Missy

(2013-06-18 02:15:39)

I love this movie.

I saw this movie when I was a young girl and I loved it. It made a very big impression on me. I would like to find it and buy it. Great film!!

(2013-06-17 05:20:14)

Autumn Almanac

Cliff is a little wooden but the part he's playing would be a challenge to just about any actor. Aldrich tried luring Marlon Brando into the part and he would have been ideal perhaps, but few actors had the cojones in those days, the mid fifties, of appearing so weak. Robertson spends much of the movie just lying down and crying like a little baby, as the process of infantilization takes its terrible toll on him. His sobs are real, it's just the other aspects of Hansen's character that he falls down on. You keep waiting to figure out why Joan is drawn to him. Can't shje see there's something wrong there? That quickie Mexcican marriage, with little Mexican children in sombreros, and donkeys in sombreros, why so sudden? I'm sure the contemporary audience would have read this plot as a re-tread of the earlier SUDDEN FEAR, where Joan married a maniacal Jack Palance. Here as it turns out Cliff is no Jack Palance, he's just been turned into a boy by a trauma endured way before the movie begins.[SPOILERS AHEAD.]When Virginia comes to visit Millie in the bungalow row, she's wearing a sweetly sophisticated sleeveless sundress and she looks all together. You immediately start wondering, "Who's she"? And so does Millie. Then Virginia reveals that she was once married to Burt Hanson, and that their divorce decree hasn't even been good for a month. For all Burt knows, says Virginia, she's still married to him! Joan shakes her head, she just can't believe it! Neither could I. But it's Vera Miles so she must be telling the truth. Then Lorne Greene shows up as Burt's dad, saying that, even though he loves his boy, the way a man loves his only son, that Burt can't be trusted and one shouldn't believe a single word Burt tells you. Also, he's a shoplifter!I guess it could have been worse. I wonder why the movie didn't play it so that Burt and Virginia in fact were still married? Wouldn't that have made Burt more perfidious? Maybe it was against the code for him to then marry Millie in a bigamous relationship? It's all very dubious, especially when you find out that Vera Miles and Lorne Greene are committing, according to Joan, "the ugliest of all possible sins, so ugly that it drove him into the state he's in now!" I'll tell you, my heart flew into my mouth and it is still there! I always thought, Vera Miles, nice but dull. Now I discover, she's pure evil.I always thought that VERTIGO would have been a lousy film if Vera Miles, Hitchcock's favorite, hadn't gotten pregnant and had to drop out, leaving it for Kim Novak. I mean, who could believe that Jimmy Stewart would fall in love with Vera Miles even once, let alone twice! But AUTUMN LEAVES must have been a good audition tape for Miles and she gives off a slow heat, like a leg of lamb. Is she still alive? All of a sudden I'm curious about her. [SPOILERS NO MORE.]TV producers used to cast her in the pilots of all their favorite shows, for it was believed she was a good luck charm and that if Vera Miles was in your pilot as a guest star, the show would be picked up by the network. She was the Greg Grundberg of yesteryear. She's great and so is AUTUMN LEAVES.

planktonrules

(2013-06-17 03:40:25)

A bit silly and a bit creepy, but still worth a peek

Joan Crawford plays a lonely spinster who keeps telling herself she ishappy despite living all alone. Her only friend is her landlady, playedwell by Ruth Donnelly. Completely unexpectedly, young Cliff Robertsoncomes into her life and seems completely captivated by Joan despite avery considerable age difference. Eventually they marry and things seemjust fine--that is, until Cliff's ex-wife and father enter the picture.From then on, it's all downhill for Cliff as he slowly loses his mind.Exactly where it all goes from here, you'll have to see for yourself.The basic idea of this film is interesting but could have been donemuch better. The biggest problem I had with the film is that by thistime in her long career, Ms. Crawford was beginning to look very creepyand not in the least bit alluring--much of it due to her severe makeupand rather masculine demeanor. The age difference angle could haveworked--but with Joan looking like a character from one of her laterhorror films (such as STRAIGHT-JACKET), it was not only impossible tobelieve the romance because of the age but also because she looked soscary. I know this sounds very catty, and I have loved quite a few ofher films, but here she was just hopelessly miscast. However, on a camplevel, her performance as a super-long-suffering wife is surprisinglycompelling--especially when she has a juicy confrontation with VeraMiles.The whole mental illness angle was really a two-edged sword. On thepositive side, it was an interesting idea and why Cliff began to loseit was fascinating as well as showing scenes of life in a mentalinstitution in the 1950s. With the shock treatment and all, it made fora very harrowing picture. However, at times, his performance seemed atad over the top--even for such a demanding and emotional role.Still, there's enough interesting material here to make this veryflawed film STILL worth a look. While far from great and full of campymaterial, it's an odd and watchable little time passer.

