So much for that well-known 'woman's intuition'; we, the audience, can see inside reel #1 that Fred McMurray is disappointed in his domestic life which consists of self-centered children and a wife who indulges them even if it means neglecting the husband/bread-winner yet the wife in question, Joan Bennett is serenely oblivious to what amount to McMurray's cries for help. He is portrayed as a husband to die for, thoughtfully preparing a surprise for his wife's birthday which is more or less thrown in his face because the selfish needs of the children come first. McMurray is a toy manufacturer and Sirk gets lots of mileage out of the metaphor; McMurray toys with the idea of leaving wife and family, as does the 'other woman', Norma Vale (Barbara Stanwyck), who turns up out of the blue and past respectively just when McMurray is at his most vulnerable yet ultimately Norma merely toys with his feelings. It's difficult to believe that Sirk made this soft-hitting soap back-to-back with the hard hitting Written On The Wind and it is perhaps understandable that this one got lost in the shuffle. Like McMurray it has been unfairly neglected and is well worth seeking out.
Review of There's Always Tomorrow
