The four main characters are two different family units. You have Buck Bonham (Willie Nelson) and his wife Viv Bonham (Dyan Cannon). There is also Garland Ramsey (Slim Pickets) and his daughter Lily Ramsey (Amy Irving). Buck and Garland are constantly out on the road, touring. Willie Nelson at this point in time is around 47 years-old. That provides context on how long the band has been together.
At the start of the movie, it seems like they're not the biggest of bands, but they're big enough to make a nice living touring. They're also on the verge of greater success. During their tours, the audience just seems to grow for them. That would explain why an Emmylou Harris-level singer would start joining the band for duets. Even though their fan base is growing, Garland decides it is time for him to retire and take up farming.
There is a discussion on who should replace him on guitar. They settle on someone, but he isn't able to join the band immediately. Garland's daughter Lily is also a guitarist and they decide to have her join the tour in the meantime. This is where all the relationship dynamics come into play. Lily is young and beautiful and Buck is smitten. Other than this just being adultery, there are other complications to this affair. While Buck and Garland have been constantly touring, Viv and Lily built and friendship. Lily spends time with Viv via Buck and Viv's boy. Lily gives the child guitar lessons. And, of course, Lily is Garland's daughter. Oh, the complications and betrayal.
Of course, the affair gets back to Viv and Garland. Viv wants a divorce. Garland and Buck have an entertaining confrontation. Does everything get resolved in a maybe too neat conclusion? You'll have to watch the movie to see how it ends.
Those concert scenes will scratch the country itch.
This movie is where the world is introduced to Willie Nelson's "On the Road Again."
The Woman in the Window (1944). The movie stars Edward G. Robinson (Professor Richard Wanley) and Joan Bennett (Alice Reed). The beginning of the movie basically lays out the general themes of the movie. Is murder justified? Should middle age men associate with younger women?
The movie starts off with Professor Wanley teaching a college psychology class where the topic is murder and when is killing someone justified. After class, he heads to the train station where his wife and two children are off on vacation. He then goes to his club to meet two of his friends. Next to the club is an art gallery and in the window is a painting of Alice Reed. He stops on the sidewalk and is fascinated by her beauty. When his two friends arrive at the club, they notice him staring at the painting. The three head into the club and have a long discussion about being middle aged men and the wisdom (not) of getting involved with younger women. Being a married man, he is of the opinion that he catch watch, but he can't touch. Basically, the three have a 1944 The Hays Code type locker room conversation.
The two friends leave and Wanley sticks around at the club to read a book. At 10:30 p.m., he leaves the club and stops once again at the art gallery to take another long glimpse of the painting. Passing next to him is the woman in the portrait, Alice Reed. How quickly he tosses out his arguments about why middle age men should not entertain younger women. When he is asked if he'd like to go to a bar, he readily accepts. When he is asked if he'd like to go to her apartment, he readily accepts.
Is murder justified is the next question to answer. His is not in the apartment long when Reed's lover arrives. The lover does not very well appreciate Wanley's presence. He attacks Wanley and starts to strangle him. Reed has a pair of scissors. Wanley reaches out and Reed hands it over to him. He stabs the lover in the back a number of times and kills him.
It is self-defense, but neither Wanley nor Reed want to go to the police. I would suspect that Wanley doesn't want the attention as it would show he was fooling around while his wife was on vacation. It also might not look good for his standing at the club or his university. The two decide not to call the police, but instead determine that Wanley will dump the body out in the woods.
The body is found rather quickly. It also turns out that the lover is a wealthy financier named Claude Mazard. That results in the police putting all their resources into the murder / self-defense situation. Wanley and Reed left way too many clues for the police and the police are on the hunt. Now the police have solid assumptions that would point directly to Wanley and Reed, but there just isn't a way to match those clues specifically to the two of them. In fact, if I'm not mistaken, the police eye a specific woman who is not Reed. They also put their suspicions on an ex-cop named Heidt.
Yet the pressure mounts. It explodes when Heidt shows up at Reed's apartment. If I remember correctly, he was like a pseudo body guard who occasionally trailed Mazard. He knew about the affair, but wasn't around during the murder and subsequent dumping of the body. He is able to piece together a solid timeline while talking with Reed and demands a bribe. This is where the idea of killing as self-defense heads in the direction of murder. Wanley and Reed scheme to murder Heidt via poisoning.
The movie runs for a tight 99 minutes with the pressure on the couple growing ever more tight. Will one or both turn on the other? Will they stick together and live with their reputations intact? Or will the police somehow connect the dots? The tension is strong and the ending (unless someone is smart enough to catch potential Easter eggs that I didn't notice) will surprise.
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