Come Back, Little Sheba

Shirley Booth's performance in this movie is one of the best I've seen.From the moment she appears as Lola Delaney you know almost everything you need to know about her character.It's quite rare that I get moved to tears by a performance,but Shirley Booth managed that feat. She conveys all the emotions of a simple woman who's life didn't turn out the way she dreamed and her realization that the springtime of her life has long gone.Burt Lancaster might have been a bit young for the part of Doc Delaney,but I think he's really good and powerful and frightening in the drunk-scene.Terry Moore was a charming acquaintance for me.Her performance was quite assured and natural. Although this movie is more like a filmed play, I enjoyed it a lot.

Shirley Booth is so convincing in this movie that it makes me think she was wasted in cinema because she was never given an opportunity to display her magnificent talent. She is completely heartbreaking in the movie and deservedly won the Oscar, over such heavyweights as Bette Davis and Joan Crawford. Burt Lancaster is great also but its Shirley's show all the way and she does not disappoint.

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.

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.

Hard to say too much to laud this movie. It plays much like a Broadway play and is lovely on film.

If you only have a vague remembrance of Shirley Booth as the domestic Hazel in the early TV comedy, then you don't know her well.

Terrific story, great acting and a very intricate story woven by masters of screenplay.

Revel in the classics so you can demand better of today's entertainment fare.