If you've read my reviews, you'll know I once nicknamed Ray Milland "Ray Mi-bland" and it stuck. I feel a little sorry for teasing him, since I've seen more of his movies and been exposed to more of his talent. He's a two-time Rag Award nominee now, and he earned his second nomination for his excellent performance in Night Into Morning.
In this heavy drama, Ray leans on the crutch of alcohol to drown his sorrows. Yes, he did that in The Lost Weekend, but unlike his Oscar-winning performance-for which he wasn't nominated for a Rag-in this movie, he has a very good reason for doing it. He starts the movie a happy man with a wife, son, house in the suburbs, and an enjoyable job as an English professor at the local college. There's a freak accident and the furnace in his house explodes, and his wife and son are killed. Let the poor man have a drink or two, for crying out loud!
There are so many great scenes in this movie, including the scene of the accident. Ray is giving a lecture on Shakespeare, and in the background, there's an unusual noise. Shortly afterwards, police sirens interrupt his speech, and then his colleague Nancy Davis bursts into his classroom with the terrible news.
In another touching scene, Ray offers his son's bicycle to a neighbor boy. He's trying to be calm and friendly, but the interaction is too much for him to handle and he explodes, "You can use it. You're alive! Go ahead, take it!" Ray continually bottles his emotions, but when he finally releases them, he'll have you reaching for the Kleenex box over and over again. Trust me, The Lost Weekend was merely a warm-up.
