In the early summer of 1950, Martin Greer, Dana Andrews, works as an engineer for the small construction firm Greer and Sons, alongside his father. A four-year Army combat engineer from World War II, he and his wife Nancy Greer, Dorothy McGuire, are raising two young children while the draft looms over the town.
When George Kress Jr., Martin Milner, asks Martin to write a letter to the Selective Service System claiming his son is indispensable to their company and thus exempt from the draft, Martin agonizes over the request and ultimately refuses. The consequence is immediate: George Jr. joins the Army at the outset of the Korean War, altering the family’s balance and testing loyalties.
Meanwhile, Jack Greer, Farley Granger, is in love with Carrie Turner, Peggy Dow, the daughter of a local judge who sits on the draft board. Despite a prior deferred status due to a knee problem, Jack is drafted, setting the stage for tension between duty and affection. The judge’s stance adds another layer of pressure to a community already reeling from the draft and war.
Jack’s mother, mourning a son lost in the last war, pleads with Martin to intervene once again by penning an “indispensable” letter for Jack. Martin considers it, but in the end he does not, and Nancy quietly voices her criticism of Jack’s hesitation to serve. The decision reverberates when Jack is drafted and later performs his duties, including a brief moment when he and George Jr. cross paths before George heads overseas to Korea.
Tragedy and uncertainty shadow George Jr.’s fate, as he is listed as missing in action, a fate that remains unrevealed in the narrative, leaving Thomas Greer, Robert Keith the family patriarch, to cope with bitterness and blame cast upon Martin. The strain of unresolved loss edges the family dynamics and colors each choice they face.
Harvey Landrum, Jim Backus, Martin’s commander from World War II, reenlists and seeks out Martin again, highlighting a shortage of engineers who know how to build the kind of airstrips the Army needs. Martin’s decision to join him—after initially declining—comes despite Nancy’s objections, underscoring the recurring question of personal duty versus family duty during a time of national crisis.
As the war stretches on, Jack and Carrie marry during a furlough before he too ships out, sealing a new chapter for the Greer family amid ongoing uncertainty. The film traces how every choice—whether to resist, comply, or commit—carries weight far beyond the individual, weaving together themes of duty, sacrifice, and the enduring question of what a family must endure when a nation calls its young men to fight.
Throughout, the performances of the core cast—Mildred Dunnock as Sarah Greer and Ray Collins as Judge Kenneth Turner—ground a story that feels both intimate and timely, offering a careful, character-driven look at how a small town grapples with war, obligation, and love under pressure.
