I can't remember when I fell in love with Lee Remick. She was about 20 years my senior when I was growing up and when I think about those blue eyes looking through me from the screen, I get a bit nostalgic. Even when they were on black and white TV, they were blue. It killed me when her character died in The Omen. Especially true since she died with those eyes wide open. George Peppard was someone I envied. A good looking ladies man that I would never be. I remember well when his character died in the final moments of The Blue Max. It was a good role for him and he got to play a "bad guy." Both of these actors are actually gone now, so I am really glad I have nothing bad to say about their performances.
This simple low budget made for TV movie is probably something neither of them remembered very well near the end of their careers. I liked them and all of their supporting cast. I disliked a lot of the other stuff. I will admit that I am particularly critical of TV and movie plots that involve disrespect for a spouse that has not earned such behavior. I can be happy if the story involves a sufficient amount of karma, sorrow, regret, punishment, etc. for the cheaters. This one almost got there. Regardless of the title "Torn Between Two Lovers" this is a story of a cheating wife Diane Conte (Lee Remick) and a good and loving husband Ted Conte (Joseph Bologna.) The character of the new lover Paul Rasmussen (George Peppard) is called into question for me when he says "I usually don't pursue a married woman." To me, that is just like saying "I usually don't eat the heads off dead kittens." You really only have to do it once to earn my disdain. The title was just mostly a gimmick so they could use the popular song "Torn Between Two Lovers". They tried to make it into a "torn" issue somewhere after the middle of the movie, but it was mostly a lying, cheating and deception on her part till then. The fact that she still loved her husband was a bit unique to a movie love affair. Usually, the cheating partner convinces themselves otherwise.
It was a bit clever how the movie made the transition from her cheating to her having to "choose" rather than just keep lying. She and her husband were closely involved in the disintegration of another marriage in the family that involved a cheating husband. The woman at some point said to them that she just wished she had never known about the affair so she could still be with the man she loved. The husband of Lee Remick's character disagreed. His thought was honesty was paramount in marriage. Lee Remick got that amazing sad, pained, guilty look in her eyes that was on display several times during the course of this film. Lee Remick's character's decision to come clean with her husband was also driven by her lover who was now pushing her to leave her husband and be only with him.
When she did tell her husband, she seemed astonished that he would not stay with her to help her resolve her "song lyric" version of the reality of cheating. "Stay with me and help me figure this out" was her rather naive thought. If it were that simple why did she lie for so long? He left her as many men would. So there was currently still no issue of being "torn between two lovers" because he made the decision for her. At that point, her marriage was destroyed along with her young son who was listening. (How dare he get in the way of her finding herself...Sorry, I'm a child of divorce.) Que the blue eyes though! Oh, those eyes.
OK, I will admit it finally did come down to her being "Torn Between Two Lovers." When her husband showed up to attend an important public opening she had been working on, that action let her know or at least think that he was still interested in her. She finally had to decide. Each man had made it clear by words or actions they were not willing to share her. She had to pick between two men she claimed to love equally.
Warning! I want to describe the ending I dearly desired for this movie. To accomplish that I will spoil the ending that I got! You have been warned!
In the closing minutes, she tearfully breaks up with her lover Paul to seek reconciliation with her husband and family. She later approaches her husband Ted at his workplace to say she has done this and hopes she and he can be together. He says it will never be the same and he doesn't want to spend the rest of his life looking over his shoulder. As she is saying that he won't have to worry about that, he turns away and walks out the door. The soundtrack starts playing the part of the song that says "...I wouldn't blame him if he turned and walked away." She looks (with those eyes) as if she half expected to be rebuffed like this and sadly and slowly turns to walk away herself. ****Hit the pause button now and turn the TV off if you want my ending. This is the karma I wanted for the cheating wife. To be alone with no husband, no lover and no family.**** Unfortunately, he walks back through the door and calls to her. They agree to start again. I will admit that those few seconds of karma felt like the right ending. I wonder how much talk went on between the writers, director and producer about whether or not he would turn around and come back through those doors. I wonder if that piece of film was almost left on the cutting room floor.
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