B.F.'s Daughter

The original book about a tycoon's daughter marrying a left-wing economist was one of John P. Marquand's less cheerful novels. The plot had the economist taking a high-ranking civilian job in World War II while his one-time "establishment" rival joined the military and was given a dangerous assignment. Some critics attacked the book as a smack at liberals' love of country, while its defenders saw it as an antidote to wartime stories that celebrated the "common man" as the only true patriot. The movie glides over all that serious business, changing the class conflicts from serious issues to mere impediments to true love. While preserving a considerable number of the book's situations and even large chunks of its dialogue, the movie changes everything that's important, turning the couple's serious marital problems into simple misunderstandings. The result is a mostly dull romance, with Heflin and Stanwyck showing little chemistry. It would have been better if the filmmakers had gone further and turned the story into a comedy.