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I watched this film recently for the first time in over 30 years and was very pleasantly surprised. I remembered a film that caught the mood and feel of Britain in the mid 1960s without falling into the 'Swinging Britain' clichés that so many other films thought they had to propagate, my memory proved correct. Those who feel that this is like a TV play are not entirely wrong but while Andrea Newman was to become famous for risqué TV drama, this film is more in the tradition of the 'kitchen-sink'films such as 'Saturday Night And Sunday Morning' but with an emphasis on middle-class rather than working-class life. Rod Steiger is excellent as the middle-aged angst-ridden lead, unhappily married to a repressed and apparently barren wife (Claire Bloom). The onset of the 'Technological Revolution' is the the backdrop for the drama in which old values and certainties are challenged. This is the stage for the central character played by Judy Geeson, a role which at the time was a shocking departure from the typical prim behaviour of contemporary heroines. The reversal of roles, with the girl rating her conquests in a little-black-book was a precursor to the Feminist movement and was criticised at the time for promoting promiscuity among young girls. The irony of these criticisms is to be seen in both Claire Bloom's and Peggy Ashcroft's characters who are both acceptingly dissatisfied. Peter Hall made few films and on this evidence that is a great shame. Steiger is exemplary and wholly credible showing why he was so highly regarded

As a single mother in the 60's, this film has me hurtling back into that era...it is beautifully portrayed and Judy G. plays the cool wanton girl wonderfully.

It exudes an ambiance and is one of the few films I want to watch several times. Every time I feel nostalgic I dip into the video shelf and slip into those powerful wonderful 60's days!

Claire Bloom plays the suffering wife and childless woman so well, we feel the hollow in her own life. She is also trying to juggle her mother's demands with her own disillusionment regarding her marriage. The new 60's style home seems to emphasize the emptiness of her relationship with her husband. The freedom of Judy's character and the carelessness of her regard for "the baby" is in direct contrast to the hopes of Claire, in this regard.

This was a film I saw when it first came out. I have to be honest that after so many.... many years a great deal of the film is lost from my memory. I am sure though, that this was the film in which the use of a camera circling about two subjects was the best I have ever seen. My friend and I looked at each other at the end and nodded that we had to see the scene again so we stayed and watched.

The dialogue must have been so clever to match how the camera moved slowly around the two actors, drawing the viewer from one characters thoughts to the other. Generally now, this technique is just a technique without any real purpose. It was moving imaginative, questioning...I became a psychiatric nurse! It should be seen by everyone interested in great writing, directing, acting and camera work. Brilliant.

It's so seventies. I can even smell it like before the rain. A silent cold war that brought back all my life before my eyes again. And in the end everything goes up in flames like a volcano. It's real, because I watched it before and it was no movie. Brilliant, exceptional performance. And Claire Bloom. There I must stop. I am too small for such a great show. She does not need to talk even. Her eyes are saying a thousand words. Absolutely wonderful. This is the fifteenth film where I had the privilege of watching her performance. This is the fifteenth time where she is a completely different person. Even her voice is changed. Terry, Lady Anne, Barsine, Theodora ... and down on earth again with such pain, kindness and anger. Claire Bloom ...

The original cut of this very fine movie may well be lost but if you ever get the chance to see it, you should. It is not dreary or miserable, as other people have said, it is a slice of reality. Rod Steiger and Claire Bloom prove their acting credentials here, both put in great performances. Judy Geeson plays her part to perfection. You have to remember that this movie was made in in 1969 and released in 1970. With that in mind, it is easy to understand where this movie is coming from. So far as I know there is no video or DVD release plannned fo this classic. Write to Universal and demand a DVD release.