I know nothing of the play by Eugene O'Neill that some reviewers describe and watched this film in 2021 merely because of the cast. It stands alone as a movie in that respect, brilliantly directed by Delbert Mann, a director I'm also unfamiliar with. Yes, I guess it's stagey but nevertheless I found it atmospheric from the first few minutes when we are introduced to the family, headed by patriarch Burl Ives who gives an almost Shakespearean performance. Anthony Perkins, who I was first made aware of as a kid in Friendly Persuasion is superb as the brooding one amongst Ive's three sons. I got so into the story, in spite of the limited presentation, that I was gripped from beginning to end. It's basically a plot about a family of very selfish people, who are prepared to lust and steal and kill to obtain their desires. In spite of it being well known that Anthony Perkins was gay, he still manages to exude a sexual chemistry with screen legend Sophia Loren that I could feel generating from the screen. Perkins and Loren were only in their early twenties at the time but their charisma blasts out at you. Burl Ives gives a towering performance of a man of 76 when in fact he was only 48. You'll spot Pernell Robert's also from Bonanza as one of the brothers if you're old enough to have seen that. A riveting drama unless possibly you're a purist like some viewers who can only compare it to the stage production. I for one thought it Oscar worthy all round and Loren is so sexy she compares to Monroe from the same period.
Review of Desire Under the Elms
