swinms

I agree with the poster who complained that this movie was full of errors. What could have been an interesting biopic based in fact was played for farce. I wouldn't blame the Duke estate for suing HBO. Surely there was more to this woman than drinking, pot-smoking, humping the young guys who worked for her, and generally behaving like Norma Desmond. It must have been difficult to portray Lafferty as a kind, unassuming, and diligent servant with a sad drinking problem when everything else I've read about him indicates that he was little more than a hustler and a user who ingratiated himself to an aging and infirm heiress. To me, the movie was a big let-down.

Perpetually petulant Ann Blythe plays a middle-class girl who discovers a big family secret on her 18th birthday. Surprisingly, a few of the scenes are not 100% predictable and, occasionally, a character behaves in a way or says something that you haven't seen 1000 times in movies of this era. This must have been the movie that won Jane Wyatt her iconic role as the wife in Father Knows Best. By the time that series came around,she had it all down pat. My favorite character from the movie was ZaZa, Blythe's shallow but affluent best friend. ZaZa actually made you feel more sorry for her than you did for the main character! And she was the rich, pretty one! Did anyone else feel that Blythe was too old for this part? It's a perfectly fine melodrama with some surprises - not too many, though.

I stumbled upon this movie on TMC. It was shown as part of a trilogy of "mother movies" on Mothers Day. I had never heard of it but was quickly drawn in by Thelma Ritter in the opening scene. Thelma had fourth billing but she was really the star. It's a sweet movie but predictable. I loved the cars, the sets, the costumes, the implausibility of the plot. Although the story had some serious moments and a morality lesson about snobbery, it was really just an opportunity to showcase Thelma Ritter doing what she does best - wisecracking, dispensing sage but sometimes caustic advice, and stealing all the scenes. Even the glamorous Gene Tierney and the best scene-stealer of all time, Miriam Hopkins, couldn't hold their own against Thelma. Interesting also to see Ellen Corby 20+ years before her Waltons fame. See the movie for Thelma Ritter. You'll laugh out loud.