AllMovie

One would liked to have been a fly on the wall of the set of Life's Whirlpool. Its leading lady was the imperious Ethel Barrymore, while the director was her brother Lionel Barrymore -- and, though sister and brother were devoted to each other, they were unsparing in their mutual criticism whenever they worked together. For the record, Ethel plays the wife of an abusive country squire. So nasty is her husband that he all but forces her to seek solace in the arms of her former sweetheart (played by Alan Hale in his leading-man period). Their clandestine relationship finally comes out in the open when the nasty husband is killed by his irate tenants.