User Reviews

Charles Boyer plays a man everyone refers to as 'the Commander'. He was a commander in the navy during the war but apparently was injured badly and lost his mind. He isn't dangerous...but he forgets and is a bit scatterbrained. But one thing he does know is that he'd like to leave his family estate and move into a quiet place of his own. But what he doesn't realize is that his sister is a shrew...and his two brothers are under her thumb. All she cares about is the family reputation and fortune...and allowing the Commander to have money for this little house is something she'll never allow. You know she's a terrible person...but just HOW terrible comes as a bit of a shock later. How she is terrible and what this has to do with the Commander you will just have to see for yourself.

The ending to this show is marvelous...and makes the whole thing worth while. My only complaint is the weird malady the Commander has. It isn't really PTSD...and I wish they'd said he had a traumatic brain injury or something...otherwise his weird behavior and mental condition just didn't seem to make a lot of sense. Still, it's well worth watching.

This episode of the 'Four Star Playhouse' anthology series is a first class drama about the tragic effects of war and how many of the army veterans really suffer after they return home. It is bleak, gloomy, and incredibly painful. Boyer depicts a very sympathetic portrait of a mentally disturbed war Commander with a desperate condition in his estrangement from his family. His sister treats him with coldness regarding him a disgrace . All what matters for her is the reputation of the family and its welfare regardless of her brother's desire to have a little quiet place of his own. His family denies him this wish and declines his request of the money needed. Charles Boyer was always interested in studying each detail of the character he presented, so his immersion in the Commander's character is superb.

The screenplay by John Bagni and Gwen Bagni is excellent. The director Robert Florey added a very gloomy but absorbing atmosphere. Jeanette Nolan is marvelous in her chilling performance . Ellen Corby is so impressive and convincing in her sympathy with the desperate Commander.

Charles Boyer is so convincing here as this war vet who encounters so many difficulties to get back to life again. I guess that was exactly what many veterans lived too, vets disturbed by post traumatic disorders and I don't even speak of other financial issues...This story seems so realistic that I think it could not have been shown on the big screen, too gloomy, but only for TV audiences. And, of course, especially veterans. For an authentic war vet who would see this episode, I am sure this would be a painful experience because it would be so close to his own experience. Robert Florey gave a true little masterpiece with this pure drama, pulled by so convincing actors. An outstanding piece of work dedicated to those who fought for their country and who finally were not so well rewarded for this. Painful.