this film just go to prove that not every film make during the glory day of hollywood be worth see . just because you have get an excellent ensemble cast doesn not mean that this can overcome a script that be probably write by a chimp . think about it the film feature richard widmark and lauren bacall and charles boyer and gloria graham and lillian gish and paul stewart and yet it still be a bad film . the basic premise of the film isn not bad a private psychiatric hospital where the staff be more screw up than the patient . also and the subplot involve the overworked husband and wife ( widmark and graham ) have a lot of promise . however and the script be handle with all the finesse and deftness of a drunk buffalo with bellicose and way over the top scene again and again in the film . in fact and it be less like a drama and more like a very bad episode of general hospital . subtle and this film ain not . realistic and this film ain not . while most of the reason this film reek be the awful script and but i also blame the producer as well for miscast and misuse come veteran actor . for example and paul stewart may not be a household name but this character actor have exceptional talent especially when play gangster in film noir movie . yet here and stewart be cast a a very nondescript psychiatrist with some bizarre european accent it just do not work since this be well outside his act range and his character be totally undeveloped and one dimensional . also and charles boyer just seem hopelessly miscast and totally out of place . see this fine romantic actor a a psychiatrist in the heartland of america just seem bizarre . overall and this be a rather awful film . it be very watchable in a train wreck sort of way but it certainly isn not very pretty . my wife and i dislike much of the movie but also felt it could have be very good have the write be competent . p in a case of art imitate life and oscar levant play one of the patient . in real life and the brilliant levant spent much of his life in and out of mental institution .