[3][4] An exhaustive description of the making of the film is the subject of producer Dore Schary's book Case History of a Movie.

The story is told through Joe and Nancy Smith, a typical American couple, and the positive and negative reactions of other people.

John Chapter I, Verse I MADE IN HOLLYWOOD, U.S.A. by Metro~Goldwyn~Mayer The New York Times review called the film "a compound of humor, sentiment and romance—and that element of mysticism which the average person can seldom resist."

The reviewer praised the performances of Whitmore, Davis and Gray, who played their young son, but criticized the film's "smug and easy clichés that are used to propel the plot.

"[5] Variety called the film an "unusual picture experience" that was "beautifully handled in the understanding writing, direction and playing.