Maybe if it had been Natalie Wood or Kim Novak in the Sophia Loren role I would have believed the pairing with Tab Hunter. Loren is actually more miscast than Hunter is (as he's believable as the World War II paratrooper), because she seems to be playing a woman who is emotionally dead and can't be revived. Not something you expect from the spicy Loren who comes off as too strong and independent than the dominated kept woman she plays here. She's trying something new, and unfortunately under the direction of Sidney Lumet, it just doesn't work.
The supporting cast is quite strong, however, especially George Sanders as Loren's keeper who coldly explains what he expects from their marriage, Barbara Nichols as Loren's self-hating best friend (absolutely heartbreaking, especially when she's striving to pretend she's happy), Jack Warden as Hunter's pal who falls in love with Nichols yet doesn't understand her, and Keenan Wynn as the man Sanders has keeping an eye on Loren. Nichols certainly could have gotten an Oscar nomination for this as her pain flies off her like Hunter and Warden out of a plane in a parachute.
This is a depressing film as the two women seem resigned to their fate to remain miserable, as if they feel second rate and undeserving of any kind of contentment. Hunter's certainly a great guy, but he seems in over his head both in character and his screen charisma because while a lot more than just a beautiful block of wood, he seems lacking in passion for the woman he can't have and often seems to be sleepwalking around the other actors. With the supporting characters more complex, the leading story sadly lies down and dies, much like the women who do seem to secretly wish they could do just that.
The supporting cast is quite strong, however, especially George Sanders as Loren's keeper who coldly explains what he expects from their marriage, Barbara Nichols as Loren's self-hating best friend (absolutely heartbreaking, especially when she's striving to pretend she's happy), Jack Warden as Hunter's pal who falls in love with Nichols yet doesn't understand her, and Keenan Wynn as the man Sanders has keeping an eye on Loren. Nichols certainly could have gotten an Oscar nomination for this as her pain flies off her like Hunter and Warden out of a plane in a parachute.
This is a depressing film as the two women seem resigned to their fate to remain miserable, as if they feel second rate and undeserving of any kind of contentment. Hunter's certainly a great guy, but he seems in over his head both in character and his screen charisma because while a lot more than just a beautiful block of wood, he seems lacking in passion for the woman he can't have and often seems to be sleepwalking around the other actors. With the supporting characters more complex, the leading story sadly lies down and dies, much like the women who do seem to secretly wish they could do just that.