cigarette smoking   motel   based on novel   christmas   character name in title   father son relationship   hotel   1950s   new york city   new year's eve   manhattan new york city   father daughter relationship   female nudity   bare breasts   department store   recording   lawyer   piano   divorce   divorce lawyer   suburb   record player   road trip   friend   on the road   boyfriend girlfriend relationship   lesbian   lesbian sex   lesbian kiss   child custody   female protagonist   camera   gloves   photographer   tape recorder   time magazine   sexual awakening   photography   break up   father in law daughter in law relationship   spurned man   character says i love you   store clerk   telegram   new year's day   santa claus hat   female female kiss   christmas present   electronic eavesdropping   mother in law daughter in law relationship   bickering couple   married woman   older woman younger woman relationship   forename as title   new york times the newspaper   christmas season   divorce settlement   electric train   lesbian romance   opening scene repeated later in film   reference to dwight d. eisenhower   rejecting a marriage proposal   train set   wanting divorce   waterloo iowa   year 1952   year 1953   in medias res   friendship   one word title   mother son relationship   little girl   title appears in writing   restaurant   husband wife relationship   telephone call   title spoken by character   telephone   kiss   party   suitcase   mother daughter relationship   phone booth   piano player