Adaptation of James Leo Herlihy's novel is an intriguing misfire. Cold-hearted, embittered teenage loner (Warren Beatty) goes back home to his middle-class parents and idolizing younger brother during the Christmas holiday. Cast including Eva Marie Saint, Brandon de Wilde, Karl Malden and Angela Lansbury very strong, but William Inge's screenplay seems hollowed-out: there's very little here for an audience to respond to. Beatty, surprisingly tough and menacing, soon put his stamp on these type of aloof characters who also serve as gigolos for older women; elsewhere, Malden and Lansbury strike some truthful, ruefully humorous chords as his parents and Saint is sympathetic as a single woman who becomes involved. Handsomely-produced melodrama has jarring moments and florid dialogue, but is still interesting from an acting standpoint. **1/2 from ****
Review of All Fall Down
