Come Back, Little Sheba (1952)

Director:

Daniel Mann

Writers:

Ketti Frings (writer)
William Inge (play)

Release Date:

24 December 1952 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Tagline:

That girl in their house spelled trouble!

Plot:

An emotionally remote recovering alcoholic and his dowdy, unambitious wife face a personal crisis when they take in an attractive lodger.

Plot Keywords:

Marriage | Dog | Lodger | College | College Student

Awards:

Won Oscar. Another 6 wins & 8 nominations

Cast

Burt Lancaster	...	Doc Delaney
Shirley Booth	...	Lola Delaney
Terry Moore	...	Marie Buckholder
Richard Jaeckel	...	Turk Fisher
Philip Ober	...	Ed Anderson
Edwin Max	...	Elmo Huston
Lisa Golm	...	Mrs. Coffman
Walter Kelley	...	Bruce

Runtime:

99 min | 96 min (TCM print)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Certification:

West Germany:16 (f) | Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15 | USA:Approved (PCA #15964)

Company:

Paramount Pictures

Trivia:

The original Broadway production of production of "Come Back, Little Sheba" by William Inge opened at the Booth Theater in New York on February 15, 1950 and ran for 190 performances. Shirley Booth won the 1950 Tony Award (New York City) for Actress in a Drama for portraying Lola on stage and then recreated the role in the film version.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Lola is talking to Doc in bed about Sheba's disappearance, her right arm alternately jumps from being under her head, near her right cheek and hanging off the side of the bed.

Quotes:

Doc Delaney: Alcoholics are mostly disappointed men.
Lola Delaney: Sure, I know.
[pause]
Lola Delaney: You was never disappointed, were you, Doc?

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Alice: Come Back Little Sharples (#7.15)" (1983)

Best film about the problem of Alcoholism.

Days of Wine and Roses and The Lost Weekend deal with the problem of those afflicted with Alcoholism. Both are fine films. This movie is better than those two and that's only part of the story in this picture. Shirley Booth gives a most certainly well deserved Academy Award winning performance as the wife of a recovering alcoholic husband. Burt Lancaster in a role he is not often remembered for is the husband. A once proud and respected person who falls by the wayside due to his drinking has picked himself up and is determined to start over again even though various demons still linger inside him. I first saw this motion picture on New Years eve back in the late 60's on NBC's Saturday Night at the Movies. During the week preceding the showing NBC advertised it with the clip of Lancaster going after Booth with a kitchen knife. My older sibling and I not really old enough to know about such things joked about the scene. When we watched the movie and it came to that part we were no longer joking. I didn't see it for many years until it aired on AMC. The film is as powerful today in its story and it's acting performances as when I first saw it and I'm certain when it was first released in 52. A must see.