Indiscretion of an American Wife/Terminal Station (1954)

Misery Train

By Jeffrey M. Anderson

Buy Indiscretion of an American Wife/Terminal Station on DVD.

Famed Italian neorealist director Vittorio de Sica (The Bicycle Thief, Umberto D.) succumbed to the lure of Hollywood when producer David O. Selznick presented him with Terminal Station, the story of a married American woman (Jennifer Jones) lingering at a train station, unable to completely break it off with her Italian lover (Montgomery Clift). The film succeeds when focusing on small moments, gestures, etc. But De Sica can't resist loading the film up to make it feel more significant than it really is. Selznick, of course, was displeased with the final product, cut 20 minutes and retitled it Indiscretion of an American Wife. Truman Capote contributed to the film's dialogue, and Ben Hecht reportedly worked uncredited on the titles.

DVD Details: Criterion's disc presents both films, but for some reason Selznick's shorter version received more extensive restoration and is the only one with a commentary track -- it looks and sounds much better than the de Sica version.

Starring: Jennifer Jones, Montgomery Clift, Gino Cervi, Dick Beymer
Written by: Luigi Chiarini, Truman Capote, Giorgio Prosperi, from a story by Cesare Zavattini
Directed by: Vittorio De Sica
MPAA Rating: Unrated
Running Time: 89 minutes/72 minutes
Date: October 14, 2003