Without Honor

A theatre-ready set-up that carries sustained tension for a full 69 minutes of nightmarish suburban melodrama. Every character has their place and every line is delivered with purpose. The camera functions seamlessly as the vehicle of the script, giving it the feeling of a play. Day as Jane, paralyzed with terror, sees her life collapsing as embittered Bill (Clark), a contemptible booze salesman, orchestrates her social execution. Moorehead, Bennet and Tone add to the perfection.

More than anything Without Honor (1949) was underwritten. I was engaged, but the turn of events was so minimal they barely made an impact. Overall, this felt like a good TV-episode of some crime series and definitely served a purpose. The things I'll take away from it was how small Franchot Tone's role was and how different it was to what he'd done previously in his career. But more than anything was how amazing Laraine Day was in this role. Those things alone made me like it more than I should.