All the Way Home
Directed by Alex Segal
Written by Philip H. Reisman Jr. based on a play by Tad Mosel and a novel by James Agee
1963/USA
Talent Associates
First viewing/Amazon Instant
Give sorrow words; the grief that does not speak whispers the o’er-fraught heart and bids it break. ~William Shakespeare
A heartfelt film about love and loss in a close-knit family.
Jay (Robert Preston) and Mary (Jean Simmons) Follet are very happily married despite some disagreements. She is devout while he is agnostic. She doesn’t exactly approve of his drinking. Nevertheless she finds his warmth irresistible. The couple’s young son, Rupert, obviously adores him. Mary is expecting a baby.
Jay is called away to attend to his sick father. He is late returning home and Mary is eventually informed he has had a serious car accident … With Aileen Mac Mahon as Aunt Hannah and Pat Hingle as Jay’s drunken undertaker brother.
This is a tender look at family life early in the last century. It can be broken up into two halves – pre- and post-accident. The second half struck me as realistic and was quite moving, largely due to Simmons’ excellent performance. Recommended if the story appeals.
