William Inge co-wrote this story about a young man who may have outgrown the straight-laced boundaries of his home town. After a hitch in the Navy, Bus Riley (Michael Thomas Parks) comes home to the staid Midwestern town of his birth; however, home doesn't feel quite like it used to, and Riley is looking for a new sense of purpose in his life. While his girlfriend Judy (Janet Margolin) tries to offer him the love and understanding he needs, she just isn't enough any more, and Riley soon starts looking for thrills with Laurel (Ann-Margret), a local floozy. Michael Thomas Parks, better known simply as Michael Parks, first put his James Dean-esque loner persona to work in this film; he'd get the most use out of it three years later, when he was top-billed in the briefly popular TV series Then Came Bronson.
~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide