Simple and well acted, it has tension enough to knot the stomach.

I saw this movie before reading any reviews, and I thought it was very funny. I was very surprised to see the overwhelmingly negative reviews this film received from critics.

Blending excellent reporting and strong storytelling, this is a disturbing film truly stranger than fiction

This is one of the few movies I've ever seen where the whole audience broke into spontaneous, loud applause a third of the way in.

I will say the same here that I have said every time I have ever watched a movie with Hedy Lamarr -- I just don't get it. Yes, I know, she was quite beautiful. But as an actress...well, frankly, I'd rather watch Marjorie Main! Her choice as one of the female leads here is one of the two things wrong with this movie, although she is adequate.The second relates to the college scenes. What a bunch of buffoons! Were they supposed to all be buffoons? Didn't college guys have any sophistication back then at all? Was there no substance at all? Now, beyond those two points, this is a decent movie, although I'm surprised that here it has a rating of above 7. Robert Young (Pulham) is a typical Bostonian businessman, who lives a very ordered life. His wife (Ruth Hussey) also lives a very ordered life. As one source related it -- passionless. Young is handed the job of organizing a college reunion, which leads to flashbacks of his earlier life. After WWI, he joins a New York City advertising agency, where he falls in love coworker Marvin Miles (Hedy Lamarr, and yes, the name Marvin is correct). Some of the scenes with the father (Charles Coburn) are quite touching, and I think rather realistic. Over time it becomes clear that Young is staid and Lamarr is flamboyant. Not a match. So, Young marries a woman from his own social set (Ruth Hussey). Then, Lamarr and Young have a chance at a personal reunion. Both are married, but will they run away together? That is the question.As much as many of us loved Robert Young in his television roles, many of his screen roles were less impressive (though there were a few notable exceptions, this being one, another being "Enchanted Cottage"). Another of our reviewers wrote that Young was too bland for his role here. Actually, no, a bit of blandness is just what this role was really about. Young does very well here.Ruth Hussey, perhaps a bit of an underrated actress does nicely here. As does Charles Coburn, Van Heflin (as an old college friend), and Fay Holden (as the mother).It's a good, though not great film. There are times the music seems a little out of place, and times when director King Vidor seemed to almost try to make this a comedy, which it is not. But, despite a few faults, it gets the job done and is worth watching...though it probably hasn't found a place on many DVD shelves.

Throughout this project of watching nearly every movie ever made, or at least in every attempt possible, I am beginning to discover which films speak to me. There are those that entertain, those that mentally challenge, and those that transform your cinematic experience all together, but for me, the type of film that excites me these days are the delicate semi-biographical pre-1950s story. With a cautious blend of "Citizen Kane" and "Magnificent Ambersons" with that of the modern "Mad Men", the barely watched film, "H.M. Pulham, Esq." finally arrived at the doorstep. Unbeknownst that this film would be reminiscent of such films, I began with the unknown. Available only via Warner's print-on- demand DVD Vault, there was a level of uncertainty as to why this had never been released, or would the print be so destroyed the experience would be lost (see review of "The Lady and the Monster"). To my surprise, it wasn't – and this two hour epic ("epic" is correct; due to the emotion, landscape, and themes of this film) quickly filled the cannon that was once overpopulated by Orson Welles. With dry characters like Harry Pulham and Kay Motford countered with the exciting Marvin Myles and Bill King as well as the quintessential sledding scene (needed in every semi-biographical film), "H.M. Pulham, Esq." pulled ahead in the ranks as I settled down for an amazing feature. It was shocking, intelligent, slow, predictable, and a bit pioneering for the date – and I loved every minute of it."H.M. Pulham, Esq." tells the story of a man, Harry Pulham (played simply by Robert Young) as he randomly gets a call from a Harvard friend requesting that he write a bit of a biography for the upcoming reunion. Coincidentally, he gets a call the same day from an old flame, and Harry uses the entire day to give us the "It's a Wonderful Life" flashback scenario where we learn about his life, and current consequences. As we travel back and forth, we fall in love with a core of four characters, Harry (of course), Marvin Myles the sassy co-worker, Bill King the obnoxious lady-killer, and Kay everyone's safe bet. It is these four characters that take us from New York to the country, from love to hate, and from passion to comfort. As Harry continues to look back onto his life, he begins to question his decisions, and the world of possibilities available."H.M. Pulham, Esq." would not have worked had it not been for these four characters. It is a driven character drama, thus without our actors taking full opportunity, it would have transformed into this two-hour snooze-fest, but instead they embraced, and allowed us to get to know each one individually, as well as a whole. Robert Young's Harry is probably the easiest to swallow, because is portrays him as this unguided everyman, lured by the life of NYC, but focused on family and dedication. His friends pull him in every direction, but he is grounded must make the decision between love and comfort. Each one of our characters builds upon this story, and where it succeeds the most is that director King Vidor (you know, the one that gave us the Kansas scenes in "Wizard of Oz" as well as "War and Peace") isn't afraid to push the limits. Or, at least the limits allowed in 1941. Again, I cannot stress that this is a fictional biography story that melds well within the folds of society. Vidor has succeeded greatly in this little feature because he has taken the great elements of "Magnificent Ambersons" and "It's A Wonderful Life" and plopped them into this unknown feature. Yes, at times it is long - and you better believe that there are moments that date this film - but in the end, it will warm your heart, but also make you look within your own life."H.M. Pulham, Esq" feels like a universal film. It is one of those movies that goes great with snow outside and a warm glass of cider. It shows a side of cinema that we forget about when we think of classic cinema. During this project, I have watched two films that stood beyond the norm - that Hollywood seemed to snub - and fell in love with both of them. One was the film I have repeated throughout this review, "The Magnificent Ambersons", and the second is this little film. Again, it is a simple film that presses a message relevant in 1941 or 2009, the idea of choices and consequences.Overall, I may sound repetitive with this, but I loved with this film had to offer. Perhaps it was my mood for the evening, or the sense of nostalgia for this style of film, but this film took me back to a simple cinematic experience. There was booze, talk of sex, and infidelity all within the two hours, which surprised me greatly. The actors did their parts with great effort, and each point went to the next. There was a purpose behind each person's actions, and it was developed. Not just dropped to the floor. King Vidor did a fantastic job behind the camera giving us lush landscapes and power driven characters. If you don't mind spending some money for this film, I would suggest a viewing. It was impressive.Grade: **** out of *****

