Everything That Dies, Some Day Comes Back

Nowadays this 1960 drama is all but forgotten, which is a shame all things considered.  I watched it in my late teens when I was first getting into film and although no single scene had stayed with me I did  remember enjoying it a lot, no doubt in part because it stars two of my favourite actors from the period, Burt Lancaster and Jean Simmons. Simmons is Sister Sharon, a small-time revivalist preacher in 1927, whilst Lancaster is Gantry, a struggling salesman who latches on to her. We learn that at one time he was training to be a priest until a scandalous sexual liaison with a minister's daughter (Lulu, played by Shirley Jones) puts an end to that.   This may help explain why he takes to revivalism as the proverbial duck takes to water.   His charisma and showmanship brings Sister Sharon to the attention of church leaders in Zenith (a fictional city, presumably twinned with the town of Climax from Billy Wilder's 'Kiss Me, Stupid') who reluctantly agree to payr...

We can all agree that this is a great film (one of four masterpieces directed by Billy Wilder) but if it was made today how on earth would it be marketed? Is it for example a romcom?  For sure, the plot does have a feel good romantic ending, and features two protagonists having to overcome obstacles before they can be together.  In this case the main obstacle is Fran’s relationship with the married Mr Sheldrake.  For some reason  I’ve never bought the idea that Fran (an early role for Shirley MacLaine) would be so gullible as to believe his lies about leaving his wife, she seems too savvy for that. That being said, Fred MacMurray gives a memorable performance as a manipulative and emotionally detached senior manager. That feel good ending is a long time coming, but when it does, when Fran abandons Sheldrake at the restaurant on New Year's Eve, it's mightily cathartic and worth waiting for, given that up to that point the film is a pretty bleak depiction of loneliness...