From the Terrace

An adaptation of John O'Hara's bestseller which settles for soapy melodrama instead of the novel's more sardonic perspective on a young ex-serviceman's rise to success among the idle rich of Pennsylvania. Robson's film is still highly watchable, with Paul and Joanne pretending their marriage is on the rocks, and all sorts of machinations in the boardroom and the bedroom. It's an American cousin to Room at the Top, shot in CinemaScope and DeLuxe colour, with an Elmer Bernstein score and plenty of histrionics.