“Contractor Luke Miller returns to the San Francisco home of his ex-wife, sculptress Valerie Hayden, after learning that their 15-year-old daughter, Dani, has been arrested for the murder of Valerie’s lover. His plane is met by lawyer Gordon Harris, who callously engineered Luke’s divorce and deprived him of the right to visit his daughter. Now, however, Harris asks Luke’s help in providing a favorable family setting for the juvenile court hearing but discourages any hopes of gaining Dani’s custody once the case is resolved. Luke’s return revives memories of his former life with Valerie and her domineering mother, Mrs. Gerald Hayden. When Luke and Valerie are married, he aspires to become an independent architect, but Mrs. Hayden forces him into a business partnership with her. Valerie, ignorant of her mother’s underhanded ways, blames Luke for being weak; his subsequent drinking problem and her adultery combine to destroy the marriage . Terrified that her mother might be awarded custody of the child, Valerie takes moral responsibility for the murder at the hearing; in addition, she blames her failure as a mother on her own sorry upbringing, a disclosure that both discredits and humiliates Mrs. Hayden. Freed at last from her mother’s domination, Valerie commits suicide, making possible a reunion between Dani and Luke.”
From TCM
"The most wonderful thing about this marriage ... I'm not a Hayden anymore ... I'm a Miller"
Hollywood Babydoll’s Joey Heatherton and Susan Hayward. Joey is actually like 18 at this point, but seems more like 12-13 in the movie. And Susan even at 46-47 (depending on when this photo was taken) looks and acts like 20 year old in the movie, because she was always so cute and beautiful and immature.
“Despite the fact that Susan looks sensational at 47, her flashbacks as a blushing bride and new mama are a stretch. Mike Connors as the young war hero/groom, at 39, was pushing credibility, too. It’s to Susan’s no-nonsense credit that she didn’t draw outside the lines of nature with makeup and become a caricature of herself like many golden era divas.”
I haven’t thought about this, until I just read it, but if you’re familiar with the great Lana Turner, (as an actress and goddess) and you’re familiar with Where Love Has Gone from 1964, the story about Valerie Hayden’s daughter Danielle Miller (played by Joey Heatherton) who ends up killing her mother’s boyfriend, is very similar to Lana’s daughter Cheryl Krane, who ends up killing her mother’s boyfriend Johnny Stompanato.
The Stompanato killing, happened in real-life and both killings happened when the killer’s mother is involved in a dispute with their boyfriend. I’m not an expert on Lana Turner, most of what I’ve learned about her has been in the last two years. But she lived a crazy life as if she was always drunk or something and didn’t know what the hell she was doing. Valerie Hayden, (played by the great Susan Hayward) lives a similar life as Lana in this movie.
As far as this movie: great movie! It is very dramatic, if not traumatic when you’re talking about a family that is led by a very overprotective mother, (played by Bette Davis) who is always making moves regarding her daughter’s life and makes those moves on her behalf and rarely if ever consults her daughter about what she’s doing for her.
And as a result her daughter even though she’s this gorgeous, baby-faced, sexy, intelligent, talented woman, ends up being somewhat immature and irresponsible. Because her mother has a lot of control over her own life. She meets World War II U.S. Army hero Luke Miller (played by Mike Connors) and falls in love with and perhaps hoping she can find some independence from her mother. They get married, but now Mrs. Hayden, (played by Bette Davis) wants to control her daughter and her new son-in law. And has him blacklisted so he has no other choice, but to work for her company.
Again, this is a very dramatic if not traumatic movie and yet its pretty funny as well. And maybe that just because of Susan Hayward, who had this Liz Taylor quality of being able to combine drama, with comedy and humor. Who plays a very adorable and immature irresponsible woman, who goes too far, because now she’s married to man who has just gotten out of the U.S. Army and fought in World War II. Whose use to giving orders, not taking them. Who doesn’t have any patience for the games and soap opera tactics of her wife and mother in law.
This was never a relationship that was designed to work out. The Miller’s, get divorced, Luke is out of the picture and has no input with how his daughter is raised and Valerie (played by Susan Hayward) finds a new man before she dumps her husband and that is how her boyfriend gets killed. Because she has a fight with him with her daughter stepping in to end the fight and kills her mother’s boyfriend.
I think Where Love Has Gone, is also a very entertaining and funny movie, especially if you’re familiar with life of Lana Turner, especially in the 1950s and 1960s. Gorgeous, adorable, talented and yet immature and irresponsible woman. Whose always involved with the wrong man while having young daughter to take care of. In Lana’s case, Italian gangster Johnny Stompanato.
Valerie, gets involved with a man after Luke Miller, who isn’t a good man and he ends up being killed by her daughter. Luke Miller, by most accounts is a good man, but he only gets back in his daughter’s life after she’s charged with her murder of her mother’s boyfriend. This movie looks like a great soap opera. With a lot of great drama, writing, acting and humor, which all great soap operas have and I’m a big fan of it.
