From the Terrace movie

From the Terrace is a 1960 American drama film directed by Mark Robson and starring Paul Newman, Joanne Woodward, Myrna Loy, Ina Balin, George Grizzard and Leon Ames, with a young Barbara Eden appearing in one scene.

The screenplay was written by Ernest Lehman based on the 1958 novel by John O'Hara that tells the story of the estranged son of a Pennsylvania factory owner who marries into a prestigious family and moves to New York to seek his fortune.

In 1946, David Alfred Eaton returns home from the war to Philadelphia. Finding his mother Martha driven to alcoholism by years of neglect and abuse from her husband Samuel Eaton, owner of a prestigious iron and steel company. Having withdrawn from his family after the death of his firstborn son thirteen years earlier, Samuel's resentment drove Alfred to turn his back on the family business and strike out on his own with his closest friend, Lex.

While attending a party at the estate of Lex's wealthy uncle, Alfred is dazzled by Mary St. John, the daughter of a wealthy family. Mary is drawn into a relationship with Alfred and breaks off her secret engagement to Dr. Jim Roper, defying her parents. After a humiliating argument, Alfred's father falls ill, and Alfred shuns the family business once again to start an aviation company with Lex.

On his wedding day, Alfred receives word that his father has died. Certain that Samuel has timed his death to spite him, Alfred goes ahead with the ceremony. With his uncle's money, Lex and Alfred then fund the Nassau Aircraft Corporation, but when Lex shows more interest in perfecting aircraft designs than in selling planes, Alfred becomes impatient.

One wintry day, Alfred and Mary are driving home from a party when they see a little boy fall through the thin ice of a frozen pond. Alfred plunges into the icy waters to save him. The boy's grandfather, James Duncan MacHardie, the most famous financier in America, invites Alfred and Mary to dinner. MacHardie, a shrewd businessman, sensing Alfred's drive and ambition, offers him a job in his investment firm.