Martha Wilcox
This seems to be Joan Fontaine's version of 'Love on the Dole' with Deborah Kerr. It's admirable that she wants to participate in the life of a former soldier who now ends up unemployed after the war. And to a certain degree it fits in with her image of being the devoted housewife who is loyal to her husband. But this is not how most women are, and that's why the film kind of drags its feet with a sense of unreality. There are a few films of this period that deal with unemployment, but it's depressing to watch. It doesn't make good entertainment, and the writer needs to find more creative ways to tell the story of unemployment after the war. The performances are good, but the handling of the subject matter is too linear.
adpye
Joan Fontaine and Mark Stevens make a wonderful newly-wed couple struggling with the daily ups and downs of life in pre-WWII and at the start of US involvement. Joan Fontaine makes a totally believable young wife who deals with unemployment, poverty, and the struggle to survive in the Bronx. Miss Fontaine, in a break from her shy wife roles, completely captivates the mood of the story and shows her versatility as an actress. She is wonderful in her role. Mark Stevens is wonderful,too,as her husband whose doubts about supporting his wife and his struggle to gain employment are sincerely portrayed. The film is based on a novel "All Brides are Beautiful". This film could have easily become a real "downer" but instead it inspires hope and faith in the human spirit. I highly recommend this film.
Neil Doyle
Joan Fontaine was hardly the right choice to play a Bronx housewife and yet, opposite newcomer Mark Stevens, she gives a sensitive, believable performance as a young woman coping with poverty, marriage and the adjustments that have to be made when hubby returns from the war. Small in scale when compared to films like 'The Best Years of Our Lives' which dealt with these kind of problems on a broader canvas. And yet, the realistic sets and the sincerity of the leading players does a lot to make this modest film both watchable and absorbing.Rosemary DeCamp, Harry Morgan and Bobby Driscoll are fine in the chief supporting roles. The soap opera effects that might have ruined this sort of story are missing--instead it settles for an honest treatment of post-war problems faced by many young couples in the '40s.Mark Stevens would later play Olivia de Havilland's husband in 'The Snake Pit' with even more success. (Joan Fontaine's sister, in case any of you don't know it!!)
luciferjohnson
OK, Joan Fontaine is no Bronx housewife. But this movie about the post-war travails of a New York City couple is genuinely moving. Mark Stevens comes across well in the lead, and Harry Morgan does nicely in a small role. True, these are probably the only non-ethnic people in the Highbridge section of the Bronx, but that's how it was in those days.
AD
