stack should have receive the academy award for this performance and period . it a crime that he do not . amaze how he humanize a rich worthless character . dorothy malone do earn a well deserve academy award for her performance . in fact and all of the acting in this film be excellent . the plot begin with a taxi ride and then an airplane ride and then keep move on an emotional ride that will hold your interest throughout . you will be entertain . however and this be only a blatant soap opera . one dimensional and 100 percent soaper . you might call it the ultimate soaper and because the act so thoroughly triumph over the material . excellently act and well direct and but strictly within it soap genre . i wouldn not even call it a melodrama ( such a mildred pierce or imitation of life ) . while not deny the great entertainment value of this film and you can only imagine what this talented cast and director might have achieve with more substantial subject matter .