AboveDeepBuggy
Some things I liked some I did not.
Hulkeasexo
it is the rare 'crazy' movie that actually has something to say.
Usamah Harvey
The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.
Myron Clemons
A film of deceptively outspoken contemporary relevance, this is cinema at its most alert, alarming and alive.
TxMike
I was 14 when this movie came out, and I don't recall hearing anything about it. But watching it now brings back fond memories of the period I recall so well. All the Ford and Chevy cars from the late 1950s, similar to the ones my older sisters owned. A Ford convertible with a blue roof, blue accents on the seats, and a blue steering wheel! A black Chevy with a white steering wheel. There is something about that era, the late-50s into the 60s that has special meaning to me, and that helped greatly in my enjoyment of this movie. Kirk Douglas, in his 40s, is successful and award-winning Los Angeles architect Larry Coe. He appears to be happily married to Barbara Rush as Eve Coe, but she seems a bit bossy to him at times, and we can see that some of the passion has gone. Plus Larry seems to be the 'wandering' type. However he tries to be a good dad, and walks their small son to the bus stop for school in the morning. One morning he meets a new neighbor, Kim Novak as Margaret 'Maggie' Gault, also walking her young son to the bus stop. Margaret immediately catches Larry's eye, but she seems to be resistant to striking up a friendship, she doesn't have any interest in straying from her own marriage vows.However, we see that regardless of how beautiful (and she IS a beautiful 26 here) she may be, her husband just doesn't seem very interested in her. Even when she dresses in an enticing black gown, open in the front to show her cleavage when he gets home, he doesn't even notice and gets to some of the work he took home. This serves to make Margaret crave some kind of affection and Larry conveniently provides that.Ernie Kovacs is good as the well-off author Roger Altar who hires Larry to design a one-off home in the hills overlooking L.A. Walter Matthau, in real life a fellow Russian-Jew from New York, like Kirk Douglas, has the role of neighbor Felix Anders. A sly one, he notices some interaction at a house party between Larry and Margaret, and uses what he thinks is happening to justify going to Larry's house to hit on Larry's wife. Later when Larry comes home, catches up to him, and punches him, Felix asks, "How am I different from you, architect?" Movies were not daring by 1960, as they are today, and this one was pretty daring for the times. But very discrete on-screen, when the affair was consummated the movie fades to another scene, and we are left to imagine what went on.SPOILERS: Eventually Larry's wife finds out about his affair with Maggie, the name he calls her. At first she never wants to see him again, but later she longs for him. Meantime Larry has been offered an architect's dream job, a 5-year assignment in Hawaii designing a whole city. He decides to go, and at his last encounter with Maggie they part ways not knowing if they will ever see each other again.
keylight-4
This film is nothing but a beautiful Technicolor soap opera, but wow, what great-looking stars -- the gorgeous Kim Novak, with a figure that would knock your eyes out, and virile, well-built, flat-bellied Kirk Douglas! The acting, at least by Kim Novak, leaves a lot to be desired -- she always seems to be in some kind of a mental fog, and delivers her lines lifelessly, without feeling.But this movie is not to be missed, if for no other reason than the unintentionally funny scenes between Kim Novak ("Maggie") and her cold fish of a husband, "Ken". In one scene, Maggie is going out for a clandestine meeting with Kirk Douglas ("Larry"), poured into a tight, revealing red dress that practically screams, "I'M HAVING AN AFFAIR!". Her prissy husband is sitting on the sofa reading the newspaper, oblivious. Maggie tells Ken she's going out with a girlfriend or something like that (yeah, sure), and when Ken fails to notice the obvious, she says to him in that smoky voice, "Suppose I'm going to meet a man. It happens", to which Ken replies, glancing up briefly and rattling his newspaper, "Not to someone like you". That hilarious bit of dialogue alone makes this movie worthwhile!
cotaboy1
I echo the sentiment of the other reviewer. This is so much more than a soap opera...I caught this movie on the late show about 20 years ago and if recall correctly, was going through the end of a relationship at the time. The movie struck a chord, though frankly I'm not sure why I received it's message so deeply. This is my favorite Kirk Douglas movie by far. Kirk is not known for subtlety but he's great here.I typically judge movies by their ring of truth, and this one has it in spades.A must see...
eaglesfan152000
This might contain possible spoilers. First off, this is Kirk Douglas in one of his usual roles ( he was once quoted as saying "I've made a career of playing s.o.b's). Kim Novak is quite nice as the wife who doesn't get the total affections of her husband and falls into a relationship with a married man (Douglas). I saw this film on AMC and if you can record it please do, because this film is currently unavailable. It is one of the best films that depicted suburban 1960's Los Angelas. Walter Matthau's performance was probably the best in this film. The scene where he encounters Douglas on the patio at the party and informs him of his knowledge of the affair is really good. Then at the end when he confronts Douglas's wife (Barbara Rush) is disturbing. Matthau was alway's a great actor. The music is pretty good, Ernie Kovaks does a good job also. This is pretty much a chick flick but worth it.
