Reviews

The film is said by cinema historian J. Hoberman to have been inspired by the case of Edward U. Condon, a distinguished scientist on the Manhattan Project who resigned in protest of the heavy-handed security policies of General Groves. Condon later fell afoul of the HUAC; one of its reports, calling him the "weakest link" in nuclear security, haunted him for years. The movie obviously took the HUAC point of view, wildly exaggerating inflated rumors and false charges that Condon had been a spy.

A well-made and entertaining movie, as others have said, with gorgeous Big Sur photography. There is one amusing discrepancy, which is that Laura is forever rattling on about how she teaches Danny to disobey unjust laws and to have a reverence for life. (I'm paraphrasing here.) But the kid's in trouble for shooting a deer! Without a license! While under age, probably out of season!

Now most people don't think the fish and game laws are unjust, and shooting a deer hardly shows reverence for life, so her lessons aren't getting across. But nobody in authority brings this up to her, either the judge who's putting him in St. Simeon's School, or the headmaster thereof. I think in real life, the judge would certainly say, "Here's why I'm putting him in school. He's poaching deer, which are living things, and protected as public property, and you have failed in your duty to keep him from committing crimes, especially when firearms are involved!"

Especially since she's such a sanctimonious, argumentative know-it-all, with a huge chip on her shoulder. But that doesn't occur to anyone in this movie, probably because the kid is just a plot device to get Burton and Taylor together.

A well-made and interesting movie. Notice the use of the bizarre piles of dirt and holes as decoration for what becomes an abstract and striking set design. The movie is toned down quite a bit from the book, in which Aldo Ray's lust-maddened character rips the clothes completely off Griselda, in front of his wife and her sister! Then he drags her into a bedroom. You know, this story is ready for a remake, and I would definitely buy a ticket.

I just wonder about alicecbr, who says above, "Actually, Robert Ryan almost upped the ante from his '7 Days in May' stint where he lectured on the devil women sucking out the vital juices from the soldiers under his command." Robert Ryan? In "Seven Days in May?" Devil women? Can she be thinking of Sterling Hayden in "Dr. Strangelove" talking about the Commie plot to sap and impurify our precious bodily fluids? I can't think of any other movie that comes anywhere near that description, but if there is, I'd love to see it.