Come Back, Little Sheba (BLU-RAY)

Based on William Inge’s classic play, Come Back, Little Sheba is the stirring tale of a life-weary couple who rescue hope from the ruins of the past. Shirley Booth (TV’s Hazel) stars as Lola, slovenly housewife to Doc Delaney (Burt Lancaster, Elmer Gantry), a recovering alcoholic. The Delaneys’ life is dull and unchanging, but takes a dramatic turn when the couple take in a charming boarder, Marie (Terry Moore, Shack Out on 101, in an Oscar-nominated role). Marie becomes the daughter the Delaneys never had. But when Marie takes up with a boorish boyfriend (Richard Jaeckel, The Devil’s Brigade), Doc descends into a jealous tailspin and must once again face the temptations of the bottle. Lancaster, in an early and unconventional leading-man part, displays his towering talent; Booth, reprising her Tony Award-winning Broadway role, gives an Academy Award-winning performance (Best Actress, 1952) in her tour-de-force movie debut. Sharply directed by Daniel Mann (The Rose Tattoo) and photographed by James Wong Howe (Hud), Come Back, Little Sheba is an unforgettable film shimmering with life-truths and dramatic intensity.