About Mrs. Leslie

I'd seen this years ago on AMC and remembered little about it, but a revisiting on TCM reveals it to be a surprisingly solid, moving, adult romance. Sure, it's soap opera, and disconcertingly close to "Back Street" (or Capra's "Back Street" ripoff, "Forbidden"), and it's not helped by unexciting cinematography or a soupy, repetitive Victor Young score, like he's trying to be Max Steiner. What lifts it well out of the ordinary are the screenplay and the leads. Ketti Frings was a frequent adapter of literary works (she did the stage drama of "Look Homeward, Angel") who could plumb expertly beneath the surface; her co-screenwriter, Hal Kanter, was more of a sitcom specialist. Together, they probe with remarkable depth this illicit affair between a married industrialist and an unmarried chanteuse. These two behave like grownups, have real conversations on a variety of topics, with a surprising amount of Civil War history, of all things, mixed in, and say unexpected, witty things to each other. Shirley, who's superb, may not be a glamour gal, but it's entirely credible that the handsome Ryan, who underplays effectively, would fall for this intelligent, generous, questioning woman. There's a second couple, Marjie Millar and a not-very-good Alex Nicol, and you may wonder why so much time is being spent on them, but their narrative does complement the first couple nicely, and the other residents of Mrs. Leslie's boarding house provide color and contrast. Soap opera, yes, but I was moved, and ready for a second viewing not long after the first. Too bad Hollywood couldn't find more for the prodigiously gifted Ms. Booth to do, but this is one of her best roles, and you'll long remember her reactions, her delivery, and the way Daniel Mann lovingly lingers on her face.

If people did not accept back street arrangements like Shirley Booth did in About Mrs. Leslie a whole lot of romance novels and soap operas would never be written. In one of her few film appearances Shirley Booth plays Mrs. Leslie who owns a boardinghouse in Los Angeles and deals with the problems of her tenants while thinking back on her wartime romance with what was called then, a dollar a year man.

Her dollar a year man is Robert Ryan whom she met back east when she was singing in some second rate supper club. They more than hit it off and she accepts his proposition for a six week vacation on the southern California coast though her breaking her contract puts her career such as it is in jeopardy.

She only finds out about who this man really is when she sees a newsreel in the theater and finds out that 46 weeks a year he's a business executive and former World War I ace who married a Senator's daughter to advance his career. Ryan regrets this and Booth regrets having to settle for back street status though in the end financially she comes out well.

Combining elements of both Back Street and Maytime, About Mrs. Leslie is a fine film, one which we used to call a woman's picture. Booth made too few feature films for the big screen, but when she got there everyone was a gem.

About Mrs. Leslie is an uncut diamond. It should be broadcast more often.

In this romantic melodrama from Paramount Pictures and director Daniel Mann, boardinghouse proprietor Vivien Leslie (Shirley Booth) flashes back on her romance years earlier with George Leslie (Robert Ryan), an aircraft manufacturer and wartime (WWII) military adviser struggling with personal demons. Mrs. Leslie also tries to help out the various tenants at her residence whose dilemmas include a good cross section of middle class angst 50s style.

In the flashback, Vivien meets George Leslie at a nightspot where she is an entertainer. The two hit it off and he asks her to come to California with him for a six week vacation that he needs to treat the strain he is under and his resulting nerves. What starts out as friendship quickly turns to love and a "same time next year" arrangement with the two having six weeks together in the same beach house every January. Leslie is a bit of a Civil War buff, and Vivien starts to read about the Civil War too, because it makes her feel close to him when they are apart. And this brings me to the most shocking part of the film when it comes to modern sensibilities - A bookstore owner actually says something positive about Robert E. Lee! Oh the humanity!

Booth's nightclub act at the beginning is really quite bad. In spite of that and the fact that Booth and Ryan look every bit of their eleven year age difference, I was moved by Booth's various plights. Her great acting talent managed to transcend her age and even her singing. I also liked Harry Morgan in a small role as a sleazy talent manager with a pencil mustache. In his youth, Harry Morgan could always be counted on to be whatever kind of slimy little weasel the production required, and be memorable in the process.

The film also has a great score, and it turned out to be one of those films that is better than it ought to be.

Though she was known for her many roles on Broadway and an even more famous part on television, Shirley Booth did not seem to build much of a career as a movie star. Maybe this is because she was rather unlike other actresses that were headlining motion pictures in the 1950s. And that's a good thing, really, because for every Marilyn Monroe, it's kind of nice to have a Shirley Booth, who stands out and gives us something decidedly different and special.

In this film, ABOUT MRS. LESLIE, she is paired with Robert Ryan who plays against type as a mysterious magnate. It's fun to watch him make romantic gestures towards Miss Booth's character. Of course, his idea of companionship differs significantly from hers, yet a bond is forged and it is a lasting connection. Booth displays a range of emotions in this film, and she gets the chance to sing. The story of the couple's unusual courtship is told mostly in flashback, with several subplots in the present to balance out the narrative.

About Mrs Leslie,in less credible hands,would have been just another average 1950's tearjerker,but in the hands of (Oscar) winning actress "Shirley Booth" the film crosses the boundary, from maudlin to interesting. Anyone familiar with Booth's acting genius, knows that the actress could have made a film about the invention of the "pencil sharpener" worth watching. It could be said, and rightfully so that 'Robert Ryan" was miscast, as Mr. Leslie, but if given a chance, I believe you'll gladly overlook Paramount's little casting error. All in all, About Mrs Leslie, isn't "Shirley Booth's" greatest moment, but she still had reason to crow! I highly reccomend this dramatization of "Vina Delmars" best selling novel of the same name.