When I first saw this years ago I remember being impressed by the work of Dorothy Malone and Robert Stack, but on re-viewing both are over the top - Malone indicates all over the place, chews the scenery and camps it up (check out the end where she's stroking the model oil rig); Stack tries within his limitations but still remains stiff and awkward. Both are out-acted by Rock Hudson and Lauren Bacall, giving sensitive, intelligent performances; Hudson is a revelation here - it's not surprising to see people give the reading that he is in love with Stack rather than Bacall, but regardless his emotional pain and longing is very well conveyed and effective.
Bright colours, plenty of subtext, and you can interpret the film a lot of different ways, which helps explain why it's been popular with film scholars as well as regular fans. I always remember the scene at the end where Malone accuses Hudson of murder and all the journos get up, jump over their seats and try to go for their phones - for some reason this visual image has always stuck with me.
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