Come Back, Little Sheba (1952 film)
Encyclopedia
Come Back, Little Sheba (1952) is a drama film
produced by Paramount Pictures
which tells the story of a loveless marriage that is rocked when a young woman rents a room in the couple's house. The film stars Burt Lancaster
and Shirley Booth
with Terry Moore
and Richard Jaeckel
. The title refers to the wife's little dog that became lost months before the story begins and which she still openly misses.
The movie was adapted by Ketti Frings
from the 1950 play of the same title
by William Inge
and was directed by Daniel Mann
.
It won the Academy Award for Best Actress
(Shirley Booth) and was nominated for Best Actress in a Supporting Role
(Terry Moore) and Best Film Editing
. It was also entered into the 1953 Cannes Film Festival
.
Marie is a young college student who rents a spare room from the Delaneys. One day she brings home a young man, Turk, who is a star on the track team. He's wearing his track outfit which shows off his muscles, as she intends to use him as a figure model for a poster she's doing for a major athletic competition being held in the town. Mrs. Delaney encourages the couple in their "modeling session", though Doc, who walks in to find Turk underdressed, thinks it borders on pornography. Later, after Marie and Turk leave, it is revealed that Marie is promised to be married to another man, Bruce, who is away but due to return soon.
As Marie's infatuation with Turk grows, Doc becomes more agitated. Lola reminds him that Marie is so much like Lola in her younger days, when she was young and pretty and Doc was dashing and handsome, before Lola became "old, fat, and sloppy". Doc calms down but still voices his disagreement over Marie seeing another boy while Bruce is away.
One night, Turk and Marie return from a school dance. Marie forgot her key, so Turk enters through a window, unlocks the front door, and lets Marie in. They sneak into Marie's room. Meanwhile, this has been witnessed by Doc, who believes that they are up to no good, and he begins to remember what he was like with Lola. He goes back to the kitchen and reaches for his bottle hidden in the cupboard. Back in Marie's room, she changes her mind about Turk and asks him to leave. He accuses her of being a big tease and is about to force his way onto her when he changes his mind and leaves, unseen by Doc, through a window.
The next morning Doc, drunk and angry at what he perceives to be Marie's infidelity, is in a murderous rage and attacks Lola with a knife. She manages to call two of Doc's support group friends to come take him to the hospital just as Doc follows her into the parlor. Doc stumbles and drops the knife, but passes out while trying to choke Lola. The neighbor, Mrs. Coffman, hears the commotion and comes running over, just as the two men come to take Doc away.
After Doc is carried off, a shaken Lola calls her mother to see if she can stay there for a few days, but is told that her father still won't welcome her into the family house. Her mother offers to come to Lola's, but Lola declines.
Bruce returns and carries Marie away, where they get married. Her drawing was featured in the athletic poster and Turk becomes the star of the competition. Doc returns from the hospital and is welcomed by Lola. Doc realizes that he loves Lola after all, and begs her to never leave him. Lola promises to stay with him forever.
, Joanne Woodward
and Carrie Fisher
. It was directed by Silvio Narizzano
.
Drama film
A drama film is a film genre that depends mostly on in-depth development of realistic characters dealing with emotional themes. Dramatic themes such as alcoholism, drug addiction, infidelity, moral dilemmas, racial prejudice, religious intolerance, poverty, class divisions, violence against women...
produced by Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film production and distribution company, located at 5555 Melrose Avenue in Hollywood. Founded in 1912 and currently owned by media conglomerate Viacom, it is America's oldest existing film studio; it is also the last major film studio still...
which tells the story of a loveless marriage that is rocked when a young woman rents a room in the couple's house. The film stars Burt Lancaster
Burt Lancaster
Burton Stephen "Burt" Lancaster was an American film actor noted for his athletic physique and distinctive smile...
and Shirley Booth
Shirley Booth
Shirley Booth was an American actress.Primarily a theatre actress, Booth's Broadway career began in 1925. Her most significant success was as Lola Delaney, in the drama Come Back, Little Sheba, for which she received a Tony Award in 1950...
with Terry Moore
Terry Moore (actress)
Helen Luella Koford , better known as Terry Moore, is an American actress. Terry Moore made her film debut at age 11 and grew up with all the icons of the Hollywood era that made Hollywood what it is today, also known as "The Golden Age of Hollywood". Moore is an Academy Award nominated actress...
and Richard Jaeckel
Richard Jaeckel
Richard Hanley Jaeckel was an American actor of film and television.-Life and career:Jaeckel was born in Long Beach, New York. A short, but tough guy, he played a variety of characters during his fifty years in movies & television and became one of Hollywood's best known character actors...
