Although All the Way Home is based on a Pulitzer Prize-winning novel (as well as the subsequent Pulitzer-winning stage adaptation), it lacks the force of its original source and comes across as an effective tear jerker that lacks any truly deep insight or unusual drama; in other words, it's a well-acted but fairly standard issue story of how a beloved father's death affects those left behind. In James Agee's novel, the manner in which the author told the story, the way he revealed character and emotion through use of both words and subjectivity/objectivity, added an extra layer to what is at heart a rather ordinary plot; it used the plot to create something magical. Director Alex Segal and screenwriter Philip Reisman, Jr. have not been able to find a cinematic equivalent for the author's voice, and so only the story and the surface characteristics of its players is presented on screen. Again, it's a perfectly respectable little film, and definitely provokes an emotional response in viewers; one just wishes that it were richer and deeper. The cast is certainly not to blame, as Jean Simmons gives a stunning emotion-racked performance, and Robert Preston is simply aces as the kind of father that everyone wishes s/he had. Little Michael Kearney does quite well as the young boy left fatherless, and Aline MacMahon is terrific as the loving aunt who helps guide him in his troubles.
by Craig Butler
review
