Barbara Stanwyck aways could draw people into her characterisations and end up engendering support and sympathy - however deserving her character was. She excels again here as "Martha Ivers"; a wealthy women trapped in a pretty loveless marriage with débutant Kirk Douglas - a rather pathetic man who has a career built on the coat tails of his powerful wife. When their childhood friend "Sam" (Van Heflin) reappears in their lives they are all reminded of the incident from their childhood that explained just how she came into all of of her money - and arrived at her choice of husband - in the first place. Lizabeth Scott appears now and again as Heflin's rather pathetic ex-con girlfriend who quickly realises that there is still a flame burning elsewhere and there's little room for her in this rapidly toxifying mix. The slow pace of the film detracts somewhat from a really cute, complex story and the music also drags it along in the melodramatic mud a bit, too: but the scenes with Douglas and Stanwyck present a wonderful cocktail of resentment, love and hate. The last 15 minutes focus it all well and keep us hanging on, not quite certain of what's going to happen next...