The Bigamist

The Bigamist is a 1953 film starring Joan Fontaine, Ida Lupino, Edmund Gwenn, Edmond O'Brien, and Jane Darwell. It's directed by Ida Lupino. This is the first time Lupino appeared in a film she directed. The title is a good description of the plot. It's more melodramatic than I prefer, but it's listed in the book 1,001 Movies You Must See Before You Die and I'd like to eventually see all of them.

via Youtube:

Senses of Cinema has an article on Lupino and says this:

While a number of critics consider the film the most accomplished of Lupino’s early films, The Bigamist remains a problematic entry in Lupino’s directorial career for most viewers. The acting is superb, but visually the film fails to excite. Nevertheless, in its examination of social standards in the early 1950s, the film gives us an uncomfortably claustrophobic vision of the constraints forced upon both women and men during this period. Yet, it would be impossible not to notice the lack of visceral energy in The Bigamist.

Images Journal concludes,

This subtle critique of '50s families and the sterility of home life when business becomes more important than family communication makes The Bigamist just as relevant today as when it was made in 1953. And the sympathetic portrayal of all the characters involved reveals Lupino to be a kind filmmaker with a genuine desire to avoid judgmental behavior.

FilmsNoir.net calls it "A film for mature adults who understand the true meaning of ‘shades of grey’."