Come Back, Little Sheba
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Movie Reviews of Come Back, Little Sheba
Movie Review: movie
Summary: 5 Stars
great service, movie was one I had been looking for, for along time. Thanks, Kathleen ThomsonMovie Review: Lost dreams and failed ambitions...
Summary: 4 Stars
Come Back, Little Sheba stands as a fine work of art by director Daniel Mann. The story takes place in the Delaney household. The Delaneys suffer relatively silently from the deep pain and despair that they feel over Mr. Delaney, or "Doc," as his wife Lola calls him, never finishing medical school and Lola Delaney not being the "model" housewife they both wish she were. Burt Lancaster turns in a tremendous performance as "Doc" Delaney, the bitter medical school dropout who blames his wife for his personal failings which include alcoholism and an extremely callous personality. Moreover, there's no secret why Shirley Booth won her Oscar for Best Actress of 1952 for her role as Lola Delaney. Her performance commands your attention as she masterfully portrays the character of Lola Delaney struggling with her own issues while trying to keep their marriage as stable as possible.
Unfortunately for the Delaneys, their fragile world is turned upside down when they rent a room to young college student Marie Buckholder, who stirs feelings of true passion in Mr. Delaney and motherly feelings in Lola Delaney. Eventually the Delaneys must confront their true yet previously unacknowledged feelings not just within themselves but also to each other. They try to deal with the pain of their rather serious issues resulting in their lives not working out the way they hoped it would. Lola Delaney has the extra burden of having to accept the loss of their dog Sheba; Lola had been very attached to Sheba who represented for her the child she never had. In addition, all this takes place as Marie, the young boarder for whom "Doc" develops feelings, enjoys her youth as she flirts with a muscle boy and studies at a nearby university.
Will Marie and "Doc" Delaney ever share romantic time together? Will the Delaneys deal successfully with their problems? Can "Doc" Delaney stay away from drink when the going gets rough as he realizes that Marie cannot really replace his dowdy and aging wife Lola? What might happen if he did revert to drinking again? Will Sheba be found and returned to Lola Delaney? No spoilers here, folks; you'll have to watch the movie to find out!
Burt Lancaster and Shirley Booth portray Doc Delaney and Lola Delaney with a great deal of sensitivity; they throw themselves into their acting roles do deeply that you will be convinced by their acting every step of the way through the picture. Burt Lancaster's acting in particular leaves you on the edge of your seat at all the right moments during this film. Moreover, Terry Moore positively shines as the young Marie Buckholder who makes "Doc" Delaney (or, Mr. Delaney) experience romantic passion for the first time in many years.
The choreography exceeds my expectations with many characters moving about the screen in several scenes, all of them doing what they were directed to do so well at all times. The cinematography reflects good judgment; the camera gets moved about very deftly by Daniel Mann and his crew to portray the exact image and conjure up the precise emotions they want their audience to experience at all times.
Unfortunately, the DVD comes without any extras. The most you get is a scene selection feature which of course is standard on just about all commercially released DVDs of today. The movie stands so strong, however, that is disappointment is comparatively minor and I will only take off one star for this problem to make this a four star DVD review.
I highly recommend this film for classic movie buffs and people who enjoy superlative dramatic performances.
Movie Review: A Classic Of Its Era
Summary: 4 Stars
The film version of William Inge's COME BACK, LITTLE SHEBA was released the year of my birth (1952)--and yes, that really was another era. The Hayes code was still in effect, and even married couples had to sleep in twin beds. For all that, however, a certain frankness was creeping into the American cinema. Alcoholism, as a theme, had been already addressed successfully in LOST WEEKEND some seven years prior. And themes of pre-marital sex and illegitimacy were at least occasionally addressed (think of Greer Garson's classic 1941 film BLOSSOMS IN THE DUST) or at least hinted at.
