Watched this on my own on Wednesday night - it's part of some satellite channel's Oscar themed programming, since Elizabeth Taylor snagged the best actress award for her portrayal of the absurdly named good-time girl Gloria Wandrous. Taylor looks like she's heading down hill, which is exactly right for the role, but has far too many opportunities to do her usual whiny and slightly too high-pitched melodrama delivery, which I've never been a fan of.
Weston Liggett (yes I know! There's even a character called Fanny Thurber!) is an unhappily married lush who finds true love with Gloria. Played by workaholic Laurence Harvey (who put 4 films in the can in 1960), you can see from his performance here why he was a natural for unlikable Sargent. Raymond Shaw in the far superior The Manchurian Candidate (1962).
It's not a very good film but it provides a fascinating study in crappy female arch types. Gloria is promiscuous and heartless because she was sexually abused as a child. Her mother can best be described as pathetic and unable to acknowledge the reality of her daughter's lifestyle. Liggett's wife is actually frightening in her determined subservience.
More spoilers after the jump.
Am I the only one who thought it was strange that Liggett basically murdered Gloria? And that no one said anything about it? Is this just because everyone accepts that the bad woman needs to die at the end?
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