This is a black and white classic based on the play by Eugene O'Neill. Sophia Loren, Anthony Perkins, and Burl Ives starred in it.
I don't know much about the rules of inheritance in New England in the eighteen hundreds. Could it be that a woman in those days were not allowed to own land legally? Why was it that Eben did not inherit the farm outright from his mother? After all, it was said that the farm originally belonged to the mother. The right to the farm led to much unhappiness of mother and son. After the mother passed on, Eben waited anxiously for his step-father's death. Much to his consternation, his step-father remarried.
The entire story runs around the farm. The deceased woman was adamant that the farm should go back to her natural son. But I suppose she had no way to enforce it. Eben lived and worked on the farm waiting to regain its ownership, which he saw as his birthright. The step-father gloried on being able to control his two biological sons and one step-son. The young and attractive step-mother married the old man because she wanted to eventually own the farm. After the two good-for-nothing sons left for California, the remaining three were thrown to their own devises in one house.
The end result was a tragic ending for all three. The old man was left all alone to live out the rest of his life. The step-son and the step-mother were to be jailed for the baby's murder. Instead of being a blessing, that farm turned out to be a curse to this patch-work family.
This was the Hollywood film debut for Sophia Loren. She was striking, sensual and extremely shapely.
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