. The title refers to the wife's little dog that became lost months before the story begins and which she still openly misses.
The movie was adapted by Ketti Frings
Ketti Frings
Ketti Frings was an American author, playwright, and screenwriter.-Early years:Born Katherine Hartley in Columbus, Ohio, Frings attended Principia College, began her career as a copywriter, and went on to work as a feature writer for United Press International.-Career:In 1941 her novel Hold Back...
from the 1950 play of the same title
Come Back, Little Sheba (play)
Come Back, Little Sheba is a 1950 play by the American dramatist William Inge. The play was Inge's first, written while he was a teacher at Washington University in St...
by William Inge
William Inge
William Motter Inge was an American playwright and novelist, whose works typically feature solitary protagonists encumbered with strained sexual relations. In the early 1950s, he had a string of memorable Broadway productions, and one of these, Picnic, earned him a Pulitzer Prize...
and was directed by Daniel Mann
Daniel Mann
Daniel Mann, also known as Daniel Chugerman , was an American film and television director.Daniel Mann was born in Brooklyn, New York. He was a stage actor since childhood, and attended Erasmus Hall High School, New York's Professional Children's School and the Neighborhood Playhouse...
.
It won the Academy Award for Best Actress
Academy Award for Best Actress
Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role is one of the Academy Awards of merit presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize an actress who has delivered an outstanding performance while working within the film industry...
(Shirley Booth) and was nominated for Best Actress in a Supporting Role
Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress
Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role is one of the Academy Awards of Merit presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize an actress who has delivered an outstanding performance while working within the film industry. Since its inception, however, the...
(Terry Moore) and Best Film Editing
Academy Award for Film Editing
The Academy Award for Film Editing is one of the annual awards of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Nominations for this award are closely correlated with the Academy Award for Best Picture. Since 1981, every film selected as Best Picture has also been nominated for the Film Editing...
. It was also entered into the 1953 Cannes Film Festival
1953 Cannes Film Festival
-Jury:*Jean Cocteau *Louis Chauvet *Titina De Filippo *Guy Desson *Philippe Erlanger *Renée Faure *Jacques-Pierre Frogerais *Abel Gance *André Lang...
.
Plot
"Doc" Delaney is a recovering alcoholic who, in his younger days, was a promising medical student who dropped out of school to take a job to support a pregnant Lola, whose premarital intercourse with Doc caused her to be thrown out of her family's house by her father. Doc, thinking he was doing the right thing, married Lola. The child later died, and in the process rendered Lola unable to have any further children, leaving the couple childless. As a result, Doc turned to drinking excessively, causing him to have bouts of anger and murderous rage. He later went into therapy and was able to quit drinking, though he still keeps a bottle in the house to remind him of his past life.Marie is a young college student who rents a spare room from the Delaneys. One day she brings home a young man, Turk, who is a star on the track team. He's wearing his track outfit which shows off his muscles, as she intends to use him as a figure model for a poster she's doing for a major athletic competition being held in the town. Mrs. Delaney encourages the couple in their "modeling session", though Doc, who walks in to find Turk underdressed, thinks it borders on pornography. Later, after Marie and Turk leave, it is revealed that Marie is promised to be married to another man, Bruce, who is away but due to return soon.
As Marie's infatuation with Turk grows, Doc becomes more agitated. Lola reminds him that Marie is so much like Lola in her younger days, when she was young and pretty and Doc was dashing and handsome, before Lola became "old, fat, and sloppy". Doc calms down but still voices his disagreement over Marie seeing another boy while Bruce is away.
