| Director | Delbert Mann |
|---|---|
| Box office | $3.1 million |
In Bournemouth, at the Hotel Beauregard, Major David Angus Pollock tries but fails to hide a newspaper article about himself. His attempt to keep the article from the eyes of the other guests at the residential hotel only succeeds in heightening the awareness of the strict Mrs Railton-Bell and the more relaxed and compassionate Lady Matheson. The two women read in the paper that Major Pollock has pleaded guilty to harassing behavior in a cinema, with several women saying he acted inappropriately. Mrs Railton-Bell wants Major Pollock expelled from the hotel and holds a meeting with other residents to decide the issue before presenting it to the manager, Miss Pat Cooper. Mrs Railton-Bell leads the meeting, arguing for the Major's expulsion, and despite the opposing views of some other residents, she informs Miss Cooper that the Major must leave.
Anne and John, who were formerly married to each other, meet outside. Anne, a great beauty, coolly teases John, informing him that she is engaged; John tells her that he is engaged as well, but does not disclose that he is engaged to the innkeeper, Miss Cooper. John claims that though Anne could have married other men who were wealthier and more important, she chose him, a man in a lower economic class, to manipulate and degrade him. Despite this, John and Anne admit they are still attracted to each other. She asks him to come to her room.
As they walk into the hotel, Miss Cooper tells Anne that she has a phone call. Miss Cooper asks John, knowing that Anne is his ex-wife, to consider the real reason for Anne's visit. John defends Anne at first, claiming that all his misfortunes are his own fault, but changes his mind when Miss Cooper tells him that Anne is talking on the phone to his publisher, the only person who knows that John and Miss Cooper are engaged. John confronts Anne in her bedroom. When she attempts to seduce him, he cruelly tells her that, in the light, he can see that she has aged and without her physical beauty it will be impossible for her to continue to manipulate people. She begs him to stay, but he runs out of the hotel after striking her. Miss Cooper comforts her. Anne reveals that she is not really engaged and has been abusing sleeping pills to ease her pain, even during the day.
The next morning, Mrs. Railton-Bell's downtrodden daughter Sibyl tells Major Pollock that she knows what he did. He explains that he always has been fearful of people and suggests that inly in the dark with strangers present can he have sex. Major Pollock tells Sibyl that he and she get along well with each other because they are both afraid of life. As he returns to his room to pack, Sibyl worries he will not find a new home.
When John returns in the morning, Miss Cooper tells him that Anne is emotionally unwell, and asks him to see her before she checks out of the hotel. After John leaves, Miss Cooper attempts to persuade Major Pollock to stay, but he refuses.
When Major Pollock enters the dining room at breakfast, there is an awkward silence until John greets him. The others do the same and cheerfully converse with him. Mrs. Railton-Bell is angered by this and demands Sibyl leave with her. Sibyl refuses to obey her mother's command for the first time ever, and insists on remaining to finish her breakfast. After her mother leaves, she starts to talk to Major Pollock, who decides to stay on at the hotel. As the hotel residents each eat their breakfast at separate tables, John and Anne appear to reconcile, saying they do not know if they can ever be happy, together or apart.