No Down Payment (1957)

In the 1950s, four young married couples on the way up attempt to take their slice of the American dream and move to burgeoning suburbia where modern homes are available in seemingly perfect neighborhoods (all white, of course). Based on the novel by John McPartland and directed by Martin Ritt (HUD). Like similar 1950s films such as PEYTON PLACE and SOME CAME RUNNING, NO DOWN PAYMENT lifts the covers of the American Dream only to discover the rot underneath: alcoholism, rape, religious hypocrisy, racism and greed among the upwardly mobile baby boomer generation. Shot in crisp B&W CinemaScope by Joseph LaShelle (THE APARTMENT), as directed by Ritt, it's a stark examination of the lure of obtaining the dream on installment but the price to pay can destroy you. The acting is superior right down the line with some of the cast giving career best performances like Cameron Mitchell as the war vet whose lack of education blocks his ambition and Tony Randall as an alcoholic weasel looking for the easy way. The others include Joanne Woodward, Barbara Rush, Jeffrey Hunter, Sheree North, Pat Hingle and Patricia Owens.