Wayne Malin

(2013-06-16 17:19:07)

One of Crawford's better pictures

Lonely middle aged typist Milicent Wetherby (Joan Crawford) is out onenight and is picked up and charmed by young handsome Burt Hanson (CliffRobertson). After a whirlwind romance they get married. However shestarts to notice something is wrong with him and soon finds out thathe's a crazy, and possibly dangerous, man.Sure this is a soap opera but a very good one. The script is wellwritten and it's beautifully directed by Robert Aldrich. The agedifference between Crawford and Robertson is pretty obvious (he wasalmost 30 years younger than her) but you get used to it. It helps thatboth Crawford and Robertson are both excellent in their roles. Crawfordwas always a pro--she gave her all to any movie she was in and this isno exception. She has one great scene where she tells off Vera Milesand Lorne Greene. Robertson himself goes convincingly from a nicecheerful guy to a raving madman.SPOILER!!!! The psychological aspect of this is pretty dated--accordingto this a few months stay in an institution and receiving electricshock therapy make you OK! SPOILER END!!!!I didn't quite buy the ending either. Still this is exceptionally welldone movie with good acting and directing. There's also that lovelytitle tune. I give this an 8.

(2013-06-15 20:35:05)

JOAN CRAWFORD IS SENSATIONAL...

This unheralded film is a gem. Joan Crawford plays a single, middle aged woman, named Millicent "Millie" Wetherby, who lives a sterile, lonely life. She is self-employed as a typist and works out of her home. The only people she seems to see are her clients and her landlady (Ruth Donnelly). Hers is a solitary existence. One day, she meets a younger man, Burt Hanson (Cliff Robertson), who despite their age difference manages to sweep her off her feet. Despite her concerns about this May/December romance, she falls in love with the irrepressible Burt. After some persuading, she agrees to marry him. Her happiness is palpable. Once the honeymoon is over, however, her nightmare begins, as she discovers that the man she loves seems to be someone other than the man whom she married. Burt had apparently been married before and had unexpectedly come upon his wife (Vera Miles) and his father (Lorne Green) in a compromising position together. This had the effect of putting Burt into some sort of fugue state. The net result was that it caused Burt to become mentally unbalanced. How Millie handles this and what happens to her and Burt make for as engrossing film. This is a wonderful, poignant melodrama that sees Ms. Crawford give a sensational performance as the vulnerable, yet strong, Millie, who confronts the demons in Burt's closet and, ultimately, makes them go away. A very young and boyish Cliff Robertson gives a suitably engaging performance as the hapless Burt. Ruth Donnelly is terrific as Millie's landlady. It was especially nice to see Ms. Donnelly in this film, as she had been in a number of Ms. Crawford's early films. Lorne Green and Vera Miles round off the strong supporting cast. The soundtrack is wonderful, as the title song of the movie is sung by musical great, Nat "King" Cole. It truly is a beautiful song and a fitting one for this excellent film.

(2013-06-15 10:07:49)

December/May in the Autumn

"Autumn Leaves" is a fascinating,fun film noir. Joan Crawford stars as an older spinster who falls for the young,handsome Burt (Cliff Robertson) There's a fling at the beach,flirting over chicken salad sandwiches,and an impulsive wedding in Mexico. Soon after that,he's confronted with his ex-wife (Vera Miles) and his father (Lorne Greene,in his pre-Adama days)"Autumn Leaves" explains Joan's appeal among gays. There's an age difference,there is a stigma to the relationship, the younger man is deemed neurotic and shipped off to a mental ward (foreshadowing Robertson's Oscar-winning role in "Charly") It's no wonder her movies were (and to some extent,still are) revered at the Castro Theater."Autumn Leaves" has PLENTY of expected twists. There are some unintentionally hilarious moments,such as when Greene tells Crawford "Burt loves you like a mother" (she's already married him) The romance is at once Oedipal and sexy. Cliff Robertson,who now stars as Peter Parker's loveable uncle in the Spider-Man series, was quite hunky back in the day. There's psychological tension! Overacting! A frequently shirtless Cliff!"Autumn Leaves" also has an unexpected legacy. Nat King Cole sung its theme. Its theme,like that of another B movie of the era,"Green Dolphin Street",were transformed into jazz standards by Miles Davis."Autumn Leaves" is a harvest treat!

