The Fourth Commandment

Belle Bennett never knew her mother, but she found a loving mother-in-law with Mary Carr, and a hardworking and loving husband in Mrs. Carr's son, Henry Victor. But the confines of the house are too much for her, when she sees the wealth of her neighbors. She goes back to work for rich man Robert Elliott, who offers to marry her. She convinces herself that Mrs. Carr has retained the primary love of her son, and now her grandson, so she flees to Elliott's arms. But the years go by, Elliott is found to be an embezzler. He kills himself, Miss Bennett is stripped of her wealth, and goes to live with her son and his ukulele-playing wife. Soon history repeats itself.

This sort of weeper, in which people cut off their noses to spite their faces and then go around crying because they have no nose is not my cup of tea. Nonetheless, there is no disputing the strength of Miss Bennett's performance; even if the material and direction is nowhere near the level of STELLA DALLAS, her issues are understandable, her actions, if not forgivable by anyone save the saint-like Mrs. Carr, are also understandable.

A kind word must be reserved for the unnamed make-up team who convincingly aged Victor and Miss Bennett. I cannot really recommend this movie, since Miss Bennett's character brought all of her suffering on herself. But for what it does, it does it well.