An American Dream
film poster
Directed by	Robert Gist
Screenplay by	Mann Rubin
Based on	An American Dream 1965 novel by Norman Mailer
Produced by	William Conrad (executive producer) Jimmy Lydon (uncredited)
Starring	Stuart Whitman Janet Leigh Eleanor Parker
Cinematography	Sam Leavitt
Edited by	George R. Rohrs
Music by	Johnny Mandel
Production company	William Conrad Productions
Distributed by	Warner Bros.
Release date	August 31, 1966 (1966-08-31) (New York)
Running time	103 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English

An American Dream (also known as See You in Hell, Darling) is a 1966 American Technicolor drama film directed by Robert Gist and starring Stuart Whitman and Janet Leigh.^[1][2] It was adapted from the 1965 Norman Mailer novel of the same name. The film received an Oscar nomination for Best Song for "A Time for Love," music by Johnny Mandel and lyrics by Paul Francis Webster.^[3]

Plot

Stephen Rojack, a war hero, returns home to become a tough-talking television commentator who strongly criticizes the police's inability to put an end to the criminal activities of Ganucci, an organized-crime figure.

Separated from his alcoholic wife Deborah, he goes to her seeking a divorce. A violent argument breaks out, ending with Rojack throwing her from a 30th-story window.

At the police station, where he tells the police his wife committed suicide, Rojack runs into Ganucci as well as the gangster's nephew Nicky and nightclub singer Cherry McMahon, a former girlfriend of his. Rojack resumes his romantic interest in Cherry, further infuriating the Ganuccis.

Barney Kelly, his dead wife's father, is suspicious about Deborah's death and confronts Rojack, getting him to admit his guilt. Instead of informing the police, Barney decides to let Rojack struggle with his conscience.

Meanwhile, bribing her with a singing contract, the Ganuccis are able to convince Cherry to lure Rojack into an ambush. At the last second, she breaks down and warns him. Rojack takes her gun and is able to shoot Nicky, but then is gunned down himself.

Cast

Production

When An American Dream bombed at the box office, the desperate distributors re-titled the film See You in Hell, Darling.^[4]

Review

The director intended to make a horror movie, but failed to create that effect: According to Time Out magazine, it turns out to be "just tediously violent".^[5][3]