A definite nominee for one of the worst father-in-laws in movie history is
Basil Sydney, determined to sabotage son Anthony Steel's marriage to Julie London no matter what it takes, even using the car accident that makes his son sterile. She has already taken steps to be artificially inseminated, but Sydney wants to prove that London was unfaithful with Donald Huston. This leads to an ugly divorce case, and the long-suffering London must prove both her love and fidelity to her husband and convince him that he can love the child as his own if he really wants to keep their marriage together.
With very little doubt, I'm sure that this is one of the first mainstream movies to utilize artificial insemination as a major plot device (not sure off hands of exploitation films that dealt with this), and it's a fascinating adult drama that manages to seem realistic while dealing with a controversial plot device. Sydney is quite the piece of work, subtle in his venom but definitely determined to take London down, and he makes a terrific heavy. The beautiful London gets to sing and wins the audience over with her sincerity. A pretty daring drama considering its release year that doesn't shirk in using scientific terms, stopping short of using the phrase sperm bank.
With very little doubt, I'm sure that this is one of the first mainstream movies to utilize artificial insemination as a major plot device (not sure off hands of exploitation films that dealt with this), and it's a fascinating adult drama that manages to seem realistic while dealing with a controversial plot device. Sydney is quite the piece of work, subtle in his venom but definitely determined to take London down, and he makes a terrific heavy. The beautiful London gets to sing and wins the audience over with her sincerity. A pretty daring drama considering its release year that doesn't shirk in using scientific terms, stopping short of using the phrase sperm bank.