than it should be, thanks to the very articulate discussions of feelings or the lack thereof. Good acting by Joan Crawford, who is no favorite of mine and Margaret Sullivan, who is and Hattie McDaniel who always seems to bring some needed reality to any situation with an intelligence not exceeded by anyone in the film. Fay Bainter is good at playing with her claws out.

I'm not quite sure what the point of THE SHINING HOUR is since the talky screenplay has everyone telling everyone else what their theories are of the relationships between men and women. Perhaps it's selfish people deserve each other. That's what JOAN CRAWFORD seems to think when she admits that she has everything she wants, including wealthy MELVYN DOUGLAS and a lovely house and everything that goes with luxurious country living. A far cry from the chorus girl existence she knew before.

ROBERT YOUNG only knows that he's smitten with Crawford to the point where his wife, MARGARET SULLAVAN, can't help noticing it. She's the good girl type, warm and appealing in the way she greets Crawford as a new member of the family when she married MELVYN DOUGLAS. But soon she's all misty-eyed at the thought that Robert Young doesn't love her any more.

The story gets a darker element from the bitter woman that FAY BAINTER plays, as the sister of Douglas and Young who resents the intrusion of Crawford, whom she deems not worthy of them. She's so driven by her dislike of Crawford that she takes some desperate measures which don't seem a bit believable--even so far as setting a new house on fire to destroy a marriage she doesn't believe in.

None of it really makes much sense, when you stop to think about it. And oddly enough, the ever reliable FAY BAINTER isn't the least bit effective or interesting as Hannah, the cold-hearted woman who only has a change of heart in the film's final scene. Her motivations, and those of MARGARET SULLAVAN who is all self-sacrificing nobility, are never really made convincing.

Watchable for the professional poise of JOAN CRAWFORD and the others, who are really giving this soap opera more dignity than it deserves.

Joan Crawford plays the role of Oliva Riley, a dance hall gal who has been around the block quit a few times and meets up with a certain guy. That guy is Melvyn Douglas, (Henry Linden) ,"Once Upon a Tractor",'65, who is very wealthy and falls madly in love with Oliva and brings her into his world of large homes and one very unhappy sister. Hattie McDaniel,(Belvidere),"Gone With the Wind" gives a great supporting role as the maid to Oliva Riley. Oh, yes, Robert Young(David Linden),"The Half Breed",'is married but also seems to have eyes for Oliva along with a teenage boy who plays the trumpet. This is truly a great cast of veteran actors who contributed a great deal to the silver screen of Hollywood.

Pretty dim ninety minutes. It's typical late Hollywood Depression era stuff, based on a play, with lots of creaky melodramatics (persons running into burning houses, adulterous kisses followed by hushed recriminations) and the women speaking in vaguely British accents even though they're supposed to be from Wisconsin and NY. It all adds up to boredom interspersed with unintentionally funny moments, like Margaret Sullivan swathed in bandages, looking like The Mummy's Bride, in the film's lugubrious finale. Usually a stylish director like Frank Borzage can make you forget, at least for a while, that you're watching such schlock. Not this time. The visual elements of the film are uninspired, with lots of phony backdrops, standard Rich People interiors and Lake Arrrowhead doing a pretty bad job of simulating The Badger State. About the only halfway decent thing in it is a strong performance by Fay Bainter as a meddlesome, half sophisticated, half snobbish, spinster sister. Would have liked to have known more about her character, like why she's unmarried, but Jane Murfin and Ogden Nash's screenplay is too busy dealing with the dull love triangle of Robert Young, Joan Crawford and Sullivan for any such descent into interesting psychological terrain. And this has to be the dullest Melvin Douglas performance I've ever seen. All the guy does is chuckle and fiddle with his pipe. And occasionally snarl at Bainter. Give it a C.

A minor work by highly talented Frank Borzage is always worth watching .Coming after "Three comrades" it cannot hold a candle to it.But Margaret Sullavan is featured again as Judy and it's finally her character who sums up Borzage's philosophy in "the shining hour" : a woman whose love is so true and so pure she will do anything to make her husband happy ,even if she's got to give everything she's got even her own life.

The screenplay often recalls "Waterloo Bridge" (the first version was made in the early thirties ,the Leigh/Le Roy version was released later in 1939): a plebeian (Crawford) is an intruder in a posh aristocratic milieu.But she is a dancer ,not a prostitute !The only person who wants to get rid of her is old sister Hannah ,still a spinster,but the true reason is not that she's not in the same league (the tea scene is revealing) but that she stole her brother from her.Hannah is an over possessive sister ,in love with Henry ,Fay Bainter's performance leaves no doubt about it.There's a similar relationship in Hitchcock highly underrated "Marnie " (1964) between Sean Connery and Diane Baker.