Come Back, Little Sheba

Playwright William Inge never liked Shirley Booth, or her brilliant performance as Lola in the Broadway and original film versions of "Sheba" -- he wanted an actress that would be believable as a faded beauty. Inge did not live to see Woodward's version of Lola, but he probably would have adored it -- he knew her as a young beauty when she understudied Janice Rule in his "Picnic" on Broadway. But the curse on Lola's husband "Doc" endures, and Olivier is as miscast as Lancaster was in the '52 film. It's one of his hammiest performances. A very young Carrie Fisher is natural and luminous as Marie, and Woodward is wonderful as always, but there's no escaping the long shadow of Booth's heartbreaking, legendary performance, which remains the heart and soul of "Sheba." Inge was wrong.

Review above, from 2020 has to be the strangest thing I ever read. I had to look at twice to make sure I got all the words right. The reviewer mentions that (s)he got the DVD of Laurence Olivier set. (that would be 2006 set that several of his made for TV plays), but "The subsequent deaths of Olivier, Woodward and then Carrie Fisher put me off for reasons of sadness"

What alternate reality has this been written in?? Laurence Olivier died in 1989, more than 30 years before that review, and more than 15 years prior to dvd set release! Did he only found out about Sir Larry's death 30 years after the fact, or was he still mourning Larry 30 years later??

And Joanne Woodward is still alive (and was in 2020). Did he decide to mourn her future death??

I had been meaning to watch this drama for some time, having bought the 'Laurence Olivier Presents' 3-disc set years ago. The subsequent deaths of Olivier, Woodward and then Carrie Fisher put me off for reasons of sadness, I guess, but now, with Coronavirus turning people's thoughts towards entertainment from the archives, this is a compelling watch.

I am not familiar as others are with previous versions of Inge 's play, so I came to this with a fresh perspective, and while the subject is downbeat and Olivier gives his own version of American (with occasional British accent slip - ups), his performance is a compelling hark back to his performance as the fallen millionaire in Wyler's "Carrie" (1952). Woodward is also touching and compelling in a very unassuming way (among an excellent, mostly American supporting cast), even if she tends to fade into the background whenever Olivier is on screen, or the very attractive looking Carrie Fisher, giving us a reminder of why she was such a hot property at the time of 'Star Wars' in 1977.