After the success of Splendor in the Grass William Inge couldn't cop a break, on Broadway or Hollywood. This was based on a script and one act play of his, but Inge disliked what was done to it so much he had a nom de plume put on, "William Gage".
I haven't read the original script so I don't know what was changed - apparently Ann Margret's role was beefed up - but it still feels like an Inge work. To wit, it's about a hot young stud who makes women pant who rocks up in a small town.
He's played by Michael Parks whose James Dean esque looks are exploited to the nth degree. He is propositioned by a lonely middle aged gay man, and panted over by various housewives as he sells vacuum cleaners, is lusted by his ex Ann Margret and adored by his sister Kim Darby and school age young thing Janet Margolin.
Actually, in the second half the added Ann Margret bits feel more obvious. She goes to a packed diner/cafe place and does a dance, and later does a sexy dance in a bedroom. These scenes feel weird and clash with other scenes where her character is depicted sympathetically.
I understand the filmmakers nervousness but if they wanted to jazz up the material they could've done it with sex scenes - like have Parks and Ann Margret in bed more often, having chats, flashing bare backs. Like Room at the Top or (to give a recent American example) The Cincinnati Kid or something. There's nothing wrong with beefing up Ann Margret's part - she's a more engaging character than Janet Margolin. But the depth isn't there.
Also the film needed small town atmosphere but seems to have been shot on the Universal backlot. It's made with Universal cheapness.
I think director Harvey Hart tried but this movie needed that little more care and sensitivity to work. It's hard to do rough adaptations of Bill Inge. They are about a time and place as much as the characters.
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