FAQ

Lonely, middle-aged typist Millicent "Millie" Wetherby (Joan Crawford) takes a chance on marriage with lonely, younger Burt Hanson (Cliff Robertson) only to discover that he is mentally unstable. When Burt's father (Lorne Greene) and ex-wife Virginia (Vera Miles), who Burt discovered making love to each other, show up to demand his signature on some divorce papers, Burt spirals downward into full psychosis, forcing Millie to have him committed, knowing that he might well emerge cured but no longer in love with her.

The story and screenplay is credited to screenwriters Jack Jevne, Lewis Meltzer, and Robert Blees. However, Jack Jevne was a front for American screenwriter Jean Rouverol and Canadian screenwriter Hugo Butler, both of whom were blacklisted by the movie studios during the 1950s.

No ages are mentioned in the movie. However, Joan Crawford was 50 at the time, and Cliff Robertson was 33, a spread of 17 years.

After six months in the sanitarium, Burt is finally ready to be sent home. Millie is hesitant about going to pick him up, unsure of what his feelings will be for her. She arrives at the hospital to find Burt in the garden chatting with a pretty, young nurse. Burt and Millie approach each other wordlessly, then Millie begins to babble about Burt cutting himself off from his father and offering to let him cut her out of his life, too, if that's his choice. As Millie turns to walk away, Burt follows behind her and asks to see the hand he hurt with the typewriter. When she shows him, he kisses it, then takes her in his arms and kisses her lips. In the final scene, they walk across the grounds holding each other.