Come Back, Little Sheba

Released Dec 24, 1952

1h 39m

Drama

List

78%

Tomatometer

9 Reviews

81%

Audience Score

1,000+ Ratings

Two decades after their hasty wedding, Doc (Burt Lancaster) and Lola (Shirley Booth) are stuck in a deadening and loveless marriage. Doc, who dropped out of medical school when Lola got pregnant, blames Lola for the loss of his life's dream. Lola, who never recovered emotionally from the miscarriage she suffered shortly after their wedding, still mourns the loss of her beloved dog, Sheba. When a beautiful young lodger (Terry Moore) enters their home, long-repressed emotions explode.

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Bob Thomas

Associated Press

Come Back, Little Sheba is a faithful reproduction of the stage play, together with its assets and liabilities.

Jul 24, 2019

Full Review

Nell Minow

Movie Mom

Rated: 3/5

Aug 4, 2005

Full Review

Nell Dodson Russell

Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder

I won't go into the plot of Come Back, Little Sheba because I want you to see it for yourself.

Dec 16, 2021

Full Review

Manny Farber

The Nation

Come Back, Little Sheba, Hal Wallis's high-priced entry for the Academy awards, is not so much a good picture about a dismal, twenty-year old marriage as a somewhat funny and touching play that someone failed to make into a movie.

Nov 25, 2020

Full Review

Emanuel Levy

EmanuelLevy.Com

In this adaptation of Inge's play, Daniel Mann, a specialist of melodramas, gets a good performance from Shirely Booth as a self-pitying housewife but a misguided one from Burt Lancaster.

Rated: C+

Jun 2, 2006

Full Review

Nick Davis

Nick's Flick Picks

Nothing comes alive at you. Nothing roots us to the Delaneys, and in turn nothing grounds them in any world except that of Inge's creaky schemata.

Rated: C

Aug 21, 2005

Full Review

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Brian D

a fantastic portrayel of people living lives of quiet desperation...until.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

03/07/24

Full Review

Jeff M

Based on the William Inge play, there is very little effort made to open this up for the silver screen. 90% of the motion picture takes place in the home of the Delaneys. In fact, I half-heartedly thought a couple times that it would have been interesting just to film a stage performance. So it's not necessarily exciting cinematically. But what makes this worth seeing is the Oscar-winning performance by Booth. She starts the film with Edith Bunker-like frumpiness and a flighty, not-quite-there aura. As the movie progresses and we learn more about the past, it becomes quite powerful, and Booth simply breaks your heart in two. Lancaster doesn't fare quite as well, although he comes alive in the second half. Moore also received an Oscar nomination, but there is nothing particularly special about her role or the performance. This is one of those movies that improves as you think about it afterwards. Is there anything more painful than loving someone who doesn't have the capacity to love you back in the same way? Is there anything worse than questioning the events of your life that fatefully led to your present unhappiness? This is heavy stuff, and you may find yourself thinking about it days after it's over.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

01/17/24

Full Review

Mark B

Horribly miscast. Shirley Booth's performance worked well, but no way on earth that Burt Lancaster could play a passive drunk like the play called for. He ruins the film, and makes the movie unwatchable. Hollywood casting often misses the mark, and in this case, collateral damage destroyed the entire film.

Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars

07/20/23

Full Review

sue o

This movie was made a year after my birth, yet something about it is very relevant to our world today. The story of two people who left their best days behind them. Something they really don't discuss or think about until a fresh-faced college girl comes into their lives. She inadvertently holds up a mirror to the bland and wasted lives they have been holding onto. When she leaves as quickly as she came the curtain closes on their realization, and life goes back to what is normal for them, or at least what they have settled for.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Wow, this is a cracker. Totally absorbing plot, charming acting and oh so sad ending. Highly recommend

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

01/27/23

Full Review

william d

Excellent drama, Booth and Lancaster are fantastic.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

Full Review

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Daniel Mann

Director

Burt Lancaster

Doc Delaney

Shirley Booth

Lola Delaney

Terry Moore

Marie Buckholder

Richard Jaeckel

Turk Fisher

Philip Ober

Ed Anderson

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Come Back, Little Sheba: Official Clip - Lola's Dream

2:05

Come Back, Little Sheba: Official Clip - Little Sheba

1:49

Come Back, Little Sheba: Official Clip - Gotta Keep Living

2:09

Come Back, Little Sheba: Official Clip - Doc's Struggle

2:01

Come Back, Little Sheba: Official Clip - A.A. Meeting

2:12

Come Back, Little Sheba: Official Clip - Turk and Marie

2:13

Come Back, Little Sheba: Official Clip - Relapse

2:13

Come Back, Little Sheba: Official Clip - He's Got a Knife!

1:49

Come Back, Little Sheba: Official Clip - Marie Rents the Spare Room

1:38

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Synopsis

Two decades after their hasty wedding, Doc (Burt Lancaster) and Lola (Shirley Booth) are stuck in a deadening and loveless marriage. Doc, who dropped out of medical school when Lola got pregnant, blames Lola for the loss of his life's dream. Lola, who never recovered emotionally from the miscarriage she suffered shortly after their wedding, still mourns the loss of her beloved dog, Sheba. When a beautiful young lodger (Terry Moore) enters their home, long-repressed emotions explode.

Director: Daniel Mann
Screenwriter: Ketti Frings
Distributor: Paramount Pictures
Production Co: Paramount
Genre: Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Dec 24, 1952, Original
Release Date (Streaming): Nov 6, 2018
Runtime: 1h 39m

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