Come Back, Little Sheba
by Daniel Mann
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DVD Cover Information
Actor: Burt Lancaster, Philip Ober, Richard Jaeckel, Shirley Booth, Terry MooreDirector: Daniel Mann
Brand: LANCASTER,BURT
Cinematographer: James Wong Howe
Producer: Hal B. Wallis
Writer: Ketti Frings
Writer: William Inge
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Subtitled); English (Original Language)
Format: Black & White, Closed-captioned, Dolby, DVD, Full Screen, NTSC, Subtitled
Picture Format: 1.33:1
Running Time: 99 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2004-08-31
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Studio: Paramount
Movie Reviews of Come Back, Little Sheba
Movie Review: "I know that you regret marrying me"
Summary: 5 Stars
Based on the stage play of the same name, Come Back Little Sheba stars Shirley Booth as a vulnerable, needy woman, who is in a precarious marriage to a recovering alcoholic. Booth, a New York stage actress, ended up walking away with the 1952 Oscar for Best Actress, and her performance is absolutely terrific.
Starved of love, and feeling lonely, Lola Delaney (Booth) frantically calls outside her home for her little dog Sheba to return. Perhaps Sheba was the only light in her somewhat bleak existence. Hovering on middle age, the years have begun to take their toll on Lola - she looks every bit her age.
Lola and her husband Doc (Burt Lancaster) are living one day at a time; he's an AA member celebrating one year off the bottle, while Lola haphazardly keeps house and worries about shaky Doc's condition. Doc and Lola's marriage is childless, but both them are nagged by feelings of failure; she feels that he married her for the wrong reasons and his chiropractic business is just getting up again after his drinking problem knocked him for six.
The unsteady balance is threatened when they take on a boarder, college student Marie Buckholder (Terry Moore). Marie loves boys, and she loves to flirt with them. She's outgoing and full of life but Doc is bothered both by her youth and her amorous boyfriend Turk Fisher (Richard Jaeckel).
Marie gradually brings back memories of Doc's past and it is soon revealed that this is a story of a marriage that was forced by a pregnancy, followed by the unexpected loss of the child. Morally shamed, Doc funnels his obvious attraction for Marie into a puritanical backlash against the poor, vulnerable Lola.
This movie totally grabs you be the heartstrings and just won't let you go. You can feel Lola's desperation and need, while at the same time empathizing with Doc and his frustration at trying to stay off the wagon. Burt Lancaster is terrific in the role, but this is really Shirley Booth's movie. She owns every scene that she's in, whether she's staring wistfully through a half-closed door at Marie and Turk kissing, or dancing around to her favorite musical radio show.
Nola's become slack and frumpy, but she's never surrendered her pride or positive self-image. She misses being young and carefree and is often frustrated by Doc's insistence that the past be forgotten. She's also stimulated by Marie's presence, leading to some wonderful moments where she tries to lighten up Doc with a dance or a song.
Like the lost dog of the title, Nola's hope of somehow finding happiness seems almost lost. She knows that Doc could have a relapse at anytime, and deep down she knows that he has so many regrets about the marriage. But she quietly soldiers on, seeking out the company of the mailman and Marie, when Marie's rushing around or busy with Turk. Terry Moore and Richard Jaeckel both turn in excellent performances in this film: Moore makes a great teen tease and Jaeckel comes across as a totally convincing school jock.
Come Back Little Sheba reminded me of those early 1960's British "kitchen sink" movies, where the focus is on working class and not very glamorous people who are forced to deal with very real issues. The foreign lady who lives next door lets us know that Doc and Lola aren't living in an upscale neighborhood, also Doc's AA friends reinforce the notion that recovering alcoholics are just ordinary people, quietly struggling while attempting to combat the disease.
Come Back Little Sheba is a marvelously subtle and beautifully acted movie that centers on the personalities of those affected with alcoholism and the emotional damage that it ultimately causes. It very neatly draws us into the horror of alcohol at the very personal level - the cruel words and the physical threats, and portrays a marriage that is stultified by regret, a sad portrait of two people who just want different things. Mike Leonard September 05.
Summary of Come Back, Little Sheba
After a shot gun marriage, Lola loses the couple?s baby and relies for comfort on her dog, Sheba, who has run away, while Doc is a recovering alcoholic who blames Lola for his dropping out of medical school. Though still depressed and bitter about their past, the couple rents out a room to a young woman named Marie and while Marie brings happiness and young love into their home, she also brings old ghosts reminding Doc and Lola of their misfortunes.Similar DVD Movies
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