A Stranger in My Arms

Wealthy, deluded matriarch--who keeps most of her relatives neatly under her thumb--hopes to shower her deceased Air Force pilot son with honors and medals he may not have earned; meanwhile, her widowed daughter-in-law hopes to get vital information from the husband's co-pilot, who survived eleven terrible days lost at sea with the man in question and is now attempting to steer clear of his partner's family. Ross Hunter-produced collection of secrets and soap suds, adapted from Robert Wilder's book "And Ride a Tiger", is well-acted but gets off to a rather stiff and confusing start. The plot does manage to gather some steam at the halfway mark and, though the character-driven action is a bit stagy, the people on-screen are surprisingly complicated. Jeff Chandler always performed most capably in a lower key, but here he gets to be a bit more animated (particularly in his scenes with flirtatious teen Sandra Dee) and it suits him. June Allyson is an odd choice for his romantic interest; initially it appears as though Allyson is phoning her performance in, yet she approaches the role in an unusual way which garners not only interest but sympathy. The most colorful role is held for Mary Astor as the Queen Bee, and she's an intimating force (you can believe that one word from her sends everyone scuttling about doing her bidding). Not a great picture by any means, but a thoughtful, tolerable one, with attractive photography and a pretty (if derivative) score supervised by Joseph Gershenson. **1/2 from ****

After working in the Third Reich era (his works were light and neutral) , Helmut Kautner became the best German director just after the war ;those who might attack him for desecrating a would be American hero should see his movies in which he took a firm stand against the Nazis horrors ( Des Teufels General,1955 ) or in which he displays a pacifist attitude ("die letzte Brücke= the last bridge" 1954) or "die Gans von Sedan ".

"Thousands of soldiers were killed in action, says the hero (Chandler) ,only four got this medal!"; this is mainly the story of an over possessive mom (Astor) who seems out of a Tennessee Williams play (Mrs Venable in "suddenlly last Summer " comes to mind when they visit the greenhouse); her house is almost a museum dedicated to her beloved son, mother's pride : his widow (Allyson) is nothing but another piece in it .

Little by little, with flashbacks introduced all along the movie at the right place, one discovers that the picture of the so called hero was not the man the ceremony celebrates .It may sometimes sound soap opera, which Sandra Dee's presence reinforces ,but, all in all, it may also represent a plea for a square deal for the true heroes who died unsung (and for those who survived and to whom the society was not always fair and grateful).

Although you more and more during the progress of the film learn to share the hatred of her that gradually becomes evident in the protagonists, Mary Astor actually makes the most remarkable performance in this film about a mother's tragedy, all caused by herself and she herself understanding it least of all. The war drama is just the frame, from the beginning you must suspect that Jeff Chandler has something to hide, some terrible secret about the truth that can't be revealed, and the entire film is building up towards this revelation. This was apparently Helmur Käutner's only American film, but he was a fine stylist in cinematography with only credits on his record and several German classics. June Allyson always has a special knack of cheering up a film, and here it is needed indeed. She is the only straight and sane person with a cool head in this sordid family business, and no wonder Jeff Chandler accepts her invitation alhough he has reason tu suspect the worst. Peter Graves as the war hero plays a small part and only thirsting and dying on that raft on a desert sea under the sun, but he makes it all right. Also Charles Coburn has a small but extremely significant part in (unconsciously) releasing the gradual detonation of a family bomb, and Jeff Chandler goes through with his difficult and delicate part with honest honour - his hell is actually the worst. This is in character very much like a Douglas Sirk film, but it goes deeper, probing untouchable undercurrents that are utterly out of bounds for discussion in a family, but the autopsy is expertly performed, leaving Mary Astor totally naked.

Major Pike Yarnell (Jeff Chandler) is an Air Force test pilot when the film begins. He seems like a bit of a grouch and when the widow of a fellow pilot comes to ask Pike to come to a memorial service for her husband, Pike is oddly indifferent. Despite her assuming he wouldn't attend, he unexpectedly shows up for the service. And, following the service, he goes to stay with the dead man's rich family. There, you learn, slowly, about the sort of people they are...particularly the dead man's mother (Mary Astor) and grandfather (Charles Coburn)...who are rather awful. As to the dead guy (Peter Graves), you only slowly learn about who he was and how he dies through the course of the film...and Pike tries very hard to spare his family the disgraceful truth about the dead 'hero'.

Thi is a very good movie and the portions involving the dead man are showing using several flashbacks. I liked the mystery about the guy and the way the truth came out. The only portion that didn't quite work for me was the romance with the widow (June Allyson)...which seemed a bit fast and forced. Still, a good film with a few powerful scenes. Worth seeing.

High-quality romantic drama from the master producer Ross Hunter, this lesser-known among his hits benefits from a terrific cast, all contributing key scenes and moments.

Not one of German director Helmut Kautner's classic movies, he still deserves credit for getting such a set of acting at top quality. Not just the leads, with Jeff Chandler and Mary Astor providing high drama, but surprising contributions by Sandra Dee as Mary's bratty daughter and Conrad Nagel as Mary's slow-burn husband.

The story of possessiveness and being true to yourself seems like a soap opera vehicle for June Allyson but it's so much more. Flashbacks of Chandler and June's late husband Peter Graves battling in a raft during the war build suspensefully to a final reveal of what actually happened. I was deeply immersed in the problems and secrets of this set of characters, and rewarded with a serious, moving feature.