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Commerical artist Daisy Kenyon (Joan Crawford) is in love with married Dan O'Mara (Dana Andrews). She wants him but realizes he'll never divorce his wife (Ruth Warrick). She instead marries a man she doesn't love (Henry Fonda) to break it off with Dan completely. But things don't turn out all that well...

This starts off as a very interesting Crawford movie. It's beautifully shot in a film noir style which gives an appropriate tone to the film. She plays a woman who wants to move ahead but can't because of her love for the wrong man. The direction is good, the dialogue sharp and the acting is great by Andrews (never more romantic) and Crawford (never stronger). But it falls apart completely at the halfway mark and turns into a dreary romantic triangle. The ending especially was SO predictable it had me rolling my eyes. Still this is worth seeing for the direction and acting alone. Also there's a strong subplot dealing with child abuse! So this is worth seeing. I give it a 7.

This is a well-crafted "love triangle" movie in the visual style of film noir, but without the plot development typical of film noir. No murders, gangsters, or cops. The cinematography is excellent and Preminger shows his mastery as a director, eliciting stellar performances from Joan Crawford, Dana Andrews, and Henry Fonda.

Crawford in particular shows her star quality with superbly nuanced articulation and facial expressions. Her opening lines are amazing to listen to, her voice quavering nervously to show that she is under tremendous emotional pressure.

Dana Andrews gives probably the best performance of his career as the cheating husband who really wants to make things work, but is torn between his neurotic wife, his adorable kids, and his mistress.

Henry Fonda gives a brilliantly understated characterization of an eccentric war-torn hero hiding behind a veneer of gentleness and innocence, who cleverly but compassionately manipulates the situation in order to bring about a satisfactory resolution.

There a few plot twists and a happy ending. Highly recommended.

I've seen about a dozen Preminger films and this is my favorite. I wasn't expecting too much once the movie began because it seemed I had seen this all done before but Preminger's characters (as is usually the case) are much more realistic than typical Hollywood movies of this era. The characterization actually compares favorably to foreign films of the time, like for example Quai des Orfèvres from the same year; this movie could easily have been a French production. I'm not much a fan of Crawford or Fonda but this is probably the best I've seen Fonda; and Crawford was just fine. Dana Andrews is superb - probably his best movie! What made this movie for me was that I could relate to all three main characters - in many ways they are more ideas (or philosophies) than actual people but the odd thing is that the line was so blurred that even though I knew this was the case I still enjoyed them as people. What puts this above the other Premingers I've seen is the very tight script, the fast pacing, and three fully realized characters that came across not only as real but as themes in themselves. Add in a memorable supporting cast and everything just blends together to make a perfect concoction.

This one may seem quite turgid to a modern audience's sensibilities but, for its time, it was fairly strong stuff, with solid performances by its three leads, Crawford, Fonda and Andrews, under Otto Preminger's brisk direction. Dana, who never really achieved the recognition he deserved for the subtlety of his work, in an extremely difficult role, gives it all the shadings one could wish for. Nice production values and one of the talented David Raksin's best scores enhance a very watchable story with an outcome that isn't as predictable as it seems, come the final clinch.

I liked this film a lot because it's a rare movie where Joan Crawford doesn't overshadow her male co-stars and here she is pitted up against two fine male actors who match her emotions and intelligence. Dana Andrews was never better stepping out from his usual good guy roles to play a heel with compassion. Mr Andrews acting is both subtle and emotinaly strong. Coming off his strong performance a year earlier in the Best Years of Our Lives he was clearly at his peak at this time. There is a lot going on in this film from suggestions of child abuse on the part of Ruth Warrick to an interesting spin on the theme of infidelity where the most sympathetic character is the "other" woman Daisy Kenyon. I can see why this role would have appealed to Ms. Crawford having played variotions on it in "The Women" and "Rain" among others throughout her career. She is the wise one here and it makes the movie very interesting for that reason. I won't say who wins her in the end but it leaves a nice smile on your face and you have a little laugh to boot.