The Dilemma of Life

The film features four couples as protagonists and depicts the true face of post-war suburban life in the United States in the 1950s. In the prosperous suburban development areas, everyone wore bright clothes, lived in spacious and comfortable mansions, and lived seemingly carefree lives. However, beneath the surface of happiness, everyone was tortured by their own inner demons and hardships. British rock legend David Bowie mentioned this movie in a letter: "I watched a movie called "No" on TV one night. "Down Payment" is an old movie, a great movie, but if the American life portrayed in this movie is true, it is really depressing." The story of the film begins when the young couple David (Jeffrey Hunter) and Jane (Patricia Owens) move into the Sunrise Hill community, where they meet the Kretzer couple Herman (Pat Hengel) and Betty (Barbara Rush), the Flagg couple Jerry (Tony Randall) and Isabel (Sheri North), and the Boone couple Troy (Cameron Mitchell) and Leola (Joanna Woodward). David is an engineer, but his boss has been persuading him to become a salesman because salesmen