By today's standards, COME BACK, LITTLE SHEBA is not especially bold. Those familiar with the stage version might also cite it as an example of the kinds of coy compromises Hollywood had to make in order to get "serious drama" onto film at all. (The comparison to the stage play serves as proof positive that "mature drama" onscreen was still relatively "immature" in comparison to the stage or to literature. Frumpy housewife Lola Delaney (Academy Award winner Shirley Booth) was allowed to gaze a little more longingly at muscular young men in the stage version, without it necessarily marking her as the slut her husband cruelly accuses her of being in a drunken rage.
In the film version, she looks on wistfully as her young boarder Marie (Terry Moore) and her athlete boyfriend (Richard Jaeckel) flirt and kiss. It is, at worst, a reminder of her own lost youth. (Well, actually, Lola's reaction during the "life drawing" scene suggests more than a maternal interest, but the play is quite a bit more open about her flirtatious nature.)
It's hard to say though if the film would have been much better if it had been more faithful to the stage play. As others have pointed out, enough of the original dialog and storyline is included to still make quite a powerful statement. And it IS true that most changes are relatively minor. (The screenwriters in fact wisely, after including the postman interchange, dropped a similar one with the milkman). Perhaps the only baffling alteration is the filmmakers' decision to make Marie only a very new tenent in the Delaney household. The play has her already established as a de facto part of the family and makes Doc Delaney's obviously complex feelings toward his young boarder (paternal protectiveness compounded with a certain erotic longing) ring all the more true.
In fact, when in the movie, the Delaney's receive a letter from the now-married Marie stating how she appreciated Doc's concern about the caddish young athlete who might have won her favor, one has to wonder when, exactly, did he ever have the chance to make those sentiments known.
Stage plays have always been one of the most difficult source materials for filmmakers to adapt. (How do you "open up" the thing and get it out of those damn four walls?). In the 50s, the process was even more complicated due to the stringent codes on the film industry. COME BACK LITTLE SHEBA was a remarkable achievement for 1952, both in terms of its relative candor and the fact that it doesn't seem overly "stagey." Add to that Shirley Booth's performance (as well as the rest of the remarkable cast, including the often underrated performance of Burt Lancaster) and you've got a period classic. That may not be the same as a cinematic masterpiece, but they came as close as the times would permit them.
Movie Review: WILLIAM INGE'S "COME BACK LITTLE SHEBA"
Summary: 4 Stars
Very fine adaptation of the William Inge play with Shirley Booth in an Oscar winning performance as a middle-aged, childless woman, whose husband, (Burt Lancaster), is about to hop off the alcoholic's wagon. Unlike two other Hollywood filmings of Inge plays; "Picnin", and "Bus Stop", "Come Back Little Sheba", finds little reason to expand its horizons for film's sake, and sticks close to the drawing board, concentrating on the subtle, brewing drama that finally erupts in an angry alcoholic's rage. Lancaster's transition from devoted Alcoholics Anonymous member to raving lunatic is superb, and the two young supporting players, Terry Moore and Richard Jaeckel, are surprsingly deft and accomplished as teens in love, in contrast to the passive and hardened relationship of the middle-agers. Shirley Booth delivers a dazzling, emotionally engulfing portrait of a woman clutching love, her borderline manic character is genuinely empathetic. The only problem, and one that occurs to me every time I read the play, is the suggestion that a kitchen knife holds the answer to the fate of the missing dog, Sheba. I don't think it was the playwright's intention to envision Burt Lancaster carving up the cute little poodle, but every time he picks up that knife and lunges at his wife, I expect to find little poodle chops in the freezer.Movie Review: This is a performace!
Summary: 4 Stars
If I was an actor, this is a performance I would study. Shirley Booth is brillant. It is a unbelievably moving performance, sympathetic, depressing, heart-breaking, incredible! I have watched this film numerous times and I am moved each time. This is probably one of the best performances ever captured on film and, perhaps, one of the most over looked. All I can say is, watch it, watch it, watch it!