Director Delbert Mann (Oscar-winner for “Marty”) and screenwriter Irwin Shaw’s adaptation of “Desire Under the Elms,” Eugene O’Neill’s version of a Greek tragedy, is too sedate and tame. It also suffers from miscasting of the leads: Anthony Perkins and Sophia Loren.
The story takes place in New England, circa the 1840s, where the emotionally detached but passionately hot farmer, Ephraim Cabot (Burl Ives, as usual, a rigid patriarchal), lives with is much younger and beautiful third wife, Anna Cabot (Sophia Loren).
When his stepson Eben (Anthony Perkins) arrives, the house’s sexual-social dynamics change, and he and Anna engage in a semi-incestuous love affair.
The tale reaches its melodramatic intensity and tragic end, when Anna gets pregnant, and Epraim thinks the child is his own.
Oscar Nominations: 1
Cinematography (b/w): Daniel L. Fapp
Oscar Awards: None
Oscar Context:
The winner was Sam Levitt for “The Defiant Ones.”
Credits
Running time: 114 Minutes.
Directed by Delbert Mann
Written by Irwin Shaw.
Released: March 12, 1958.
DVD: August 31, 2004
