About Mrs. Leslie (1954)

Did you people see the same film I saw?

An action-packed slog

Clever and entertaining enough to recommend even to members of the 1%

There are moments that feel comical, some horrific, and some downright inspiring but the tonal shifts hardly matter as the end results come to a film that's perfect for this time.

Daniel Mann, a master director of dramas, reunites with leading lady Shirley Booth after their successful collaboration in Come Back, Little Sheba to create the wonderfully romantic drama About Mrs. Leslie. If you like these two of their films, be sure to check out their third film together, Hot Spell!Told in flashbacks, Shirley starts the film off as the owner of a boarding house. Her tenants and neighbors often come to her with their problems, since she's such a sympathetic mother type, and while she deals with their trifles, she remembers her earlier years, before she was Mrs. Leslie. Back then, she was a nightclub singer who fell in love with the handsome, charming, enigmatic Robert Ryan. Their slow-burning love affair is fascinating to watch, and while both actors are naturally likable anyway, they'll instantly win a place in your heart.As you might expect, since this is a Shirley Booth movie-her movies are much different than Hazel-you might want to keep your Kleenexes handy. Her darling wobbly voice and her terribly sad face makes me cry every time.

Lovely little drama about a hopeless love affair told in remembrance. Shirley Booth is incredibly moving in a beautifully simple performance and Robert Ryan a fine match in a understated part very different from his usual gruff often cruel characters. If you are only familiar with Shirley Booth from her years as "Hazel" she will be a revelation here. She and Ryan are pretty much the whole show with the other actors unmemorable excepting the neighbor's daughter and only because she is such an odious little brat. For discriminating audiences who enjoy superior acting and don't mind that the actors look and behave like real people.

This is a silly, tear-jerker of a story, but interesting in spite of itself, the kind to help you pass a rainy day when you're feeling kind of blue.However . . . . if anyone wants to know who was one of America's greatest actresses, they have only to watch Shirley Booth in this film. She was a very low-key, actually kind of dumpy-looking woman, with a not very pretty speaking voice, but she will keep your attention, amaze you, and break your heart. Even though she looks sort of like she could be Robert Ryan's mother, or at least his older sister, you don't have a moment's doubt that this tall, handsome leading man could fall for her and maintain a long-term relationship with her. She is luminous in her quiet way.Booth did many stage plays, and to give you an idea of the heft of her acting abilities, several of the parts she played on the stage were subsequently played on screen by Katharine Hepburn. Booth unfortunately lacked what Hollywood considered glamor, but she was chock full of talent and charisma. If you know her only from re-runs of the sitcom "Hazel," you are in for a big surprise if you see her in this film, or in the even better "Come Back Little Sheba."

This is a wonderful love story. Shirley Booth is Vivien; Robert Ryan is George Leslie - Leslie is actually his middle name - he wanted to keep his identity a secret from Booth.Booth is an "old maid" type who is introduced to George Leslie, a wealthy businessman. They have a long-term affair as Ryan is married. This was rather risqué as the flashbacks take place in the late 1930s through VJ day, 1945.As the movie opens, Booth is an elderly woman who runs a boarding house. She recounts her life with Ryan in a flashback method.The scene near to the end is most moving. It is VJ day in NYC. Booth is working in a dress shop and she is pulled out to the street to join the celebration that WWII is finally over. As she stands in the street near Times Square, she see the news ticker flash the message: "George Leslie _______, died suddenly today of a massive heart attack . . ., " at which point she swoons. The film returns to Booth as an older landlady.The catch phrase in the film used by Booth was, ". . .Mr. Leslie, honey," each time she would meet with or part from Ryan.It was a moving film, different from the typical post-war movies of the time. Shirley booth was excellent. Robert Ryan, who was a Marine and served with the OSS in Yugoslavia in WWII, was excellent.I wish I could get a copy of the film. It made quite an impression on me and I saw it only once. I hadn't noted the title, but when I described it to my dad, who knew every movie, I said "Mr. Leslie, honey." and he knew it immediately.