Even today, reading a basic summary of William Faulkner's SANCTUARY is likely to give pause. It is a nasty bit of southern gothic literature about a socialite who gets raped by a bootlegger and then entangled in a murder case. The book was adapted unfaithfully in 1933 as THE STORY OF TEMPLE DRAKE, but what that movie lacks in authenticity it more than makes up for in delicious gothic style and powerful acting. Oddly enough, the changes made to the story have also allowed it to be more palatable to a modern audience.
The big difference between STORY and this later 1961 version of SANCTUARY is that Temple very clearly does not enjoy being raped in the 1933 film. When she stays with her rapist in a bordello, it is implied that shame, not passion, is what keeps her from going back home. The 60s movie has Temple fall madly in love with her rapist because of how macho he is compared to the straight-laced college boys she knows back home. To say it's uncomfortable is redundant, but it's also quite poorly developed too. The story has no real flow and just lurches from one tawdry episode to the next. The second half in particular, with Temple struggling to adapt to housewife life, feels like a bad soap opera.
It's a shame because Lee Remick and Odetta are fantastic in their roles, giving this sleazy movie more class and power than it warrants. Odetta in particular is so soulful and tragic that she steals the movie from Remick with ease.
