Even though this movie was made when I was quite young, I first saw it years later when I was at an impressionable age, and found it to be a very moving story. The movie was changed quite a bit from the book, but both convey the story of a bereft, love-starved young girl who blossoms into a rapturously-fulfilled woman through an unexpected source. A handsome young man comes into her life while trying to escape other circumstances. Although I like both the movie and the book, the book has a much more hopeful ending and I don't know why the story was changed so much for the big screen. Nevertheless, I would very much like to see this movie become available to the public on DVD. Dean Stockwell as the young man is such a wonderful actor, very handsome, and much of his work of this period seems to be missing from publication. Melvyn Douglas is perfect as the domineering, abusive father, and Patricia Gozzi is lovely, vulnerable, and innocent just as is the central character in the book. This is a movie worth enjoying.
Review of Rapture
