suburban disturbancea cub scout careen through the yard and street of a neat and clean college town on his way to school . he stop to pick up his friend timmy ainley and but timmy have the sniffle and must stay home with his mother ( rosemary decamp ) while mr. ainley ( ray milland ) and a professor of english at the local college and think the sniffle be be fake to avoid a math test . a the professor set off to work and he and his wife be approach by their elderly neighbor mrs. niemoller who complain timidly that the boy in the neighborhood and include timmy and make too much noise when they play and also heedlessly trample her garden . after promise to address the issue and the ainleys raise one of their own represent mr. niemoller play mozart very loudly in the middle of the night and keep mr. ainley awake . this be the tip off that all be not so neat and perfect in this seemingly idyllic community . and then the plot shift gear represent while discuss a passage from shakespeare richard ii ( which probably have a symbolic bearing on the story ) milland and his student hear siren . fire truck be race to the professor own house and which have be engulf in flame after a freak furnace explosion . his wife and son be kill . in his stunned grief he turn to drink and be also give solace by a colleague ( nancy davis ) and a war widow who empathize with his loss . davis boyfriend ( john hodiak ) be uncomfortable with the attention davis be give to milland and even though there be no romantic angle to it . hodiak discomfort build toward angry jealousy while milland drink get out of control ( do not expect a rehash of lose weekend while the boozing here be mild in comparison ) . much of the movie involve gentle conversational attempt by davis to help milland cope . jean hagen appear late in the proceeding a a sluttish young woman who occupy a hotel room across the hall from the professor and her inclusion perhaps a device to set in relief his hopeless emotional isolation . incidentally and milland meet hagen when he knock on her door to complain about the loudness of the classical music come from her phonograph player . but after only one viewing and it be not clear why loud classical music have to figure twice in the scenario . all of the performance be very good and come across a if the director tone them down as much a possible . hodiak and davis make an odd couple . at one point she refer to his big and thick head and when in fact his head be small than hers . there be a laid back conversational feel to the film in general and it small scale and fake look set suggest a television drama . spoiler represent the whole story can be reduce and really and to the single trite and true observation that it be well to feel your grief than swallow it or bottle it up while once you feel it and i. e. and break down and cry and etc . and you be on the road to recovery . end of spoiler .