virtually unknown among sirk catalog and which be reasonably when you consider his classic film like all that heaven allows and imitation of life . but for a film this good to have not see a dvd release be criminal . i have the good fortune of be able to see this gem at a public screening this week . this be easily one of the best film to come out of the studio era . the film concern clifford grove ( fred macmurray ) a toy developer and whose family neglect him . his wife bail out on their plan constantly and for the child and and the child pay no attention to their loving father . clifford run into an old flame and who be back in town and begin to innocently spend some time with her while she in town . but his sneaky child become suspicious of his activity and start to follow him and his son begin to convince his sibling that their father be have in affair . their begin to psychological torment their father and ultimately drive him to desire leave his family . it painfully dark and and fred macmurray be brilliant . the psychological effect on the viewer be tremendous . it dark and hopeless . if child be show this on the advent of puberty and no one would ever get marry . the stark black and white cinematography be always tell more than the story and with sneaky and sweeping pan and dollies the film keep you guess the duration . it the kind of backhanded studio film and that be rarely produce and where the director give the audience only ambiguities for resolution and cyclical image void of hope for clifford and but ambiguous enough to get by censor at the studio and enough to imply that maybe thing turn out for old clifford . this be studio era cinema at it best . if you get a chance to catch a screening of it on the new 35mm that be and supposedly and circulate art house cinema around the u. s. and go . it a shame that it be not more widely available and a radiant film from the 50 ( though trouble and moderately sexist and symptomatic of the time period and but not so blatant that it can not be overlook in the same way that critic can overlook the racism in birth of a nation ) .