Autumn Leaves (film)
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| Autumn Leaves | |
|---|---|
 U.S. One Sheet Poster |
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| Directed by | Robert Aldrich |
| Produced by | William Goetz |
| Written by | Jean Rouverol Hugo Butler |
| Starring | Joan Crawford Cliff Robertson Vera Miles Lorne Greene |
| Music by | Hans J. Salter |
| Cinematography | Charles Lang |
| Editing by | Michael Luciano |
| Distributed by | Columbia Pictures |
| Release date(s) |  June 1956 (Berlin International Film Festival) August 1, 1956 |
| Country | U.S.A. |
| Language | English |
| Allmovie profile | |
| IMDb profile | |
Autumn Leaves is a 1956 American feature film directed by Robert Aldrich and written by Jean Rouverol and Hugo Butler.
It starred Joan Crawford, Cliff Robertson, Vera Miles and Lorne Greene.
Contents |
[edit] Plot
Millicent "Milly" Wetherby (Joan Crawford) is a lonely middle-aged woman who works as a stay-at-home typist. Her closest friend is her landlady, Liz (Ruth Donnelly), another lonely middle-aged woman.
One night, Milly goes to a concert alone then stops at a small diner for something to eat. There, she meets Burt Hanson (Cliff Robertson), a lonely man who's much younger than she (maybe half her age). He asks her if he can sit down with her since there's no more room at the diner. They get acquainted over dinner, he walks her home and asks her out for the following afternoon; despite Milly's initial reluctance, she finds herself dating Burt.
Soon, Milly tells him that he should find a woman his own age, but he just can't seem to stay away from her. He eventually proposes to her and she accepts; they go to Mexico to marry. While on their honeymoon, Milly notices that Burt lied to her previously about his background and where he was from.
After Burt moves into Milly's apartment, she seems to think that nothing else will go wrong, until Burt's ex-wife Virginia (Vera Miles) comes to the door with property papers for Burt to sign. She also mentions that Burt's father (Lorne Greene) is in town on vacation. Milly is taken aback, because Burt had never mentioned being married before, and had told her his father was dead. Virginia also mentions that she has only recently divorced Burt without his knowledge.
Milly later goes to meet Burt's father (who she finds eccentric) in a hotel. What Milly does not discover (until much later) is that his father and Virginia are actually lovers!
Meanwhile, Burt begins shoplifting and comes home from time to time with gifts that he stole from a department store where he works. To make things even more complicated, he said that he was now the manager of the store but she soon discovered (she sneaked out of the house to check on him) that he was only a tie salesman.
Realizing Burt's mental instability, she immediately demands to know what really happened in Burt's past. Burt tells her a few scattered details but does not have the courage to tell the definite horrible truth. She tells him to return the gifts and see his father in the hotel after work and he reluctantly agrees. The next day, Milly meets Burt at the hotel and discovers the awful truth that drove Burt into mental decline.
For days, Burt is a total recluse in the apartment. Milly tries to cheer Burt up by convincing him to go for a walk with her. When she steps out the door, she encounters Virginia and Mr. Hanson who demand the property papers to be signed immediately or else to have Burt committed. Milly gives them a peace of her mind by calling Mr. Hanson a "loving, doting fraud of a father" and Virginia, a tramp and a slut! When she returns home, Burt begins slapping Milly around, accusing her of betraying him and stabbing him in the back. He then smashes a typewriter onto Milly's hand! (He was actually aiming for her head).
Burt's mental health deteriorates even more as he is constantly being haunted by the day when he saw Virginia making love to his father. He cries uncontrollably at times and looks upon Milly as some sort of mother to protect him from his father. She then sees a psychiatrist who says that the only hope is to have Burt committed. She is hesitant at first; but when she sees Burt crying again into his pillow over Virginia and his father, she finally arranges to have Burt sent to a mental institution.
At the hospital, Burt constantly receives shock treatments that help him get well. As his condition improves, he even writes letters to his father and Virginia telling them to stay out of his life. What worries Milly is that he hasn't communicated with her yet.
When it's time for Burt to be discharged, Milly comes to pick him up. She then discovers that he loves her more than ever before.
[edit] Cast
- Joan Crawford as Millicent Wetherby
- Cliff Robertson as Burt Hanson
- Vera Miles as Virginia Hanson
- Lorne Greene as Mr. Hanson
- Ruth Donnelly as Liz
- Shepperd Strudwick as Dr. Malcolm Couzzens
- Selmer Jackson as Mr. Wetherby
- Maxine Cooper as Nurse Evans
- Marjorie Bennett as Waitress
- Frank Gerstle as Mr. Ramsey
- Leonard Mudie as Colonel Hillyer
- Maurice Manson as Dr. Masterson
- Bob Hopkins as Desk clerk
- Nat 'King' Cole as Off-Screen Vocalist
[edit] The Song
Autumn Leaves has since become a pop and jazz standard in French and English, originally "Les feuilles mortes," music by Joseph Kosma, lyrics by poet Jacques Prévert. English lyrics were written by the American songwriter Johnny Mercer (1949). In the Robert Aldrich film, Nat King Cole sings his version over the title sequence. The song was introduced by Yves Montand in 1946 for the film Les Portes de la Nuit. French songwriter Serge Gainsbourg wrote "La chanson de Prévert" as a tribute to this song.
