dbrayshaw

I just watched this fine movie for my first time in 2020, seventy-four years after its production. How is it that it has escaped my notice for these many decades?

Without a doubt, every actor was perfectly selected to play their parts and speak their lines, all of which filled the screen an honest purity of heart. It swept away my heart by its feeling of goodness despite the unveiling of tragic sorrows.

Tom Drake's portrayal of Robert Shannon taught me how very possible it is to maintain civility and charm even while assaults against one's dreams keep attacking at every angle. First off, he kept his faith, even after great tribulation.

My eyes teared throughout most of the movie because of the honesty, decency and kindness that accompanied the words spoken by Robert and others who surrounded his life. The hardest of life's questions and difficulties were no match for his faith in God, and his love for Alison Keith (Beverly Tyler) was never diminished, even for a second, throughout those hard times.

Why this movie did not receive an Oscar is beyond me. It deserves every bit to be esteemed as highly as possible.

If ever there was a movie that needed a Christian voice to aid in freeing individuals from their turmoil, to give each player meaningful direction and stability, this one is it.

So often, people think money can solve anything, it can buy anything, acquire anything, build contentment. But in this movie it is merely the coating to a tragic end. A fur coat, made from 30 dead minks, worth $7,000, taken in spite, because of a lifelong worldview that could not change, becomes the catalyst to tragedy.

Once one has dug themselves into an obsession for affirmation, it appears to be impossible to rise above that depth. For her, it began at thirteen and refused to stop. Sadly, there were no voices speaking life and formidable love. Only a few positive thoughts were spoken, which always dissipated in a minute.

One lesson to learn is that there is a difference between love and lust. The latter grips onto someone because that person looks good and is the desire of the city's male population. That road leads always to a dead end, for lust does not last. It is a feeling that will fade as the years pass on.

Elizabeth Taylor is strikingly seductive and sexier in this movie than in any film I can recall. Her appeal owns every scene. Above all that, however, is her acting, which very deservedly led to an Academy Award.