The Dark at the Top of the Stairs

The William Inge play on which this memoir of life in 1920s Oklahoma is based won the Pulitzer Prize. Unfortunately, whatever merit the original might have had as a theatrical experience has been dissipated here by Delbert Mann's reverential approach to its themes of sexual awakening, family discord, class snobbery and antisemitism. The main problem the picture poses for modern audiences is the fact that many of its attitudes have become so outdated that they are likely to breach even the most flexible code of political correctness. The notable cast struggles with such a mannered drama.