Film
What's on at the cinema plus reviews of the latest movie and DVD releases
Bookmark this pageAbout Mrs Leslie (1954)
Director: Daniel Mann
Movie review
From Time Out Film Guide
In one of her rare film roles, Shirley Booth is perfectly cast as the cheerfully competent, middle-aged owner of a Beverly Hills boarding-house, sympathetic - but not indulgent - to the various problems of her roomers. Flashbacks reveal her bitter-sweet past when, as a night-club singer, she found happiness with a mysterious, lonely tycoon (Ryan) who is able to spare only six weeks a year away from business pressures to be with her. At first resentful when she discovers that he is trapped by a marriage contracted for social and material advantage when he was young and ambitious, she learns to be grateful for what she has. It's soap, of course, especially given that Booth's story is lent a happy ending, as it were, by two roomers who turn their backs on the rat race for fame and fortune, electing instead to settle humbly for each other. But it's scripted with wit, insight and no small dash of acerbity (by Ketti Frings from a novel by Vina Delmar), while Booth and Ryan give terrific performances. Their (on the face of it) unlikely pairing lends the film a distinctly offbeat flavour.Author: TM
Cast & crew
Director: Daniel Mann
Producer: Hal B Wallis
Cast: Shirley Booth, Robert Ryan, Alex Nicol, Marjie Millar, Eilene Janssen, Ellen Corby, Philip Ober, Harry Morgan full cast
Duration: 104 mins
Most popular on this site
Top Stories
Ang Lee talks 'Taking Woodstock'
Ang Lee talks to Tom Huddleston about his tale of the men behind history’s greatest music festival
Hippies who work for The Man
To celebrate George Clooney comedy 'The Men who Stare at Goats', we look back at six memorable onscreen hippies who fought the system from within
Roland Emmerich's guide to disaster movies
Ahead of the release of '2012', Roland Emmerich offers his ten tips on creating the perfect global catastrophe
Grant Heslov: interview
Grant Heslov, director of 'The Men who Stare at Goats' talks about his old pal George Clooney, his interest in the paranormal, and his fond memories of working on 'Happy Days'
The Coen brothers discuss 'A Serious Man'
Masters of contrary comedy, Joel and Ethan Coen have struck gold again with their latest, ‘A Serious Man’
Ten inspirations behind 'Avatar'?
Time Out ponders the influences behind James Cameron's anticipated space-opera on the basis of the trailer
Michael Haneke: The man behind the menace
From Cannes to Munich to London, Dave Calhoun tours Michael Haneke's Palme d'Or winner, 'The White Ribbon'
How Jane Campion brought John Keats back to life
Time Out gets Romantic with the ‘difficult’ New Zealander about her new film, 'Bright Star'
Time Out's 50 greatest animated films with commentary by Terry Gilliam
In celebration of the release of Pixar's 'Up' and Wes Anderson's 'Fantastic Mr Fox', read our rundown of fifty classic feature length animations
What do you think?
Post your review now