First things first, he was WAY too young for the role! I knew that even before I looked into the background of the movie. And probably what made him seem all the more young for the role was the fact that Shirley Booth (whom you'll probably know from the hit television show Hazel) was the right age. So immediately, putting them together, you'd find it difficult to think Lancaster and Booth are married and have been for twenty years?! But it gets even weirder as the movie progresses believe me!
If you've ever seen "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?" I felt like this movie had that kind of vibe and feel to it. Both were originally stage plays that became such hits on Broadway the only thing left to do was film it. I say they were similar because in both Virgina Woolf and Little Sheba, they have four very dynamic characters who individually are a bit unhinged, but when they are thrown together they're downright insane!
I got that insane vibe right away from Lola (Shirley Booth) whereas Doc/'Daddy' (Burt Lancaster) was a bit aloof and frigid with his wife. This is understandable since it's revealed pretty early on that they got married young because she got pregnant by him. But the marriage quickly turned sour when she lost the baby but not until after they quickly got married. For whatever reason they never divorced. Probably because he felt sorry for her? Anyway, she becomes unhinged during their marriage, not so much from losing the baby, but from the loss of her dog that up and disappeared one day. Every morning she'd wake up and expect the dog to come back home. Guess what he dogs name is? Yep, you guessed it, Sheba. WTF?! Here I'm looking for Little Sheba to be one of the main characters names and turns out it's the name of some dog.
But upon deeper reflection I came up with something. What if Lola transferred the loss of her child into the dog disappearing and that's why she is so hung up on the dog? It's her way of staying attached to the baby. The only reason why someone like Doc married someone like her in the first play. Now, she claims she was very beautiful when she was first dating Doc. We find this and other little stories about how they met and how he courted her through what she shares with a young female lodger named Marie. She is the catalyst that moves the story along.
See, Doc takes one look at this young pretty thing and instantly is attracted to her. She is pretty and a bit flighty with men. One man in particular. A guy by the name of Turk (she calls him Turkey every once in a while). Now Turk is this rugged, blonde headed, handsome kind of guy who has a deep and powerful sexual desire. At the moment he desires Marie. Lola, the weirdo that she is, seems to "get off" on watching those two love birds go at it. She even reveals to her husband that she's watched them being intimate with each other. Of course, at that time, pre-marital sex was a no-no so we're to believe she meant kissing and such when she says she watched them together. Doc on the other hand is VERY jealous of Turk and wants Marie to break up with him. He doesn't necessarily voice his opinions for fear his secret desire to have her for himself will be discovered.
Here's how the rest of the story plays out. Turns out almost half the town are alcoholics. You should have seen the AA meeting! Packed house! And a separate cake for each member to commemorate how long they've been sober. Doc was just one year. That quickly got thrown out the window though when he suspects Marie is having sex with Turk. He drinks and drinks plenty. Goes out on a bender leaving his cooky wife to worry. He comes home only to accuse his wife of knowing what goes on in that bedroom they rent out from time to time and actually condoning it. Basically accuses her of being a "madame"! Anyway, after trying to kill her he collapses and is put in a "mental" facility where he remains for a while to detox. In that time Marie finds ANOTHER man, marries him, and leaves. Doc comes home and begs forgiveness from his wife. And promises that as long as she stays with him he'll be a better husband. The End.
Yep, that's about it. A pretty crappy ending really. But when you think about how plays were written back then it's just about what I expected. No fuss no muss. Their lives go on. And most importantly she moves on from expecting Little Sheba to come back home. You'll have to see the movie to discover how we know she moves on. I'm not about to spoil the WHOLE movie.
This is Shirley Booth's debut into the film world and after seeing her performance it's no wonder she was nominated and won the Academy for Leading Lady in this movie. Unfortunately, unlike other leading beauties of that era, she was not able to make a go of being a movie actress which is how she became Hazel. A role she owned and enjoyed playing.
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