Best known today as Marlon Brando's film debut, this is a decent, solid film dealing with the touchy subject of paralysed WW2 veterans and their attempts to recover, both physically and emotionally. Brando is one of these veterans and he pushes his fiancé Ellen (Teresa Wright) away, thinking she only pities his situation, and does not truly love and care for him. Brando's debut is strong; it's no "Streetcar" or "Waterfront", but it is a good performance. Fred Zinnemann directed this film, which means the visual style is very flat and uninteresting. His direction is just boring. The more I see of Zinnemman, the more I dislike. I love "From Here To Eternity", but that's because the performances are excellent and the Pearl Harbour plot (taken from the novel) is an example of how to do soapy melodrama well. But I hated "High Noon". Teresa Wright also turns in decent work as Brando's loyal fiancé, although she already looks mousy. Jack Webb is also fine in support but Everett Sloane's performance as the doctor is pushy and overdone. I liked the film best in it's quieter, less "dramatic" moments, where the screeching score didn't take over.