vincentlynch-moonoi

(2013-06-15 13:56:14)

Varied reviews...mine is negative

When a Joan Crawford movie pops up on TCM, I'll usually watch it. Andthere are some great ones...but not this late in her career. Add to itthat after all we have learned about the real Crawford, it wasimpossible for me to buy her as such a totally sympathetic wife,particularly under the circumstances of this story. In fact, sheliterally made me cringe here. Perhaps it would have been morebelievable back in 1956, but not in this day and age. In my view, therewas virtually nothing credible in her performance here, although youcan revel in the scene where she tells of Vera Miles and Lorne Greene.And then there's the way they met -- in a restaurant over chickensalad, in one of the most awkward and asinine scenes I have ever seenin a movie.On the positive side, Cliff Robertson -- no favorite of mine -- is verygood here. I guess he was bi-polar in the film, and he was believablein that role. Kudos to Robertson. Lorne Greene and (in a very atypicalrole) Vera Miles play sleaze-balls here. Given their typical roles it'sa little difficult to swallow...but okay, it's acting. And, in fact,the initial mystery in what they are up to is one of the highlights ofthe film.Also, the scenes of Robertson undergoing electric shock treatments arequite powerful (pun intended), but the downer at the end of the film isthat after all Robertson and Crawford have gone through -- spousalabuse and intense psychiatric care -- there is a totally happy ending.Well, gag me with a spoon.It's worth watching for the camp, but not for the overall quality ofthe movie.

(2013-06-14 20:53:59)

"Why shouldn't I pick up an expression here and there? I'm not THAT old!"

Her purse boasts her initials: MW, which are the same thing turned upside down. She is Millie Weatherby (Joan Crawford), an aging writer whose prospects for romance seem very slim. (Maybe it's those scary eyebrows.) She is a sweet woman, but set in her ways and introverted. Magically, an attractive younger man falls into her lap. Bert Hanson (Cliff Robertson) is an ex-military soldier roaming around town when he finds Millie in a restaurant and begins chatting her up. She spurns his advances at first, but slowly warms up to him. The two begin a passionate love affair. She is afraid because of their age difference, but he convinces her that they are meant for each other. However, the more she learns about Mr. Hanson, the more she questions him. It seems that he isn't being entirely truthful to her.A highly entertaining and sometimes shocking film, this movie surpasses expectations. It is certainly melodramatic, but it nicely transitions from a romance to a psychological thriller. There are some very sexy scenes in this movie; it seems the code wasn't too concerned with the appeal of aging actresses or the things they said. There is a scene on the beach very similar to the famous one from From Here to Eternity, and you might find yourself gasping at some of the lines, especially one scene where Millie blows up at Bert's father and his girlfriend.It's a fun ride, and with Joan Crawford, how could you go wrong?

(2013-06-14 02:36:22)

Joan Crawford Shines !

This is a wonderful film about middle aged love. The casting features Cliff Robertson as the object of devotion as well as Vera Miles and many more. Nat King Cole provides the theme song which is a really nice touch. This was directed by Bob Aldrich who also directed "What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?" featuring Joan Crawford and Bette Davis. The VHS (video) version of this film is extremely difficult to get. ...

moonspinner55

(2013-06-13 06:20:13)

Delirious and intoxicating...

Once director Robert Aldrich got around to shaping her latter-daycareer, Joan Crawford did some very good films, this being one of them.Absorbing nonsense is gusty and often ridiculous...still, I wouldn'thave it any other way. Crawford is quite strong here playing a singlewoman making her living as a stay-at-home typist; she marriesmuch-younger Cliff Robertson, a pathological liar, and quicklydiscovers the many secrets he has in his murky past. Florid melodramais filled with fruity dialogue and overheated set-ups (like theinfamous thrown typewriter), fluttering hands and fluttering eyelashes.A trashy delight, and sure to please soap buffs. *** from ****

(2013-06-11 04:03:54)

Wonderful ending!

This movie is always a joy for me to watch. Joan Crawford gives an outstanding performance as a woman who gets married to a man, and finds out that he has some creepy secrets that he never told her! For example, he was married before and that he was a compulsive liar! When he sees his father in bed with his ex-wife, he goes completely insane and whacks Joan with a typewriter! It's fascinating to see both these actors incredible talents make this film so melodramatic, effective, and eventually sad and heart-warming. Very, very well done and beautiful music.

m-santana

(2013-06-10 10:03:37)

Joan Crawford is superb!