H.M. Pulham, Esq. comes from a novel by John P. Marquand, the same man who wrote The Late George Apley. This man definitely knew his Boston and apparently was of the opinion that it was indeed the most civilized place on the globe or at least in the Western Hemisphere.The title character is played by Robert Young whom we meet on the eve of World War II a seemingly content and successful businessman who gets a pair of calls that set him thinking about his life. The first is from a former Harvard classmate Leif Erickson who is organizing a class reunion. The second is from a woman whom he had a fling with back in the day before he married Ruth Hussey. That would be the drop dead gorgeous Hedy Lamarr.This sets Young to thinking about what might have been and we got back to the days before, during, and after World War I when Young was much younger and unattached. After service in the Great War as they called it back then, he's decided that there is more to the world than the confines of Back Bay Boston. He decides to go to work for an advertising agency in New York. It's there that he meets Lamarr.Hedy's a free spirit, not at all like the girls back home like Ruth Hussey. She's in fact being courted by Van Heflin who is another of Young's Harvard crowd and who's a odd fish in that crowd as well. The mores of Beacon Hill are just not Hedy's style and Young has to face that.The film version of The Late George Apley ends before World War I and that was an event that impacted nearly all on the globe, one way or another. The Pulhams were probably just like the Apleys before the war. In fact Marquand had George Apley describing a youthful indiscretion with an Irish girl, definitely not of their crowd. If you know what happened there, you know how H.M. Pulham, Esq. resolved things and answered his own questions.Even in Boston there's such a thing as a midlife crisis which is what Young is going through. H.M. Pulham, Esq. is a really cute film with a gorgeous Hedy Lamarr and a stalwart Robert Young. Leif Erickson got one of his best parts in film as the overage college jock whose high point in life was playing football for Harvard. Phil Brown is also good as Young's friend from childhood who went to Harvard with him, but is very clueless about anything that's not got the Boston seal of approval.H.M. Pulham, Esq. ought to be seen back to back with The Late George Apley, it's like watching Apley in a different generation in many respects.

Though dealing primarily with an upper-class character, this picture involves decisions and emotional conflicts that everyone can relate to. The bittersweet story reminds us that to a greater or lesser extent we all settle for something less than the life we dreamed of. On the surface, the characters here are happy: they say they are, and they mean it. But beneath that surface are disappointment and longing that they keenly feel when the past is recalled. Better not to think about it, and just go on with the life you have.Hedy Lamarr was a curious choice for this role. It doesn't really suit her, but she handles it better than one might expect.