Come Back, Little Sheba

source: Come Back, Little Sheba

William Inge's play transfers nicely to the big screen, with perfectly cast leads Shirley Booth and Burt Lancaster. A middle aged, childless couple struggles with the husband's periodic alcoholic "episodes". When they rent out a room in their house to a young college girl, the audience learns a lot about the couple just by observing their reactions to "the young people". "Doc" Delaney exhibits fatherly, protective feelings toward the young woman, expressing disgust when she brings a young man to her room. A regular at AA meetings, he eventually "gets sick" again. Determined never to give up, his devoted wife Lola stands by her man. The ending leaves us hopeful that all will turn out well. There are many beautiful moments in this film, assuring a lover of tearjerkers a full pay-off! Shirley Booth deserved her 1953 Oscar for her portrayal of Lola Delaney. Oh, and don't look for little Sheba, she won't be back.

First, to deal with the reputed greatness of Shirley Booth's performance. While acknowledging that this is a fine performance, subtle and expressive, Ms. Booth registering an incredible array of nuances, it should also be pointed out that she portrays the wife as a very annoying character, somewhat difficult for the audience to fully sympathize with. Of course, it is the scriptwriter who has her apologizing in every direction, ceaselessly trying to placate her husband, but Ms. Booth employs a whiny voice that diminishes the character and alienates the audience. It reminded me very much of the Shelley Winters whine, which sounds to me like fingernails scratching of a blackboard. Burt Lancaster is badly miscast as her husband. Almost the first time he walks in front of the camera, striding across the living room, his athleticism looks completely out of place. A vigorous, handsome, young-looking man like him, married to such a frumpy wife? This stretches credibility to the breaking point. The mismatch is especially highlighted in the closing scene, where it is not possible to believe that he cannot live without her, in fact, that he can't find a better mate than her (he never wanted to marry her in the first place). The script is very good but crashes and burns in the closing scenes, which seem so easy, so Hollywood. He goes on a terrible binge and comes close to murdering his wife, telling her terrible, cruel truths, but after a little time to dry out, he's good as new, says that he never meant what he said, and begs her never to leave him. It has all the marks of a Hollywood happy ending. Why are we to believe he won't go on another binge, perhaps killing her the next time? Why are we to believe that his resentments against his wife aren't still smouldering in his heart, waiting for another occasion to erupt? In fact, we can't believe any of this, and the ending seems easy and implausible. It's a very good movie, well worth watching, but I wish we could reserve our highest praise, our unconditional praise for movies that are better than this.

What a downer. Burt is a recovering alcoholic married to Shirley Booth, a mindless optimist who lives in the past and can't seem to simply SHUT UP. My God, that voice! That shrill assurance! The maudlin exhumation of a night long ago devoted to the delights of Venus. How did Burt Lancaster's Doc ever manage to quit boozing when he has to face Hazel and the untrammeled entropy of her mind and her household? She doesn't make breakfast. He has to drink instant coffee before going to work. She's forgotten to buy orange juice. When he returns his dinner is late. It began to remind me of MY marriage. Meanwhile there is a sub plot involving a mating ritual between luscious student/boarder Terry Moore and muscular hunk Richard Jaekel. That's depressing too. She doesn't want to give it up but he wants nothing but. The 1950s were pretty bad. Watch the tragedy unfold if you want. I'm off for a bottle of Louis XIII Rare Cask 42.6. I need it bad.

One thing for sure—the film certainly goes against the glamorous 50's mold. Probably no movie from that prettified period is as dour as this one, from the dowdy Lola to the grim- faced Doc to the bleak photography to the plebian sets. I kept yearning for lively little Marie (Moore) to bounce in and give my eyes some relief. My guess is Hollywood was out to show Broadway that they could entrust their Meaningful stage plays to the notoriously commercial West Coast. Sure, Booth gets the spotlight and responds by emoting like she's on New York's center stage. But with that whiny voice and desperate demeanor, she's more pathetic than sympathetic. Then again, that may be the point, but you've got to wonder why the hunky Doc (Lancaster) stays with her in about as egregious a piece of visual miscasting as I've seen. But then maybe he too pities her long lost youth that won't ever come back no matter how hard she yearns. Looks like they're both paying a price for a mistake made years earlier. Of course, as might be expected, the screenplay's loaded with symbolism, especially her "dream" soliloquy. So get out your Freud if you care to. In my little book, the movie amounts to a one woman show that hasn't worn well, despite the studio's good intentions. Then too, catch that pat, unconvincing ending, so typical of the time. The dour production, however, does manage to put a dent in the bosomy Technicolor spectacles that ruled the 50's Hollywood roost. I'm just glad the talented Booth eventually moved on to TV and the less stagy Hazel (1961-1966).

