断肠弦歌

　　Douglas Sirk takes the gloves off in this searing view of family life of 50's America. Unlike his famous melodramas, There's Always Tomorrow is completely devoid of any beguiling glitz and glamour to sweeten the pill. For its time it’s a bold and unusual work focusing on the husband as the deeply unhappy victim of what outwardly appears to be an ideal family. Barbara Stanwyck and Fred MacMurray share a wonderful chemistry; very different from their famous partnership in Double Indemnity. Stanwyck, as always, is riveting and MacMurray in his understated way turns in a particularly moving and powerful performance. Like the best of Sirk's work the film is superbly crafted with the lighting and camera work as meticulous as ever. Perhaps owing to its lack of glamour, There's Always Tomorrow has been grossly neglected, being overshadowed by the great melodramas that would follow. For Sirk admirers this is of course compulsory viewing, but it’s a film well worth taking a close look at for all. In the bonus segment, director Alison Anders speaks of her love for Sirk calling There's Always Tomorrow a perfect movie.