so much for that well know woman intuition while we and the audience and can see inside reel # 1 that fred mcmurray be disappoint in his domestic life which consist of self center child and a wife who indulge them even if it mean neglect the husband or bread winner yet the wife in question and joan bennett be serenely oblivious to what amount to mcmurray cry for help . he be portray a a husband to die for and thoughtfully prepare a surprise for his wife birthday which be more or less throw in his face because the selfish need of the child come first . mcmurray be a toy manufacturer and sirk get lot of mileage out of the metaphor while mcmurray toy with the idea of leave wife and family and as do the other woman and norma vale ( barbara stanwyck ) and who turn up out of the blue and past respectively just when mcmurray be at his most vulnerable yet ultimately norma merely toy with his feeling . it difficult to believe that sirk make this soft hitting soap back to back with the hard hitting write on the wind and it be perhaps understandable that this one get lose in the shuffle . like mcmurray it have be unfairly neglect and be well worth seek out .