Emma, who gets 19 curtain calls and has "everything" envies Deedee, while Deedee, the one who got pregnant, still dreams of stardom. Will they ever find peace and fulfillment—these two women who now recall their—how shall I put it?—turning points? To ask that question is to know the worst about this entertaining new movie, an old-fashioned backstage musical transplanted to the world of ballet by three people who not only know it but also love it, sentimental clichés and all....These are more or less the bones of the film, which are hardly bare, what with Emma's having to face the reality of time's passage, and Deedee's having to come to terms with her missed opportunities. Could she have danced the lead in "Anna Karenina" 20 years ago? Probably not, though from what we see of Emma in the role, it's mostly walking through steam....The Turning Point" is entertaining, not for discovering new material, but for treating old material with style and romantic feeling that, in this day and age, seem remarkably unafraid.

Ross ... has succeeded in reviving the best theatrical traditions of both "the woman's picture" and the backstage melodrama. One is reminded anew of the satisfaction to be derived from waiting for something to be done the right way.... Each friend envies something of what the other has achieved - in one case fame and in the other motherhood and domestic contentment. Naturally, they tend to idealize each other's roles, to overrate what they imagine they lack and underrate what they've attained. The story is calculated to force them into a theatrically effective showdown, commencing in spiteful accusations and concluding in conciliatory reaffirmations of friendship and common sense...."The Turning Point" is a lovely movie, primed to inspire much of the old-fashioned romantic and emotional gratification moviegoers often seek in vain or desperately overcompensate for these days.

The Turning Point is one of the best films of its era. It’s that rare example of synergy in which every key element is excellent and the ensemble is an absolute triumph....Pic ranks as one of MacLaine’s career highlights, ditto for Bancroft. They have a climactic showdown scene which filmgoers will remember for decades.