A successful commercial artist finds her personal life caught between a tempestuous affair with a married lawyer and a stable romance with a war veteran.
Daisy Kenyon (Joan Crawford) is a Manhattan artist trapped in a long-term relationship with Dan O’Mara (Dana Andrews), an arrogant and married attorney who refuses to leave his wife. Seeking stability, she begins seeing Peter Lapham (Henry Fonda), a thoughtful veteran recovering from the psychological trauma of the war. Daisy accepts Peter’s marriage proposal and they move to a quiet life on Cape Cod. Their peace is interrupted when Dan, having finally divorced his wife, arrives to reclaim Daisy. The two men ultimately force Daisy to confront her own desires and make a definitive choice between them.
Director Otto Preminger applies his signature cool, observational style to what could have been a standard romantic melodrama. The film pivots on a central love triangle, but its narrative is more an interrogation of a woman’s emotional and economic independence in a post-war world. While the plot mechanics are familiar, the picture is elevated by the central performances and its brisk, adult tone. Joan Crawford gives a controlled performance as a woman fighting for self-sufficiency, caught between the demanding passion of Dana Andrews and the quiet dependability of Henry Fonda. John Garfield makes a brief, uncredited cameo appearance in a restaurant scene.
Production Co: Twentieth Century Fox / 99 minutes / 1947
Director: Otto Preminger
Screenplay: David Hertz, Elizabeth Janeway
Main Cast: Joan Crawford (Daisy Kenyon), Dana Andrews (Dan O’Mara), Henry Fonda (Peter Lapham), Ruth Warrick (Lucille O’Mara), Martha Stewart (Mary Angelus), Peggy Ann Garner (Rosamund O’Mara)