Joan Crawford is probably one of my favorite actresses of all timebecause in every film I've seen of hers she never falls short. Possiblyher genetics have some what to do with it, but I also believe it'stalent because she has a way of reacting such a way through her facialexpressions that just suck you in. After seeing many of her films, whenI watch one I never think anything negative, such as why she didsomething. Although she can be many different characters I never saythat she was better as the other because like I said Joan delivers. Milly is a character that is very talented and true to herself, and itwas obvious from the beginning a man wasn't what she needed in life. Itwas more of something deserved. When Bert made his pass at Milly Iwondered what he'd get her into. Lovely enough this movie wasn't aboutany sort of mystery. Bert and Milly seemed like they could really makethings work, after of course the usual test. Women always test men tosee if they are as legitimate as they claim to be. Not to give anythingmuch away, Milly was surprised as any women would have been, but shestayed true to her heart. Also, probably my favorite part of the film was during the beach scene.The editing and shots were moment to moment and messed very well. Thesong of autumn leaves being such a solid part of the film was a niceaspect also. The song is filled with emotions in every word.

benjulia

(2013-06-09 05:35:15)

Superb Aldrich melodrama.

Fine performances from Joan Crawford and Cliff Robertson give this taughtdrama more emotional resonance than might be expected from the plotsummary.Crawford is superb - all huge eyes and trembling lips, she makes therelationship with Robertson's character believable and moving. Thetentativestart to the relationship is especially effective.Burt Hanson's mental deterioration is quite graphically portrayed and atonepoint, I have to admit, I was peering through my fingers at the screen.Itwas purely by chance that I stumbled across this movie on late nighttelevision. Despite being a fan of classic movies all my life, I hadneverheard of this one and I have to say that I'm surprised. It deserves to bebetter known.

(2013-06-08 17:14:07)

Huge Disappointment!!!

This review is from: Autumn Leaves (VHS Tape) This has got to be the worst Joan Crawford movie I have ever seen!! Crawford herself does a decent job with the lousy script, but Clint Robertson and Lorne Greene are pathetic. I just can't emphasize enough how lame the entire story line is. This is not your usual gripping Crawford movie, it's not even remotely entertaining. I wasted my money!!

Naught Moses

(2013-06-03 21:59:19)

Common Cult-ural Claptrap

She's the typical co-dependent, stand-by-your-man, til-death-do-us-partproduct of the in-doctrine-ations of the adjust-til-it-kills-you,(supposedly) Greatest Generation. He's (ostensibly) the product of anarcissistic (and crazy-making) father and the equally narcissistic --and father-resembling -- woman he married in late adolescence. The drama is mid-century pulp fiction, and, of course, (delusionally)hopeful. (Hey! She's getting her @$$ kicked, seemingly forgetting it,and coming back for more.) (But... "Love cures all!") (Please.)High-voltage / high-amperage / long-duration electroconvulsive and/orcoma-inducing insulin therapy had =no= such effect upon psychoticpatients of the heroic sort depicted here. Patients treated thus tendedto emerge with wholesale memory loss and not know their own parents orspouses for months, years, or... forever. But they =were= easier tomanage. Was he looking for a "good enough mother" in Joanie's character? Maybeso. One thing's for sure, though: Joanie at =50= was downright=amazing= looking. (I know. "The best that money can buy" and all that,but even so...) she was looking pretty good. (Ditch those eyebrows,though, Joan. Ya looked so much better in "The Women.")

(2013-06-03 08:00:53)

JOAN CRAWFORD IS FABULOUS IN THIS ROLE!

This review is from: Autumn Leaves (VHS Tape) I loved this movie when I saw it as a child and never forgot Joan Crawford in this fabulous performance. I wanted so much to see it again and did find it in Amazon.com at an incredible price. She shines in this role with great class, elegance, grace, sensitivity, love and strength. So expressive are her lovely eyes and fine figure. She is truly a super star in this role ~ A class act all the way ~ wonderful. You will want to play it again and again ~ sheer brilliance!! Joan Crawford will never be forgotten in the perfection she exhibited in this riveting role.