One night, Turk and Marie return from a school dance. Marie forgot her key, so Turk enters through a window, unlocks the front door, and lets Marie in. They sneak into Marie's room. Meanwhile, this has been witnessed by Doc, who believes that they are up to no good, and he begins to remember what he was like with Lola. He goes back to the kitchen and reaches for his bottle hidden in the cupboard. Back in Marie's room, she changes her mind about Turk and asks him to leave. He accuses her of being a big tease and is about to force his way onto her when he changes his mind and leaves, unseen by Doc, through a window.
The next morning Doc, drunk and angry at what he perceives to be Marie's infidelity, is in a murderous rage and attacks Lola with a knife. She manages to call two of Doc's support group friends to come take him to the hospital just as Doc follows her into the parlor. Doc stumbles and drops the knife, but passes out while trying to choke Lola. The neighbor, Mrs. Coffman, hears the commotion and comes running over, just as the two men come to take Doc away.
After Doc is carried off, a shaken Lola calls her mother to see if she can stay there for a few days, but is told that her father still won't welcome her into the family house. Her mother offers to come to Lola's, but Lola declines.
Bruce returns and carries Marie away, where they get married. Her drawing was featured in the athletic poster and Turk becomes the star of the competition. Doc returns from the hospital and is welcomed by Lola. Doc realizes that he loves Lola after all, and begs her to never leave him. Lola promises to stay with him forever.
Cast
- Burt LancasterBurt LancasterBurton Stephen "Burt" Lancaster was an American film actor noted for his athletic physique and distinctive smile...
- Doc Delaney - Shirley BoothShirley BoothShirley Booth was an American actress.Primarily a theatre actress, Booth's Broadway career began in 1925. Her most significant success was as Lola Delaney, in the drama Come Back, Little Sheba, for which she received a Tony Award in 1950...
- Lola Delaney - Terry MooreTerry Moore (actress)Helen Luella Koford , better known as Terry Moore, is an American actress. Terry Moore made her film debut at age 11 and grew up with all the icons of the Hollywood era that made Hollywood what it is today, also known as "The Golden Age of Hollywood". Moore is an Academy Award nominated actress...
- Marie Buckholder - Richard JaeckelRichard JaeckelRichard Hanley Jaeckel was an American actor of film and television.-Life and career:Jaeckel was born in Long Beach, New York. A short, but tough guy, he played a variety of characters during his fifty years in movies & television and became one of Hollywood's best known character actors...
- Turk Fisher - Philip OberPhilip OberPhilip Ober was an American actor.Ober often appeared in roles as a straight man in farcical circumstances. One of his most memorable stage role was in Lawrence Riley's Broadway hit Personal Appearance opposite Gladys George. From 1954 to 1967 he frequently appeared in television series...
- Ed Anderson - Edwin MaxEdwin MaxEdwin Max is a Dutch darts player who plays in British Darts Organisation events. He uses the nickname Mad Max for his matches....
- Elmo Huston - Lisa Golm - Mrs. Coffman
- Walter Kelley - Bruce
Other versions
A television version of the original play was made in 1977, starring Laurence OlivierLaurence Olivier
Laurence Kerr Olivier, Baron Olivier, OM was an English actor, director, and producer. He was one of the most famous and revered actors of the 20th century. He married three times, to fellow actors Jill Esmond, Vivien Leigh, and Joan Plowright...
, Joanne Woodward
Joanne Woodward
Joanne Gignilliat Trimmier Woodward is an American actress, television and theatrical producer, and widow of Paul Newman...
and Carrie Fisher
Carrie Fisher
Carrie Frances Fisher is an American actress, novelist, screenwriter, and lecturer. She is most famous for her portrayal of Princess Leia in the original Star Wars trilogy, her bestselling novel Postcards from the Edge, for which she wrote the screenplay to the film of the same name, and her...
. It was directed by Silvio Narizzano
Silvio Narizzano
Silvio Narizzano was a Canadian film director, educated at Bishop's University, Quebec.His best received film was Georgy Girl , which was entered into the 16th Berlin International Film Festival...
.