Are we supposed to sympathise with Harry?

I know, such an unlikable character

When there's no more room in hell, The dead will walk the earth...

Harry was doing wrong, all right, and he knew it. But most of us are made of flesh more fallen than yours, appparently. Most of us who have been around long enough and have indulged in some self-criticism from time to time know just how much evil we can get up to without really setting out to or by just having lapses in our good intentions.

I think most men, especially older, married sorts would sympathize with Harry. My wife, who watched this movie with me, sympathized with him, too. And my wife is a very, VERY hard and unremitting woman.

Also -- one may maintain a high moral tone much more effectively if one just uses the English language, refaining from such vularisms as you-know-what-head.
"Cad" or "degenerate" would have served nicely.

He maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good... St. Matthew 5:45

1) Harry and wife #1 grew apart. Their marriage became about the business and he felt emotionally estranged from her.

2) With the best of intentions, Harry struck up a platonic relationship with wife #2. He felt an immediate connection and told himself he could control the situation. He was wrong.

3) Then Harry felt emotionally tied to two women. For wife #1 he felt loyalty and a sense of duty, more so since her decision to again become emotionally available and to adopt.

For wife #2 Harry felt the passion of a new romance with a woman who seemed to need him. When she became pregnant, she needed him even more.

4) As things progressed, coming clean became less and less of an option. Harry could not bear to destroy either woman, so instead he entered into an unsustainable double life. At best he was treading water hoping for a miracle.

5) At no time in the film did Harry take advantage of the wives or cynically play one off the other. No doubt plenty of men do this, but not Harry in this script. He simply let his emotions carry him into an impossible situation.

6) The defense attorney rightly pointed out Harry's crime was in caring enough to "make an honest woman" of wife #2. Of course, Harry's marital status prevented that, but he felt he was acting from pure intentions.

7) Given everything, you cannot simply dismiss Harry as "sleazy and disgusting." What about the compassion he felt for each wife on numerous occasions? The heart is a complex animal and men like Harry are too quickly judged for having bad intentions.

The film argues that sometimes in life gray areas exist where accepted norms--and even laws--don't apply. It asks: What about a man who marries two women--not to exploit them--but because he truly loves them?

Reckless, yes. Naive, yes. Stupid, yes. Sleazy and disgusting, no.

As a woman who hates cheating man I have to say some women can push men to cheat. Eve was cold, only cared about business, didn't listen nor pay attention to her husband. He ever told her about Phyllis she didn't listen. He asked Eve to go away with him, which should have been a sign to rekindle their marriage.

Yes, the man had plenty of opportunities to be honest and come clean but he loves both and didn't want to hurt both, but he eventually did, but he wasn't meaning to like some men.

Your comment about how could he cheat with a stunning wife line Fontaine, well many men have cheated on their beautiful wives because there are other beautiful women out there, and because some men are greedy, and because if their wife isn't showing them attention like a child a man will find it somewhere else. You've got to know this!
Some men like to have their cake and eat it too! It don't take much to make a guy cheat. Men are easy.

Look at Christie Brinkley she's suppose to be one of the most beautiful women in the world and her husband cheated on her. So good looks don't keep a man from cheating.

He was definitely a jerk and he deserved what he got in the end.

~~
Jim Hutton: talented gorgeous hot hunk; adorable as ElleryQueen; SEXIEST ACTOR EVER

wow, this title really tells the story doesn't it, and this was one short plot description found here. i don't know if this is the case with all versions, but there is a really heavy cut about 55 minutes in on the version i saw. the stature of this actor is similar to that of lon chaney jr, from a distance i first thought it was him as i happened to catch this airing. what great line close to the end by the older fella, and i too was disgusted and couldn't care less what happened to this guy.



🎥 📽 🎞




staying in your lane,
away from cranes chaos n traffic jam,
tired of being given the finger,
under your bright love light find ignition,
wheels on smooth pave,
as gps you show the way.