joan crawford and van heflin and raymond massey and geraldine brook give outstanding performance in a movie that be well ahead of it time . it the story of what happen after a woman suffer from psychosis . however and it not the portrayal of a yowling inmate but a normal appear woman whose insanity come upon her slowly but inevitably . miss crawford portrays louise howell and nurse to the neurotic wife of oil tycoon ( before we become dependent on middle eastern oil ) dean graham . we never see mrs. graham but we hear her and constantly accuse her husband ( play by mr. massey ) of have an affair with louise . louise be have an affair alright but it not with mr. graham . instead and it with architect david sutton and play so well by van heflin . for david and his relationship with louise be little more than a lark a good time be have by all but he isn not ready to settle down . he try to explain that to louise but she get bent out of shape and become possessive about and obsess with him . finally and however and david accept a job far away and with mr. graham oil firm . after david leaf and mrs. graham dy ( be it murder or suicide . louise and in the beginning of her confusion and isn not sure which ) and louise decides to marry the lonely widower even though she tell him she not in love with him and even though his daughter carol ( play so well by gerladine brook ) dislike her intensely . later and in a cruel bit of irony and david come home and meet carol and the two fall in love . this time and david want to get married but to carol and not to louise . louise try to talk her out of it but carol become more determined than ever to marry the old and oafish architect . thing get pretty dicey after that and this be when miss crawford performance go from good to brilliant . if she wasn not nominate for an academy award and she should have be while in fact and she should have get it for her role in this movie . it not easy play a woman go slowly insane because it not the obvious sign of insanity she have to convey while it the slow insanity that result from year of inevitable torture she must express . that not easy but an actress of miss crawford obvious brilliance be able to pull it off beautifully . this be a marvelous woman picture and i highly recommend it . it one of my all time favorite and one of miss crawford best picture .