An acting triumph for both Shirley Booth and Burt Lancaster. This film will stay with you for a long time. Booth won a well deserved Oscar for this performance and it is well worth the time to view it. This is not a happy film obviously to look at but if you appreciate great acting as much as I do, you will really enjoy Come Back Little Sheba.

'Come Back Little Sheba' is the story of a recovering alcoholic's (Lancaster as 'Doc Delaney') falling off the wagon, then back on again. His lapse is prompted by the appearance of a student lodger (Moore as 'Marie') whose flirting with a bad boy (Jaeckel as 'Turk') arouses Doc's lust and jealousy. Presumably because this was 1952, there is a lot of understatement of the passions that actually might be going on, but the scenes of Turk assaulting Marie, and Doc spewing his bitterness at Lola (Shirley Booth) are still powerful, and Burt's struggle not to pick up the bottle is good. Shirley Booth's performance is slightly over the top, and there's never any doubt that you're watching a stage performance, but it's a professional, consistent turn. The trouble is that Burt Lancaster's acting for the screen in a much more restrained way, and you do wonder what a cool, if wooden, dude like him is doing with a somewhat irritating frump like Lola (in spite of her implausibly being referred to as 'Pretty Lola' more than once). At first I was expecting Lola to be the one reaching for the booze as soon as Doc had gone to work, but alas there are no such twists or deconstructions in this movie. It's straight down the line, and the only suspense comes from wondering when Doc is going to reach for that Bourbon he's kept in the kitchen for a year. When he does, sparks fly gratifyingly enough. The teen characters and their plot are straight out of a McGraw-Hill public information short, often forgetting to act properly (see Bruce in the dinner scene), and while Lola's phone call to her mother telling of her unhappiness is effective, Doc's return and the resumption of suburban bliss is very weak and relies on sentimentality. 'Come Back Little Sheba' portrays an abused woman's mundane heroism and does enough to get by, but whether you enjoy it will depend on whether you buy Shirley Booth's old-school performance. In 1952 it was probably quite moving; in 2012 it's a little bit grating.

This is an interesting study about the trials of people dealing with disappointment and alcoholism. Lost dreams have been Doc's excuse for turning to the bottle, and a lost little dog (Sheba) symbolizes his wife's search for herself. The film based on the play is an early study of the pain of addiction. As Doc tells his wife, "Dreams are strange." There is redemption in the fact that Doc asks for forgiveness as his wife regains her sense of dignity. Booth gives a very believable performance, and Lancaster is excellent playing a man far older than he was at the time. This is a touching, though simplistic, look at the dark side of human nature.

I saw this movie 20 years ago and thought it was way over-acted. I saw it again tonight and enjoyed it a bit more. I still think that Lancaster is miss-cast and that Booth's acting is way over the top. Rather than being the story of a recovering alcoholic I saw it as the story of a woman who irritated everyone - even her own parents - with her child-like imbecility. The fact that her husband could stay off the drink for a full year while living with such a woman is remarkable. Surely the only reason the husband didn't leave was that his own self-esteem had been completely negated by marrying such a woman in the first place. Booth's acting is so melodramatic that it makes you cringe time after time. Not a movie for a modern audience.

Celebrated William Inge play, in which Shirley Booth won a Best Actress Tony for her work on Broadway, comes to the screen rather muted of its power. Booth returns to her role as a frumpy housewife desperately trying to keep her moody husband happy; he's an alcoholic chiropractor struggling to stay off the bottle, but when a cute blonde boarder moves into the house, it changes the dynamic in the household. This material is basically a showcase for its leading lady, and Oscar-winning Booth is indeed a gripping presence here, giving a heartfelt performance. Not so Burt Lancaster as Shirley's spouse, whose intensity is erratic and off-putting (and whose obvious youth is at a mismatch with this part). The supporting roles are of little consequence, though the film is astutely directed and photographed. It isn't the fascinating downer it might have been however, the Hollywood gloss coming between the sadly pathetic narrative and the crisp, cogent handling. Remade for television in 1977. ** from ****