Based on a famous first novel by Theodore Dreiser which was banned at the beginning of the century for being too daring, this is the tragic story of a young girl corrupted by big city life. Reminiscent of The Blue Angel, it is given remarkable depth and poignancy by the acting of Jennifer Jones, as the girl, Miriam Hopkins and, in particular, Laurence Olivier. Director William Wyler's streets of Chicago at the turn of the century are teeming with life. And he also captures the atmosphere of the intangible moral code that hovers over, and dominates, the entire film. Olivier's once-prosperous restaurant manager, willing to go to any lengths for the young girl he loves although he is already married, is a pitiable creature portrayed with restraint and understanding. It's as fine a performance as he has ever contributed to the cinema, and ensures that the final scenes are deeply moving. If tragedy can still be good entertainment without being Shakespeare, then this was the film that proved it so. A remarkably adult work to come from the American cinema at the time.

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