Desire Under the Elms
Directed by Delbert Mann
Written by Irwin Shaw from the play by Eugene O’Neill
1958/USA
Don Hartman Productions
First viewing/Amazon Prime
[box] They wa’n’t strong enuf fur that! They reckoned God was easy. They laughed. They don’t laugh no more. Some died hereabouts. Some went West an’ died. They’re all under ground–fur follerin’ arter an easy God. God hain’t easy. (He shakes his head slowly.) An’ I growed hard. — Eugene O’Neill, Desire Under the Elms[/box]
More domestic disfunction in 1958, this time in New England.
Ephraim Cabot (Burl Ives) is a 76-year-old tyrant with a prosperous farm. He works his three grown sons mercilessly and treats them with contempt. The youngest, Eben (Anthony Perkins), seems to be the softest but he is secretly filled with steely determination to make all that Ephraim owns his own. The source of this wealth was his own mother’s dowry.
Ephraim may be hard but he is also lonely. He sets off to find a wife. While he is gone, Eben digs up Ephraim’s secret cache of gold and buys up his half-brothers’ share of the farm. They take the money and set off to prospect for gold in California.
Ephraim comes back with a young Italian wife, Anna (Sophia Loren). She is just as determined to make the farm hers as Eben is. After a stormy start, they end up in each other’s arms. Tragedy ensues.
This is an O’Neill drama with the gravitas of Greek tragedy and OK in its way. It hinges, however, on believing the grand passion between Perkins and Loren. I didn’t buy it for a minute. Perkins is a fine actor but he is just not cut out to be any kind of romantic lead. Ives was certainly having quite a year!
Desire Under the Elms was nominated for an Oscar for Best Cinematography, Black-and-White.
Trailer
