AUTUMN LEAVES

This 1956 film features an older woman who has a relationship with a younger man, who turns out to have some mental health issues.  

On the face of it this sounds like a classic "woman's picture", the sort directed typically by a Douglas Sirk or a George Cukor.

In fact it was directed by Robert Aldrich, whose films (according to AI) have "a consistent theme of compromised masculinity and individual integrity tested in a hostile world".  So not an obvious choice for this type of drama it would seem.

Except that the film stars Joan Crawford, surely the most masculine of female movie stars, what with her strong jawline, intense eyebrows, shoulder pads and the like.  And indeed her character's integrity is tested, so maybe it's not that surprising that Aldrich is able to turn the soapy storyline into something that packs quite a punch.

Crawford plays Millie, a middle-aged woman who fears that life is passing her by.  When she meets Burt (Cliff Robertson in his second film role), a younger man who seems smitten with her, she tries to resist him, fearing that the only reason he is attracted to her is that he is lonely.  But eventually she agrees to marry him.

At this point the film takes quite a dark turn. 

First, Virginia pops up, who turns out to be Burt's ex-wife.  Not only has Burt never mentioned her existence, but when Burt and Millie were married Burt couldn't have known that the divorce had only just been finalised, so for all he knew he was committing bigamy.

Then, very surprisingly, Millie discovers that there is a relationship going on between Virginia and Burt's father.

Virginia is played by Vera Miles, who I associate with her rather staid role in 'Psycho', so seeing her here being quite sexy was interesting, to say the least.  And Burt's father, who is quite nasty and creepy, is played by Lorne Greene who is best known for playing the patriarch in the TV series 'Bonanza', where he represents wisdom and moral integrity.

The two of them want Burt to sign some legal papers relating to property, and for a while I thought this was going to be a major plot point but it turns out to be a red herring.

Instead the main purpose of the relationship between Virginia and Burt's father, story wise, is to provide an explanation for Burt's mental health issues - soon after he married Virginia he came home early one day (always a mistake) and caught the two of them in flagrante delicto, and it was this that really sent him off the deep end.

We now move into the third act, where (very reluctantly) Millie commits Burt to a sanatorium. It's an unpleasant thing to do - the scene where he is hauled off by men in white coats (literally) is harrowing to say the least - and she's worried that if he is cured then he won't need or love her anymore.

Aldrich has no qualms in putting together a horrific montage sequence of Burt's "treatment", which seems to consist entirely of injections and ECT.  We're a long way from the peaceful sanatorium in 'Now, Voyager', run by nice Dr Jaquith.

Somewhat disappointingly the film then gets wrapped up quickly (and rather implausibly) with Burt seemingly cured and still in love with Millie.  Hooray, a happy ending!

Joan Crawford is an actress I know more by reputation than anything else, and I used to pigeonhole her as simply an inferior version of Bette Davis.  But in the light of this film and 'Johnny Guitar' I'm revising that view.  Sure, she's not as good as Ms Davis (who is?) but she has a commanding screen presence and she can deliver a superior performance. 

She enjoyed working for Aldrich in this picture (after all he's a director who didn't believe in his actors holding back, which probably suited her) and this led to her later starring (with Bette Davis) in Aldrich's 'What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?'.  

The film's effectiveness also depends on Cliff Robertson's knack for portraying someone with mental illness, a skill he used later to win him an Oscar for his role in the film 'Charly'.

RATING: ✓ Cheers