I never thought I'd live to see the day when Mickey Rooney shared screen footage with Barbara Stanwyck. Andy Hardy meets Annie Oakley, but their screen time together mainly concerns a camera panning across the room where a dying wealthy man (Lloyd Nolan) has acquaintances from throughout his life gathered to see who will inherit the bulk of his estate. He has hired private detective Dick Powell to report to him which of the five people he considers as choices loved him the most unconditionally. Be careful when you make that test. As it turns out, Nolan wasn't really all that worthy of being loved, and Powell plays a guardian angel who resolves the problems of most of these characters just by their visit.
There's the Bergens (Edgar and Frances) who keep a portrait over their fireplace of Nolan, the godfather to their children yet have differing attitudes towards him and marital troubles of their own. There's Stanwyck, a vodka stinger drinking glamour girl who reveals too much when under the sauce. Rooney runs a golf equipment store, and June Allyson (the girlfriend of Nolan's late son) has a secret about her own mental health that is pretty bizarre on its own. Jackie Cooper has the weakest of the six sequences as a rather hard-boiled character. Of course, as a huge Stanwyck fan, I'm going to praise her appearance; She could command attention reading a cook book. How she gets sauced after only a few sips of vodka stingers (obviously made toxic) is my major question, although I would certainly love to hear her sing "The Ladies Who Lunch" with her raspy voice in the musical "Company". Allyson plays the most pathetic of characters, and Rooney tries to mix pathos in with his over-the-top playing. The Bergens go for subtle comedy, and Powell is dignified throughout. Even though he's only seen for a few minutes, Nolan makes his character truly intriguing. This is a TV anthology series episode I feel could have had more detail and been a feature film. Stanwyck and Allyson alone (reunited from "Executive Suite") could have commanded that and given it some box office clout.
There's the Bergens (Edgar and Frances) who keep a portrait over their fireplace of Nolan, the godfather to their children yet have differing attitudes towards him and marital troubles of their own. There's Stanwyck, a vodka stinger drinking glamour girl who reveals too much when under the sauce. Rooney runs a golf equipment store, and June Allyson (the girlfriend of Nolan's late son) has a secret about her own mental health that is pretty bizarre on its own. Jackie Cooper has the weakest of the six sequences as a rather hard-boiled character. Of course, as a huge Stanwyck fan, I'm going to praise her appearance; She could command attention reading a cook book. How she gets sauced after only a few sips of vodka stingers (obviously made toxic) is my major question, although I would certainly love to hear her sing "The Ladies Who Lunch" with her raspy voice in the musical "Company". Allyson plays the most pathetic of characters, and Rooney tries to mix pathos in with his over-the-top playing. The Bergens go for subtle comedy, and Powell is dignified throughout. Even though he's only seen for a few minutes, Nolan makes his character truly intriguing. This is a TV anthology series episode I feel could have had more detail and been a feature film. Stanwyck and Allyson alone (reunited from "Executive Suite") could have commanded that and given it some box office clout.
