Dramatizes the origin and nature of a wife's jealousy.


This movie is part of the collection: Prelinger Archives

Producer: Affiliated Film Producers
Sponsor: N/A
Audio/Visual: Sd, B&W
Keywords: Marriage; Gender roles; Psychology

Creative Commons license: Public Domain

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Reviewer: ethanede - - October 8, 2012
Subject: Remix
I used samples from this video, and only this video, in a remix of a song I did. There are some right in the beginning, and then in the break. Give it a listen for a different perspective on the video, and a good example of putting the public domain to use!

http://soundcloud.com/ethan-ede/color-theory-what-you-said

Thanks for listening,

Ethan

Reviewer: louiseb35 - - April 17, 2012
Subject: Who is she?
This one certainly kept my attention to the end, one of the best in my opinion. I'm most impressed with the performance of the actress. So much of this is the soundtrack of her mental thoughts and the actress emoting those thoughts as she works it out in her head. Easier said than done. Now I'm curious about her, did she ever work in movies, who is she?

Reviewer: doowopbob - - April 9, 2009
Subject: Life In The Fast Lane....
While Don Is Slipping Local Beauty Shop Owner Lorraine The Oscar Mayer, Don's Wife Sally Goes Berserk Ah La Joan Crawford And Tosses Don To The Curb Giving Don The Opportunity To Get His Hair Curled Once Again....Eventually Sally Winds Up In The State Home For Wack Jobs, Don & Lorraine Marry, Don Becomes A Hairdresser And Cheats On Lorraine With Melvin The Mailman Who Can Really Deliver The Male!....Lorraine Finds Lipstick On Don's You Know What & Next We See Lorraine & Melvin Discussing Hazel Bishop Products At The Beauty Shop....!

Reviewer: ERD - - January 24, 2006
Subject: Sally's self realization
After Sally causes a serious argument with her husband, she finally realizes her shortcomings. Luckily, her husband returns so that she will have another chance to improve things. I think this film brought out a good point that trust is essential in a good marriage. The script, however, was a little melodramatic.

Reviewer: autoguy - - November 11, 2005
Subject: Break the cycle
This interesting film outlines the choices presented to a man trapped in a never ending cycle of abuse. The man has mistakenly married little more than an emotionally ill child, but remains trapped within the bounds of his society's gendre programming. In the heat of the purpetual abuse cycle, the man has luckily been presented with the some choices. Does he remain locked in the thralls of abuse, and continue his role as whipping boy and pack mule? Or does he do the right thing, and move on with a different woman that would obviously be much healthier for him? A woman capable of pursuing constructive activities on her own, and is secure in her sexuality. Does the victim of abuse understand he must break out, or does he stay to endure the next cycle of hysteria and illness, which may very escallate to being assaulted with deadly weapons? We never find out.

Reviewer: Retro--Dee - - January 9, 2005
Subject: Green Eyed Monster
she truly is a little dope...

Reviewer: PreliViewerKid86 - - November 3, 2004
Subject: I feel her pain...
In all sincerity, the type of mental self-talk that Sally is going through in the film is incredibly similar to the type of self-talk that people with severe anxiety have. It's tough, I recently went through a break-up that was related to my anxiety and jealousy. I think this film has some definate validity.
--Taylor

Reviewer: Marysz - - July 20, 2004
Subject: Sally--Please Get a Life!
Sally throws husband DonÃÂs dinner in the garbage when he comes home late from work and doesnÃÂt call her. Worse yet, he was at MikeÃÂs Grill with Lorraine Casey, the local beauty shop owner. And her lipstick is on his handkerchief! After Don storms out the door to eat dinner at the local greasy spoon, the film becomes SallyÃÂs internal monologue about her marriage. Did he or didnÃÂt he? And where is he now? With Lorraine at the Kit Kat Club? Or the Rumble Inn? Sally has way too much time on her hands. And since itÃÂs the fifties, the film doesnÃÂt question why she has nothing to do but stay home all day doing housework and brooding about her marriage. SallyÃÂs real problem is her powerlessness and the rigid social roles she and Don are locked into.

In the meantime, DonÃÂs workmate Phil calls and it turns out it was all a misunderstanding. Don and Phil were developing packaging for Lorraine CaseyÃÂs new makeup line. Lorraine couldnÃÂt be more different from Sally. SheÃÂs unmarried and she earns her own living. Maybe Sally could help out Lorraine with her cosmetics business. It would give her something to do and help the family income. But that thought doesnÃÂt occur to Sally. Instead, she vows to be a loving wife from now on. But tomorrow is another empty day for Sally. ItÃÂs just an matter of time before sheÃÂll find something else to get overwrought about.

Reviewer: DrAwkward - - January 25, 2004
Subject: Brilliant
Fabulously bad noir lighting, melodrama-rama, woman on the vergeÃÂTodd Haynes couldn't have done it better!

Reviewer: Spuzz - - September 12, 2003
Subject: Or: A Case For Heavy Drugs
An amazing short featuring a lot of voice over and a LOT of scene chewing is about "Sally" a woman who obviously needs to be on some sort of high powered drug like lithium because her jealousy just seems to get the best of her in most cases, Her husband arrives home late one night and she rips into him about why he was late. Since his excuse isn't good enough, she kicks him out and THEN the most amazing voice-over starts, with her wondering where he is and so forth, and then she gets a phone call.. Her husband was telling the trith where he was! (somethinh about tube caps and lipstick whatever) and THEN the scenery chewing starts. Honestly, I was looking at the drapes and wondering if those were going to be spared. She's THAT melodramatic. We discover through her voice over that she's an actress but she didn't want "small and uninportant parts". Maybe just roles like this cheesy drama? A MUST see on the site!

Reviewer: dynayellow - - September 7, 2003
Subject: I don't want to be reasonable!
Don comes home from working late one night and Sally rips into him, accusing him of fooling around. As Don tries to explain the complex manufacturing needs of the tube-based cosmetics industry, Sally tosses him out on his ear.

One Deus ex machina phone call later, Sally realizes that she was wrong, and begins to suppect that it was really her evil, sinful nature that's been causing all these thoughts.

A good 2/3rds of the film is a voice-over of Sally. Accurately portrays the kinds of ridiculous, but angry, arguments married people have.

Shotlist

Describes the origin and nature of jealousy in a wife. Sally accuses Don of unfaithfulness when he arrives home late for work, disbelieves his explanation, and orders him out of the house. When Don's colleague calls to verify the explanation, Sally gradually gains insight by realizing that she probably projected her unconscious desire for extramarital association onto Don. She struggles through critical introspection to overcome her jealousy.
This spare synopsis hardly does justice to this unusually interesting film. Though it was a late entry in the Marriage for Moderns series, it focuses equally on psychology as on postmarital issues. Made in a film noir style, it's a claustrophobic exploration of an overdramatic, possessive woman who undergoes an improbable change of consciousness. Mostly narrated in her own voice, the film seems to present her own emotions as fact without unnecessary judgment, but her self-judgment is extremely harsh and her personality narcissistic. "I know now the real trouble is me. If I believe in us, he'll believe in us." In the context of acceptable wifely behavior in the Fifties, this is an uncommon case study.



Marriage Family living Couples Gender roles Jealousy Extramarital affairs Infidelity Suspicion Psychology
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