Mae Doyle comes back to her hometown a cynical woman. Her brother Joe fears that his love, fish cannery worker Peggy, may wind up like Mae. Mae marries Jerry and has a baby; she is happy but... Read allMae Doyle comes back to her hometown a cynical woman. Her brother Joe fears that his love, fish cannery worker Peggy, may wind up like Mae. Mae marries Jerry and has a baby; she is happy but restless, drawn to Jerry's friend Earl.Mae Doyle comes back to her hometown a cynical woman. Her brother Joe fears that his love, fish cannery worker Peggy, may wind up like Mae. Mae marries Jerry and has a baby; she is happy but restless, drawn to Jerry's friend Earl.
- Waiter
- (uncredited)
- Restaurant Patron
- (uncredited)
- Guest
- (uncredited)
- Restaurant Patron
- (uncredited)
- Fisherman
- (uncredited)
- Restaurant Patron
- (uncredited)
- Guest
- (uncredited)
- Fisherman
- (uncredited)
- Fisherman
- (uncredited)
- Man
- (uncredited)
- Director
- Writers
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Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaThis movie was shot while Barbara Stanwyck was in the process of divorcing Robert Taylor. The movie also features the rising young star Marilyn Monroe. Barbara gives a good performance in one of her most memorable films. Despite her emotional devastation due to the divorce, the crew noted Stanwyck's lack of a diva tantrum. Fritz Lang later said, "She's fantastic, unbelievable, and I liked her tremendously. When Marilyn missed her lines - which she did constantly - Barbara never said a word."
- GoofsDuring the tavern scene, Mae and Jerry watch the moon rise over the ocean. The film takes place in Monterey, California, which is on the West coast, where the moon rises over the hills and sets on the ocean.
- Quotes
Peggy: Weren't you ever in love, Mae?
Mae Doyle: Once.
Peggy: Where?
Mae Doyle: Saint Paul. He was big too, like Jerry. I'll say one thing. He knew how to handle women.
Peggy: Is that what you want from a man?
Mae Doyle: Confidence! I want a man to give me confidence. Somebody to fight off the blizzards and floods! Somebody to beat off the world when it tries to swallow you up! Me and my ideas.
- Crazy creditsand introducing Keith Andes
- ConnectionsEdited into Les Amoureux du cinéma (1987)
- SoundtracksI Hear a Rhapsody
Sung by Tony Martin
Written by George Fragos (uncredited), Jack Baker (uncredited) and Dick Gasparre (uncredited)
At least the movie has Andes and Monroe whose characters come across as refreshingly natural, along with revealing stock footage of the fishing industry. However, the rest of the film is pitched about ten decibels over the top, with all the subtlety of a hammer blow. Douglas's Jerry is not just a nice guy, he's a rub-your-nose-in-it Nice Guy. Similarly for Ryan's cynical Earl and Stanwyck's hard case Mae. Not even such first-rate performers as these can overcome the relentlessly overblown dialog or stagy sets. Nor does it appear the three were allowed to shade their performances beyond one-dimensional caricature. At the same time, the symbolism of roiling seas and surging tide is about as necessary as gravy on soup. In short, the movie amounts to a textbook exercise of heavy-handed histrionics and too much talk, Fritz Lang or no Fritz Lang.
I expect other reviewers are right about the material being shaped for 1950's audiences. In those days, one way of getting people away from TV was to promise them titillation since there was none on TV. But then producers faced the problem of Production Code limits on what could be shown or said on screen, especially in the way of sex. Thus, the emphasis in the film is on the atmospherics of desire instead of anything more literal. This results in a movie that, unfortunately, drowns in an overlay of heavy breathing, standard innuendo, and redundant symbolism. Such may have titillated audiences then; now there's just a dreary sameness in the repetition. At the same time, that turnaround ending shouldn't be overlooked. Unhappily, it's of the same Code-compromised sort that damaged more 50's movies than just this one.
I guess my biggest regret is how the movie takes three of Hollywood's most capable actors and reduces them to near-caricature of their usual screen persona, Douglas and Ryan, especially. Here's hoping they were at least well paid.
- dougdoepke
- Aug 5, 2012
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Details
Box office
- Gross worldwide
- $62
- Runtime1 hour 45 minutes
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 1.37 : 1