This one is a lavishly and glossily produced weepie melodrama, full of the usual tried and true plot devices. In fact, I would go so far as to say that the situations are even less convincing than the average. On the other hand, it does have a remarkable flashback sequence where the off-screen commentary (by Barbara Stanwyck) is impishly biting and satirical. Most of the players are also more convincing than we might expect. Barbara is delightfully cool and assured in a tailor-made role. She has the lion's share of the action as well as the most fetching costumes. George Brent, on the other hand, starts well but soon reverts to type. On the other hand, it's always a pleasure to watch players like Gene Lockhart and Donald Crisp go through their paces. Donald Woods has an impressive opening scene, but then unaccountably disappears from the action altogether. But most impressive of all is young Larry Simms, of all people ("Alexander" in the Blondie series), who gives a surprisingly skilled and realistic portrayal in a rare dramatic part. P.S. I would describe Erville Alderson's role as that of a witness rather than a farmer.

I have to agree with the majority of other reviews posted here. This film gets off to a cracking good start. So good that I wondered how they were going to keep up the strong pace. They didn't!Now I know why I had not heard of this film before seeing it on TCM. Maybe Warners buried it early after release, yet it did display some 'crowd pleasing' attributes.So confusing was this film, we had to stop and re-watch parts over to see if what 'seemed' to be happening, actually was!Great cast, great production values, great cinematography, great music, but oh, that overly odd, quite unbelievably resolved story!

Here is one of those movies spoiled by the studio's insistence on a happy ending. Conflicts which have stretched out for years are settled in a few minutes. It would have been far more interesting to inject a tone of ambiguity. The talented Barbara Stanwyck is undone by a sudden metamorphosis from independent and assertive woman to a compliant female of the kind she has put down all her life. Brent, as usual, is well over his head and then there is the ludicrous situation of Gig Young playing a character named Gig Young. Someone mentions "Gig Young" and then who appears but Gig Young, the actor! Worth seeing though far below what it could have been.

When you have three fine actresses like Barbara Stanwyck, Geraldine Fitzgerald and Nancy Coleman, plus an intelligent script, and a good director, you have a very watchable movie. What makes the film particularly good is, that it concentrates on lives of each of the three sisters. Yes, it is a chick flick, but as a man, I found it quite engaging. The one weakness of the film, is George Brent, he lacks sexuality. But, the important point is, that it is an interesting story line, with complexity, and sophistication.