Anna Lucasta

It took a long time for Philip Yordan's play Anna Lucasta to get made into a film and it turned out to be a good showcase for the talents of stars Eartha Kitt and Sammy Davis, Jr. The play ran on Broadway from 1944-46 and had 957 performances on Broadway. Several of the cast members in supporting roles returned for the screen. I'm sure that there were wartime references in the play that were cut out for the screen version as Sammy Davis, Jr.'s part was that of a sailor.

Sailor and general all around good time guy Davis's favorite call when in San Diego is Eartha Kitt in the title role. Some years earlier Kitt was caught getting down with some boy by her self righteous father and cast out of the home and drifted into prostitution.

But now her father Rex Ingram has come looking for her wanting her back. He thinks she will make a good wife for the son of an old friend from Alabama who has come to California. Henry Scott also has $4000.00 from his father and Anna's family who isn't the classiest bunch around also eyes him with that bankroll like an expensive cut of meat in a butcher shop.

She marries Scott, but Davis ain't finished. Soon enough Kitt has some real marital issues. Scott is a decent enough guy, but a bit naive as to the ways of the world, surprising for someone who wants a career teaching agricultural science like George Washington Carver.

As for Davis I think this role may have caught the eye of Otto Preminger who cast him in the very similar part of Sporting Life in Porgy And Bess the following year. Eartha Kitt shows off all her slinkiness that made her famous, but like Lena Horne Hollywood did not know what to do with her. I also think that she may have been a second choice behind Dorothy Dandridge good as Kitt is.

Anna Lucasta is a good film and a great chance to see Eartha Kitt and Sammy Davis, Jr. in their salad days.

This features a powerhouse effort from Eartha Kitt in the title role. Ostracised from her family for her rather wild ways, she quickly falls into a life of easy money and virtue - eventually falling in with the savvy sailor "Danny" (Sammy Davis Jr.). The two have an on/off relationship to which he won't commit, so she keeps looking and meets the more respectable, would-be teacher, "Henry" (a rather underwhelming Rudolph Slocum) - who just happens to have $4,000. There might just be light at the end of her tunnel? Thing is, her drunken and rather cruel father "Joe" (Rex Ingram) is still determined to wreck things for his daughter - and even now married, things are still pretty messy and there looks like there is little scope for any redemption of that relationship. The story itself is really little more than a familiar family melodrama with a strong supporting cast. What makes this stand out is the chemistry between Davis and Kitt with the latter oozing charisma, even if her character isn't the most pleasant to hit the silver screen. There's some entertaining music and dance and some lovely cartoons right at the end and though probably not the greatest of stories, it is worth watching for the two at the top of the bill.

This second adaptation for the big screen by Philip Yordan of his 1944 Broadway hit is more interesting for the fact of it's existence than what it actually achieves. A chance for Eartha Kitt to prove her mettle as a dramatic actress as a tart with a heart; she doesn't even sing the song that accompanies the credits - instead that falls to co-star Sammy Davis Jr.

It strongly resembles the early Garbo vehicle 'Anna Christie' (she even says "I want to go home" at one point) even down unfortunately to the tinny theatricality of the piece. Too bad Kitt never played Mata Hari or Queen Christina.

Rex Ingram registers strongly as her ogre of a father; but James Edwards as usual is wasted.

When Sammy Davis Jr and Eattha Kitt act together it's dynamite and a feast for the professional cinéaste. But they are not alone. Equally prominent is Rex Ingram as the father in a completely wayward character that can't control himself, disoriented in life, lost in booze, all mixed up because of his beloved daughter, that he felt he had to banish from his life forever, without succeeding - he is the one who begs her to come back. This is a great play enacted with grim intensity and empathy concerning all the characters, including the mother, the suitor, the family and even the lower people at the joint. An important part is played by Elmer Bernstein's music, ingeniously illustrating the rapidly changing moods and trains of thoughts, also including a fabulous show scene with Sammy going solo - this is actually the apex of the film and story, a spectacular visualization of Anna's downfall and helplessness in the hands of the totally irresponsible Danny, who loves her none the less, but like everybody else, not even he can control his love or his feelings but drifts to the storms of his caprices. In fact, Anna, the fallen woman, adored and despised by them all, is the only one with a character, while the others are hopelessly and helplessly without. But what fabulous acting by these three main characters! This is truly a film to enjoy for a theater and drama gourmet. 9,5 would be my vote.

Having just watched Eartha Kitt in St. Louis Blues, I went back to Netflix Streaming and then saw her other 1958 release of Anna Lucasta. The title character she plays is a street walker (to use the euphemism of what is often referred to as the "world's oldest profession") in San Diego who likes it whenever sailor Danny Johnson (Sammy Davis Jr.) stops in at Noah's (Alvin Childress) bar. But since Danny's not interested in making her an honest woman, she leaves when her estranged father Joe (Rex Ingram) picks her up to take her home even though the two left on bitter terms years previous. I'll stop there and just say that it took a while to get used to the mostly speedy delivery of lines as directed by Arnold Laven. In fact, I didn't realize that Joe's son-in-law Frank (Frederick O'Neal) was a pretty greedy fellow. Since this was made during the production code era, the word "prostitute" is not used and we don't get the full picture of how abusive Joe was to his daughter though to judge by his drunken scenes, he certainly could've recognized how desirable she became as she grew. Though she has a nice revelation scene with potential suitor Rudolph Slocum (Henry Scott), Ms. Kitt really sparkles whenever she's with Sammy Davis Jr. especially when she's looking at him and she sees him dancing as director Laven cuts to him doing just that as well as playing drums. In fact, the second part was more entertaining than the first hour. So on that note, I recommend Anna Lucasta. P.S. Arnold Laven was a native of my birthtown of Chicago, Ill. Rosetta LeNoire who was Stella would later go on to fame as the grandmother on "Family Matters". And, yes, Alvin Childress was previously Amos Jones on "The Amos 'n' Andy Show".