Come Back Little Sheba is a movie about a married couple who see themselves as failures and are trapped by circumstances of their own making. The wife lives in memories from her past and the husband refuses to deal with his. They have settled on an unspoken routine of day to day loveless,drudgery. Then, in order to make a little money, the wife rents out a room to a college co-ed and her presence brings years of unspoken recriminations to a head.
Shirley Booth is Lola Delaney, a role that won her both a Tony and an Oscar. Lola is a slovenly, overweight housewife. She talks to much and has a nervous energy which is grating. Burt Lancaster is her husband "Doc" Delaney. Doc is a chiropractor but he was once a promising medical student. he gave up his studies to "do the right thing" and marry Lola after she became pregnant and her father threw her out of the house. The child at birth making the sacrifice unnecessary. The couple stayed together and Doc dealt with his regret and disappointment by drinking until he became an alcoholic. We learn that it has been a while since Doc has been "sick" when he and Lola attend his first year anniversary at A.A.
Little Sheba is Lola's dog. Sheba has been missing for a few months when the film opens but Lola keeps looking and hoping she'll come back.
Marie (terry Moore) is the co-ed who rents the room. her youth and vitality make Lola daydream about her college days and bring up memories of her one night of illicit passion with Doc.
Marie also troubles Doc who is reminded of Lola before she became "old, fat and sloppy". Doc sees Marie flirting with a young college athlete and he is both jealous and resentful.
years of unspoken regret and longing send Doc into a tailspin and he returns to the bottle which fuels drunken violent rage that he takes out on Lola.
I saw this movie when I was twelve years old and it always stayed with me. The haunting final monologue by Booth about a dream she had. The haunting piece of music when ever Little Sheba was mentioned. There was a lot about the film I didn't understand back then. But i did realize it was about living with regret and how under the surface things can be much darker than you think. But deep down there is faith and hope and love that can hold things together.
I didn't recognize great acting then but I now I do. Booth's performance is astonishing. Lola is filled with nervous energy and anxiety. She lives day to day in a stat of fear. Long before there were groups like Al-Anon she nailed the perfect performance of someone who lives with an alcoholic. Shirley Booth becomes Lola. She gets completely lost in this unhappy housewife who has essentially married her father ( she refers to her husband as Daddy). I already mentioned the final monologue as a great scene. Another is when she calls home after Doc relapses. Every experience of her life is etched on her face as she has a one way conversation with her mother. Watch her performance when she realizes the bottle is missing and Doc is drinking again. She puts on a front for Marie and her boyfriend and then returns to the kitchen consumed with fear.
Booth plays Lola as a woman who lives her life entirely through other people. She lives in a lonely, childless marriage, desperate in her desire to please Doc and keep him happy so he does not drink. She is overly sentimental, filled with guilt, slightly ignorant and devoid of any self-esteem. But she is not weak and she has found the strength to live with an alcoholic for twenty years. In the end she must find the strength to make a final decision, to stay or walk away. When she tells Doc of her dream you know that she has come to terms with the past and is ready to move forward on life's terms.
Every note of every line Booth delivers rings true. There is not a single false not in the entire performance. Lancaster matches Booth in intensity, and while he was too young for the role he does manage to have a haunted look in his eyes that tell of the demons lurking inside him.
I fell in love with movies because of films like Come Back Little Sheba.
At The Movie House rating **** stars
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