Review of Home Before Dark

Each actor/actress perfectly cast for his/her role. Arnold, the cold, loveless husband, aloof yet kissing up to his colleagues at the college (in the movie Ballou Hall is in reality on the Medford campus of Tufts University) to assure his promotion. Charlotte's house, warm, cozy, nicely furnished, typically old New England upscale. Hamilton Gregory, the lovable drunk, crazy about "Charl" and the smooth, kindly Jake Diamond who also loves Charlotte. Inez, Joan and Mattie, the female antagonists, perfectly played. I remember the eerie Danvers Mental Hospital up on a hill on old route one from when I was a kid living in Massachusetts. A shame this movie has never been available on VHS or DVD. I have an old copy I taped many years ago from a local TV station, uncut but with a few rough spots where I edited out commercials. Would like to obtain a better uncut copy and have made into a DVD, but legal problems rear their ugly heads. Warner Bros never responds to my e-mail inquiries about this Mervyn LeRoy film from 1958. Another interesting note, despite their apparent affluence, Arnold drives an ordinary black, 1954 Ford V-8 Fordor Sedan (Crestline or Customline)...nothing flashy. Charlotte Bronn's house (2 Crockett St) is the old "Lafayette House" in Marblehead, MA and is located at the corner of Hooper and Union Sts. (2 Union St). It contains 13 total rooms, 5 bedrooms, 4 baths and in 2003 its assessed value was $1,001,700.