Della Chappell is a very wealthy and incredibly reclusive woman. When a big company wants to develop some land that Della owns, the town sends out Barney Stafford to talk to her. She invites Barney over to negotiate the proposal. Barney soon takes a liking to Della's equally reclusive daughter Jenny Chappell. After spending some time with Jenny, he realizes that Della has a dark secret, one that keeps them from the outside world.
Acting
Crawford's theatrical restraint barely containing Della's unraveling.
Production
Lush estate setting that whispers 'money can't buy happiness' loudly.
Director
Robert Gist
Joan Crawford
Della Chappell
Diane Baker
Jenny Chappell
Charles Bickford
Hugh Stafford
Paul Burke
Barney Stafford
Richard Carlson
David Stafford
Robert Sampson
Joel Stafford
Otto Kruger
Walter Garrick
Richard Bull
Mark Nodella
James Noah
Chris Stafford
Sara Taft
Mrs. Kyle
Walter Woolf King
Sam Jordon
Barney Phillips
Eric Kline
Jan Shepard
Secretary
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
This was Joan Crawford's final leading role in any film; she pivoted to increasingly theatrical TV appearances before her 1970 retirement.
The 1964 TV movie format exploited aging Hollywood stars' fading marquee power while giving networks prestige content—Crawford understood the game.
US