(2013-05-30 15:20:06)

A haunting and stark look at love and mental illness

I saw this movie on TV when I was a young girl and have never forgotten it. Now that I am older, I have recently revisited it. Joan Crawford is utterly believable as a spinster who has found love in an unexpected place and is afraid to take a chance. Her scene at the end, on the hospital grounds, still moves me to tears. Cliff Robertson is AWESOME. He was in his early 30s and Ms. Crawford was 51 when they made this movie but their chemistry is right on track. The passion in their love scenes is utterly believable. It's a dark look at love, from the warm and inviting to the perverse. The movie has a lot of messages about love, fidelity, mental illness, loneliness. I won't reveal any of the plot here, I will only say that Freud would have loved this movie. If you haven't seen it, do yourself a favor and either get the VHS tape or look for it online...it's there. The memory of this movie will linger with you (as it did me) for a long time.

bkoganbing

(2013-05-30 05:19:16)

As Much Maternal As Romantic

Autumn Leaves finds Joan Crawford as fortyish unmarried woman livingalone in a court bungalow with landlady Ruth Donnelly for occasionalcompany. A chance meeting with young Cliff Robertson at a concertbrings two people with needs together.Cliff's needs are much bigger than her's however. For all his surfacecharm, the man has some deep issues. Part of which is that he's grownup without a mother another part of which his father Lorne Greene didhim one terrible hurt.The film was Cliff Robertson's breakout role and he does a fine job,running the whole emotional alphabet from the charming and shallowyoung man who overcompensates a lot to his mental breakdown withCrawford which is terrifying. Crawford gets one of her best late careerroles as well. Not much is said about her mental state, but the way sheinterprets the part, Joan's needs are as much maternal as romantic andRobertson seems to fill the bill.For those of you who expect to see wise and patriarchal Ben Cartwright,that is not the Lorne Greene you see here. In fact before being cast inBonanza, Greene played a nice variety of nasty people in such films asThe Buccaneer, Tight Spot, and this one. Vera Miles is also here asRobertson's ex-wife and a piece of work herself.Robert Aldrich does a good job with Joan Crawford and the rest of thecast. But the film really belongs to Cliff Robertson, after thisperformance, his career was assured.

(2013-05-27 02:24:13)

What a wonderful love story---

Joan Crawford beautifully portrays a lonely woman who falls in love with a much younger man played so well by Cliff Robertson. The tragedy of their love turns out not to be his age, but the mental conflict that developed when he discovered his first wife (Vera Miles) in bed with his own father (Lorne Greene). It truly shows the road to true love can be difficult, but the journey is well worth the ride. Joan, you're the best!

(2013-05-26 19:33:03)

tender,sweet, and a tiny bit campy!

We all know Joan is for the most part, ultimatly unsuccesful in pulling off the good-natured and sweet"good egg" roles. She was able to into a few times(Mildred Pierce,Sudden Fear etc),but other times she is not believable...here she is...What makes this movie unique,interesting and perfect for a lazy fall Sunday Afternoon;The music-Nat King Coles velvety and comforting rendition of the title track during both opening and closing credits at once makes you want to snuggle up with your honey alongside a cup of cocoa.Joan is playing a modest, possibly middle class character(SHOCK)- Joan's Millicent is a lone freelance at-home typist. She resides in a unassuming bungalow and her wardrobe is demure.The GENERALL earnest quality to Joans acting(rare for the 1950's)As we all know, if you want to find the majority of her campfest drag queen impersonations,look no further than her films of the 50's. Again save for one HIGHLARIOUS confrontation scene with Vera Miles(the dialogue you will be repeating to your friends), her work is mostly sincere and retrained.You can really tell Joan worked hard at this role!There is one scene where Joan glams it up and that is at the beach sequence where she sports a flattering black halter style swimsuit. She and Bert(Clif Robertson) recreate the famous passionate"From here to Eternity" embrace( A few years earlier Joan was hired, then quickly fired from that movie-rumored to her ego problems due to the massive success of "Sudden Fear"). This was a way of recreating a role she had lost.I don't want to get into the plot too much. We all know it. Joan meets a husband. Joan discovers he is a mental illnes and some other skeletons in the closet.For me, The point of the movie is't will she take him back, but will her love for him persevere through everything.... The excellent Lorne Green and Vera Miles add a nice touch. Also Milli's only close confidante, her neighbor Liz is quite endearing and her delivers her lines in a pleasent,more realistic way than viewers have grown accustomed to from all those movie from the golden age of hollywood.Although the theme of this film is more about the love each character has for one another,and too much of a melodrama to be really a (long) study of mental illness practices, it is still one of the best old hollywood films I have seen on the subjest.ALso LOVED "the snake pit" with Olivia Dehavilland...This movie has a very sweet ending and is very worth watching. I consider it a favorite and one of her best:) FYI on another MAJOR dvd site, you CAN bid on, and purchase a region one DVD edition,,,,That is how I got this film on dvd:)