Mark J. (mjohntx) from NOLANVILLE, TX
Reviewed on 11/19/2013...
This was a made for tv movie back in the 70's and one of the first to deal with the topic of compulsive gambling. Back then it was widely believed that only men developed this addiction, so this movie was quite a breakthrough that portrayed a woman with this problem. Shirley Jones gives a wonderful performance as a happily married woman in love with her husband, enchanted with her stepdaughter, the portrait of a perfect wife and mother with a secret life. She handles the finances in the family and gambles away her husband's life savings. When he decides to use that money to buy a business, she is desperate to find a way to win it back before he discovers her secret and her life completely unravels. Lawrence Luckinbill plays her husband and Sylvia Sidney has a small supporting role as her not so understanding mother. Any woman who has ever grappled with this addiction will understand her motivations and feel her pain and panic. Much of the movie feels dated now, but the performances are first rate. And the topic is even more relevant now than it was back in 1975.