About Mrs. Leslie

Though she was known for her many roles on Broadway and an even more famous part on television, Shirley Booth did not seem to build much of a career as a movie star. Maybe this is because she was rather unlike other actresses that were headlining motion pictures in the 1950s. And that's a good thing, really, because for every Marilyn Monroe, it's kind of nice to have a Shirley Booth, who stands out and gives us something decidedly different and special.

In this film, ABOUT MRS. LESLIE, she is paired with Robert Ryan who plays against type as a mysterious magnate. It's fun to watch him make romantic gestures towards Miss Booth's character. Of course, his idea of companionship differs significantly from hers, yet a bond is forged and it is a lasting connection. Booth displays a range of emotions in this film, and she gets the chance to sing. The story of the couple's unusual courtship is told mostly in flashback, with several subplots in the present to balance out the narrative.

Daniel Mann, a master director of dramas, reunites with leading lady Shirley Booth after their successful collaboration in Come Back, Little Sheba to create the wonderfully romantic drama About Mrs. Leslie. If you like these two of their films, be sure to check out their third film together, Hot Spell!

Told in flashbacks, Shirley starts the film off as the owner of a boarding house. Her tenants and neighbors often come to her with their problems, since she's such a sympathetic mother type, and while she deals with their trifles, she remembers her earlier years, before she was Mrs. Leslie. Back then, she was a nightclub singer who fell in love with the handsome, charming, enigmatic Robert Ryan. Their slow-burning love affair is fascinating to watch, and while both actors are naturally likable anyway, they'll instantly win a place in your heart.

As you might expect, since this is a Shirley Booth movie-her movies are much different than Hazel-you might want to keep your Kleenexes handy. Her darling wobbly voice and her terribly sad face makes me cry every time.

About Mrs Leslie,in less credible hands,would have been just another average 1950's tearjerker,but in the hands of (Oscar) winning actress "Shirley Booth" the film crosses the boundary, from maudlin to interesting. Anyone familiar with Booth's acting genius, knows that the actress could have made a film about the invention of the "pencil sharpener" worth watching. It could be said, and rightfully so that 'Robert Ryan" was miscast, as Mr. Leslie, but if given a chance, I believe you'll gladly overlook Paramount's little casting error. All in all, About Mrs Leslie, isn't "Shirley Booth's" greatest moment, but she still had reason to crow! I highly reccomend this dramatization of "Vina Delmars" best selling novel of the same name.

This movie was ahead of it's time, but still posturing to the "Code" and Hayes Office. "Mrs. Leslie" knew she was a once a year Date for a married man, in a "Open Marriage". The movie treated her with respect, as a woman, and not a cheap whatever, going to a Motel with a married man. It didn't matter to her the "reasons" that this man craved her companionship once a year. He never gave her the trite, "I'm getting a divorce", or "She doesn't understand me" spiel when he arranged their vacations. He didn't say anything about his wife, i.e. put-downs, horror stories, when he was Mrs. Leslie, either. The only people in the film that treated her like scum were the Lawyer for the Estate, and the neighbor she babysat.

I'd seen this years ago on AMC and remembered little about it, but a revisiting on TCM reveals it to be a surprisingly solid, moving, adult romance. Sure, it's soap opera, and disconcertingly close to "Back Street" (or Capra's "Back Street" ripoff, "Forbidden"), and it's not helped by unexciting cinematography or a soupy, repetitive Victor Young score, like he's trying to be Max Steiner. What lifts it well out of the ordinary are the screenplay and the leads. Ketti Frings was a frequent adapter of literary works (she did the stage drama of "Look Homeward, Angel") who could plumb expertly beneath the surface; her co-screenwriter, Hal Kanter, was more of a sitcom specialist. Together, they probe with remarkable depth this illicit affair between a married industrialist and an unmarried chanteuse. These two behave like grownups, have real conversations on a variety of topics, with a surprising amount of Civil War history, of all things, mixed in, and say unexpected, witty things to each other. Shirley, who's superb, may not be a glamour gal, but it's entirely credible that the handsome Ryan, who underplays effectively, would fall for this intelligent, generous, questioning woman. There's a second couple, Marjie Millar and a not-very-good Alex Nicol, and you may wonder why so much time is being spent on them, but their narrative does complement the first couple nicely, and the other residents of Mrs. Leslie's boarding house provide color and contrast. Soap opera, yes, but I was moved, and ready for a second viewing not long after the first. Too bad Hollywood couldn't find more for the prodigiously gifted Ms. Booth to do, but this is one of her best roles, and you'll long remember her reactions, her delivery, and the way Daniel Mann lovingly lingers on her face.