starring Eartha Kitt, Frederick O'Neal, Henry Scott
written by Philip Yordan
directed by Arnold Laven
Anna Lucasta (Eartha Kitt) returns home from San Diego and tries to put the pieces of her life back together after getting by as a prostitute. Randolph Slocum (Henry Scott) takes an interest in her as almost everyone in her family hoped he would but Joe (Anna's overbearing, alcoholic father) can't stand to let things be. On her wedding day he sabotages her life. Unable to deal with her father's behavior she runs off with Danny a cabbie she first met while she was living in San Diego.
Thoughts
There's more to this movie than my description entails. It is unclear how much time has passed since Joe ejected Anna from the Lucasta family home.
I thought that the pace of the movie, especially in the early going, was a bit too fast. I think the movie would really have benefitted from slowing things down just a little bit. It felt as times like they were rushing through scenes that didn't need to be rushed.
I like the music by Elmer Bernstein but there are some moments when it felt like they were leaning on it a little too much.
This is a really dark picture. Anna's life seems to be in the gutter when it begins. She is scraping by, just barely making it. She soars to great heights when she meets Randolph but Joe, her father brings all that to a screeching halt. The ending of the movie seems to imply that her life is going to get better now that her father has passed but there is also some sadness in the passing of her father with whom she used to have a loving parent/child relationship.
Notes
The 1944 play upon which this film was based (also written by Philip Yordan) was originally about a Polish-American family but the first production of the play was done by an all Black cast. Three of the actors from that production were also in this movie, Frederick O'Neal and John Proctor (who played the part of Stanley, Anna's brother) played the same parts that they had played on stage. Alvin Childress (who played Joe on the stage) played the part of Noah, a San Diego bartender in the movie.
I have seen Eartha Kitt in a few things I have watched but this film is the only thing in which I have seen her in recent years.
Frederick O'Neal played the part of Frank, Anna's fast talking brother-in-law. He appeared in two episodes of The Phil Silvers Show (2.17 Love That Guardhouse and 2.19 Bilko Goes to Monte Carlo) and a couple episodes of Kraft Suspense Theatre. He also had a small uncredited part in Cotton Comes to Harlem (1970).
This is one of two movies in which Henry Scott appeared. Most of his credits, according to IMDb were for TV shows. He appeared in two episodes of The Twilight Zone (1959) and two of The Outer Limits (1963), the first of which was 1.02 The Hundred Days of the Dragon.
Rex Ingram played the part of Joe. I've also seen him in The Thief of Bagdad (1940) and Sahara (1943).
Sammy Davis Jr. played the part of Danny. This was his first movie. This is the third movie I have seen in which he appeared. Most recently I saw him in A Man Called Adam (1966).
James Edwards had a small part in the opening minutes of this movie. I saw him most recently in The Set-Up (1949).
Philip Yordan also wrote the screenplay for the 1949 version of Anna Lucasta. He also wrote The Big Combo (1955) and the screenplay for Day of the Outlaw (1959).
This is the only movie I have seen that Arnold Laven directed. He also directed episodes of Alfred Hitchcock Presents (1955), The Alfred Hitchcock Hour, and The Six Million Dollar Man.
No comments:
Post a Comment