Where Love Has Gone (1964)
Posted: February 5th, 2023, 6:51 pm
A 1940s-style "woman's film," produced in the 1960s, and packed with a "Classic Hollywood" cast, Where Love Has Gone is sordid, sensational, salacious, scandalous . . . and a whole lotta fun.
Briefly, a teen girl is arrested for killing her trampy mother's lover. Daddy -- a war hero, absent father, and reformed drunk -- investigates the murder to exonerate his daughter and also try to reclaim his parental role. Among the obstacles in his path: his domineering mother-in-law who fights him and her rebellious daughter for custody of her granddaughter.
For many book and film critics, the story of Where Love Has Gone (adapted from the steamy 1962 best seller by superstar-shlockmeister Harold Robbins) smacked of the lurid tabloid drama starring Lana Turner; her thuggish lover, gangster Johnny Stompanato; and her teenaged daughter Cheryl Crane. But, knowledge about the real-life back-story is unnecessary to enjoy the trashy thrills of Where Love Has Gone.
"Representing" Mama Lana and daughter Cheryl are Susan Hayward and Joey Heatherton. Hayward turned her histrionics as the "unfit mother, ungrateful daughter, and irresponsible wife" up to 11, dominating every scene she is in. By contrast, Bette Davis' performance is more nuanced and less flamboyant. As the manipulative, iron-willed, elegantly attired (by Edith Head) materfamilias, Davis conveyed a touch of vulnerability that softened the character's harshness and added more dimension to the one-note battle-axe.
Mike Connors capably held his own against his formidable, scenery-chewing co-stars. IMO, his performance as the emasculated husband and son-in-law was not entirely successful, noticeably during his drunk scenes. But, in his dramatic, confrontational clashes with Hayward and Davis, Connors successfully met the challenge and avoided being steamrolled into the scenery.
As the pouty, murderous minx, Joey Heatherton is eminently delectable. If her performance pales in comparison to her female co-stars, it is entirely up to the standards of Harold Robbins trash.
Now check this powerhouse supporting cast: Jay Adler, James Bell, Whit Bissell, Willis Bouchey, Anthony Caruso, Ann Doran, Jane Greer*, DeForest Kelley, George Macready, Anne Seymour.
At the helm: Edward Dmytryk, who further draws the viewer into Robbins' already gripping roman à clef with lots of one-shot and two-shot close-ups, heightening the story's emotional intensity.
Tubi offers a soft, greenish presentation that is like watching Where Love Has Gone through a cloudy fishbowl. What the streaming transfer lacks quality-wise, the content (the movie) more than makes up for entertainment-wise, as far as I'm concerned.
* Greer, although seven years younger than Susan Hayward, looks ten older than "The Brooklyn Bombshell."
Briefly, a teen girl is arrested for killing her trampy mother's lover. Daddy -- a war hero, absent father, and reformed drunk -- investigates the murder to exonerate his daughter and also try to reclaim his parental role. Among the obstacles in his path: his domineering mother-in-law who fights him and her rebellious daughter for custody of her granddaughter.
For many book and film critics, the story of Where Love Has Gone (adapted from the steamy 1962 best seller by superstar-shlockmeister Harold Robbins) smacked of the lurid tabloid drama starring Lana Turner; her thuggish lover, gangster Johnny Stompanato; and her teenaged daughter Cheryl Crane. But, knowledge about the real-life back-story is unnecessary to enjoy the trashy thrills of Where Love Has Gone.
"Representing" Mama Lana and daughter Cheryl are Susan Hayward and Joey Heatherton. Hayward turned her histrionics as the "unfit mother, ungrateful daughter, and irresponsible wife" up to 11, dominating every scene she is in. By contrast, Bette Davis' performance is more nuanced and less flamboyant. As the manipulative, iron-willed, elegantly attired (by Edith Head) materfamilias, Davis conveyed a touch of vulnerability that softened the character's harshness and added more dimension to the one-note battle-axe.
Mike Connors capably held his own against his formidable, scenery-chewing co-stars. IMO, his performance as the emasculated husband and son-in-law was not entirely successful, noticeably during his drunk scenes. But, in his dramatic, confrontational clashes with Hayward and Davis, Connors successfully met the challenge and avoided being steamrolled into the scenery.
As the pouty, murderous minx, Joey Heatherton is eminently delectable. If her performance pales in comparison to her female co-stars, it is entirely up to the standards of Harold Robbins trash.
Now check this powerhouse supporting cast: Jay Adler, James Bell, Whit Bissell, Willis Bouchey, Anthony Caruso, Ann Doran, Jane Greer*, DeForest Kelley, George Macready, Anne Seymour.
At the helm: Edward Dmytryk, who further draws the viewer into Robbins' already gripping roman à clef with lots of one-shot and two-shot close-ups, heightening the story's emotional intensity.
Tubi offers a soft, greenish presentation that is like watching Where Love Has Gone through a cloudy fishbowl. What the streaming transfer lacks quality-wise, the content (the movie) more than makes up for entertainment-wise, as far as I'm concerned.
* Greer, although seven years younger than Susan Hayward, looks ten older than "The Brooklyn Bombshell."