Home Before Dark (film)
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| Home Before Dark | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Mervyn LeRoy |
| Written by | Eileen Bassing Robert Bassing |
| Produced by | Mervyn LeRoy |
| Starring | Jean Simmons Dan O'Herlihy Rhonda Fleming Efrem Zimbalist Jr. |
| Cinematography | Joseph F. Biroc |
| Edited by | Philip W. Anderson |
| Music by | Franz Waxman |
| Distributed by | Warner Bros. Pictures |
Release date | November 16, 1958 |
Running time | 136 min |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $1.39 million[1] |
Home Before Dark is a 1958 Warner Brothers drama film, directed and produced by Mervyn LeRoy, and starring Jean Simmons, Dan O'Herlihy, Rhonda Fleming and Efrem Zimbalist, Jr..[2] The screenplay was written by Eileen and Robert Bassing, based on the novel by Eileen Bassing. The title song was written by Sammy Cahn with music by Jimmy McHugh.
The film, and Simmons' performance in particular, attracted positive critical comment. Pauline Kael of the New Yorker: "Jean Simmons gives a reserved, beautifully modulated performance,"[3] - and film critic Philip French believed it contained "perhaps her finest performance."[4]
Story
Charlotte Bronn leaves the Maraneck State Hospital mental institution in New England, after a year there, to resume her life in a chilly relationship with her distant and emotionally repressed professor husband, in her home, where they all live with Charlotte's step-sister Joan as well as Joan's mother, the scattered chatterer Inez (Mabel Albertson). They also have a boarder, Dr. Jake Diamond, who according to Arnold has been experiencing anti-Semitism at the college where they both teach.
Arnold avoids Charlotte, sleeping on the couch instead of in their bed, keeping away from her with a multitude of excuses. Part of Charlotte's commitment to the mental facility hinged on her continuing suspicions of an attraction between her husband and her beautiful half-sister. Diamond also appears to develop a romantic interest in Charlotte.
Two acquaintances, Hamilton Gregory and Cathy Bergner, separately imply to her that an affair between Arnold and Joan is a reality. Charlotte walks several miles through the snow to the college to confront her husband. Later, before a dinner with important faculty, she comes dressed and coiffed to resemble Joan, disrupting the dinner and appearing to be headed toward another breakdown. She also learns from Diamond that his chance for promotion at the college was sabotaged by Arnold.
Charlotte agrees to a divorce. Diamond asks her to join him in New York.
Cast
- Jean Simmons - Charlotte Bronn
- Dan O'Herlihy - Arnold Bronn
- Rhonda Fleming - Joan Carlisle
- Efrem Zimbalist, Jr. - Jacob "Jake" Diamond
- Mabel Albertson - Inez Winthrop
- Steve Dunne - Hamilton Gregory
- Joanna Barnes - Frances Barrett
- Joan Weldon - Cathy Bergner
- Kathryn Card - Mattie
- Marjorie Bennett - Hazel Evans
- Eleanor Audley - Mrs. Hathaway
- Johnstone White - Malcolm Southey
DVD
Home Before Dark was released to DVD by Warner Home Video on July 8, 2011 via its Warner Archive MOD DVD service.
See also
References
- ^ Box Office Information for Home Before Dark. IMDb. Retrieved April 3, 2014.
- ^ "Home Before Dark". Turner Classic Movies. Retrieved March 3, 2016.
- ^ Kael, 5001 Nights at the Movies
- ^ Screen legends Philip French, The Guardian, 2008