Desire Under the Elms (1958)

User Rating:

6.4/10   

Director:

Delbert Mann

Writers:

Eugene O'Neill (play)
Irwin Shaw (writer)

Release Date:

6 May 1958 (Japan)

Genre:

Drama | Romance

Plot:

Ephraim Cabot is an old man of amazing vitality who loves his New England farm with a greedy passion...

Plot Keywords:

Farm | Family Conflict | Dead Mother | Illicit Love | Inheritance

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 2 nominations

Cast

Sophia Loren	...	Anna Cabot
Anthony Perkins	...	Eben Cabot
Burl Ives	...	Ephriam Cabot
Frank Overton	...	Simeon Cabot
Pernell Roberts	...	Peter Cabot
Rebecca Welles	...	Lucinda Cabot (as Rebecca Wells)
Jean Willes	...	Florence Cabot
Anne Seymour	...	Eben's mother
Roy Fant	...	Fiddler

Runtime:

111 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Certification:

Germany:12 (re-rating) | West Germany:18 (original rating) | Australia:PG | Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15 | Argentina:16

Company:

Don Hartman Productions

Trivia:

Motion picture debut of Pernell Roberts.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Film Geek (2005)

Loren and Perkins sizzle

Loren and Perkins smoke up the screen in this black and white, well-done love story. It is fascinating to see how quickly an all-American father and son can be weak for the same foreign woman. Sophia is wonderfully foreign, very talented in an early role. Anthony Perkins and she have surprisingly strong chemistry, the first kiss between them is one of the hottest kisses in the cinema. Burl Ives does an outstanding job as the miserly father who nabs himself a young pretty foreign wife. Sophia makes you believe she is married to Burl, she represents many a foreign wife who have married for economy. Anthony Perkins shocks you with his hatred and rivalry with his father.