Happy go lucky Ed Begley is proud that his son (John Connell) is graduating from college, but Connell has other plans when dad shows up without mom. Wife Carmen Mathews is a bit of a shut-in, rather neurotic, and changing her mind a bit too late to go the commencement. It seems that in 1953, 50 was considered the age of starting to put people out to pasture, and Begley's boss points out that he hasn't kept up with the times.
The look of disappointment on Begley's face by his son's subtle rejection and boss Howard St. John's forcing him into a "vacation" really shows the power of acting without words, and it's quite masterful, up there with Begley's emotional performance in the TV play "Patterns" and its subsequent movie version, as well as his Oscar winning role as the powerful patriarch in "Sweet Bird of Youth". A fine drama that focuses on a subject that hasn't been dramatized, made more potent by a scene where his own father indicates through hints that he's been going through the same thing and Begley never even noticed. Quite memorable on many levels.
The look of disappointment on Begley's face by his son's subtle rejection and boss Howard St. John's forcing him into a "vacation" really shows the power of acting without words, and it's quite masterful, up there with Begley's emotional performance in the TV play "Patterns" and its subsequent movie version, as well as his Oscar winning role as the powerful patriarch in "Sweet Bird of Youth". A fine drama that focuses on a subject that hasn't been dramatized, made more potent by a scene where his own father indicates through hints that he's been going through the same thing and Begley never even noticed. Quite memorable on many levels.