Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		3.0
Overall		4.0

Come Back, Little Sheba Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov May 4, 2023

Daniel Mann's "Come Back, Little Sheba" (1952) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Via Vision Entertainment. The supplemental features on the release include exclusive new audio commentary recorded by critic Scott Harrison; the documentary "Burt Lancaster: Daring to Reach"; and vintage trailer. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-Free.

Something is not quite right about their kindness, the love they give each other. From time to time, when they talk, it looks like they are trying to protect something very brittle, something precious that is at the center of their relationship and makes it work. Both seem aware of their important efforts but are unwilling to acknowledge them.

It is soon after college student Marie (Terry Moore) rents a room in their house that the nature of their relationship becomes clearer. Doc (Burt Lancaster), who is in his late forties, is a former alcoholic and has managed to revive his chiropractic practice. Lola (Shirley Booth), who is in his early forties and married to him, is enormously proud of his transformation and determined to preserve it. Even though they do not have kids, they want their relationship to have a proper public image, in the neighborhood and at the AA meetings Doc has been attending for a little over a year now. According to Doc and Lola, maintaining this image is winning half the battle against alcoholism.

But convincingly winning the other half has proved to be a remarkably exhausting task, which is why Doc and Lola have been secretly spending a lot of time thinking about their past. What would their relationship look like had Lola not lost their baby? Did Doc marry Lola only because she had become pregnant? What would have happened if she did not get pregnant? Would they have parted ways had Doc not managed to defeat his addiction? And how much stronger would their relationship be if their beloved dog, Little Sheba, had not run away?

Unaware of the delicate nature of Doc and Lola’s relationship, Marie brings home Turk (Richard Jaeckel), an overconfident, often even inappropriately aggressive ‘friend’ who is filing the void of her future fiancée. When Doc recognizes in Turk a familiar version of the young man he was before he became involved with Lola, he unexpectedly snaps and over the course of a single night destroys the progress he has made after walking away from alcohol. However, despite shattering Lola’s trust in him and embarrassing himself before his colleagues, Doc makes an important discovery that allows him to see and reevaluate his existence in an entirely new way.

Daniel Mann’s cinematic adaptation of William Inge’s popular play is a multi-layered drama that has not aged particularly well, but right now this might be the most compelling reason to seek and see it again. Here’s why:

Lancaster’s transformation is enormously impressive and most likely impossible to replicate by a contemporary actor. Indeed, in the early 1950s, Lancaster was more than a decade younger than the alcoholic he was cast to play, but in the film, he actually looks a decade older than the alcoholic. Contrary to what you would read in old reviews, it is not the makeup that makes the difference. It is what Lancaster does to appear miserable and brittle, how he speaks to reveal internal pain that is impossible to capture with a camera.

There is something else that Lancaster does extremely well but is rarely highlighted when the film is deconstructed. Lancaster not only strengthens but effectively legitimizes Booth’s character arc, which is quite uneven. It is very interesting to observe how he does it because for much of the film the two are drifting away from each and their relationship is collapsing. It is often Lancaster’s ‘simple’ facial expressions that do the hard work because they tune up Booth’s otherwise overly melodramatic performance and oddly enough some of the very best emerge when she is not around him.

The most unconvincing material is with Moore and Jaeckel. When the two engage each other, but also when the former is around Lancaster and Booth, it becomes impossible to ignore the presence of Mann’s rolling camera.

Come Back, Little Sheba Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.35:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Come Back, Little Sheba arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Via Vision Entertainment.

The release is sourced from a 4K master that was prepared by Paramount Pictures. However, I am going to speculate that at some point in the future Come Back, Little Sheba will be fully restored so that it looks as good as it can. No, I am not implying that the film does not look good on this release. I think that it looks very, very good, and I do not think that the future 4K restoration will provide a dramatic upgrade in quality. I speculated because there are some minor surface imperfections -- like nicks, a few marks, and one big dark spot -- that will need to be addressed, and because a proper 4K restoration will undoubtedly deliver a superior grain field.

The current presentation of the film has strong organic qualities and represents quite a big upgrade in quality. (I have only this R1 DVD release in my library, so it is the one I used to do some quick comparisons). Delineation, clarity, and depth are very nice, so on a big screen the visuals have a very attractive appearance. During the opening credits, I noticed a bit of shakiness that can be addressed as well, but I do not consider this to be an issue of concern. Fluidity is fine, though this is another area where minor improvements can be made. My score is 4.25/5.00. (Note: This is a Region-Free Blu-ray release. Therefore, you will be able to play it on your player regardless of your geographical location).

Come Back, Little Sheba Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

THere is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: LPCM 2.0. Optional English SDH subtitles are provided for the main feature.

I did not notice any serious age-related imperfections to report in our review. I had the volume on my system turned up quite a bit and was pleasantly surprised to hear how healthy and solid the lossless track was. I assume that when the current master was prepared at Paramount, careful work was done to ensure that the audio is as good as it can be.

Come Back, Little Sheba Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Trailer - presented here is a remastered U.S. trailer for Come Back, Little Sheba. In English, not subtitled. (3 min).

• "Burt Lancaster: Daring to Reach" - this terrific archival documentary examines the cinematic image, life, and career of Burt Lancaster. Included in it are clips from interviews with Lancaster, writer/biographer Gary Fishgall, Tina Cravat, actor Jeff Corey, Virginia Mayo, and Sydney Pollack, among others. In English, not subtitled. (50 min).

• Commentary - this exclusive new audio commentary was recorded by critic Scott Harrison.

Come Back, Little Sheba Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Everything that works very well in Come Back, Little Sheba is because of Burt Lancaster's tremendous transformation, including Shirley Booth's Oscar-winning performance. Interestingly, Lancaster was more than a decade younger than the alcoholic he was cast to play, but in the film, he often looks a decade older than the alcoholic. Via Vision Entertainment's release is sourced from a solid organic 4K master that was prepared at Paramount Pictures. There is some room for improvement, but I think that the release offers a very strong presentation of the film. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.