AllMovie

There's soap galore in From the Terrace, a glossy domestic melodrama that's filled with good-looking rich people behaving in not-so-good ways and suffering for it. Based on a sprawling John O'Hara novel, Terrace does feature a good deal of O'Hara's flavorful dialogue, but without the epic context that the novel gave it, and without O'Hara's unique authorial voice, the dialogue comes across as rather unconvincing. The characters, too, are difficult to care much about; because of the gifted cast, they have an interest and an appeal, but their superficiality and coldness keep us at an arm's length even as the performers themselves make us want to care more about them. Everything looks gorgeous, from the clothes and the cars to the sets and the people, all wrapped up in Leo Tover's yummy cinematography. Mark Robson directs with his foot firmly on the brake, which is the last thing this over-long film needs. But the cast is so laden with star appeal that even his leaden helming can't sink the film. Paul Newman is at the height of his physical appeal, and cinematographer Tover loves to linger on his famous baby blues. Newman's hampered by the screenplay, but his star power triumphs. Joanne Woodward also has to fight the material, but her icy goddess is more fully realized. There's also good work from luscious Ina Balin, as well as from Leon Ames and Elizabeth Allen, but the best performance comes from Myrna Loy; when her character disappears, so does a good deal of the film's energy.