Desire Under the Elms (1958)

In DESIRE UNDER THE ELMS, Anna poses tough competition to Ephraim’s bitter sons from his previous marriages, who believe they, not their new stepmother, should inherit all his land. Things heat up when Anna and Ephraim’s son, Eben spend a night of passion together.

The negative reviews are a pity...

This is a great movie, even though it's a bit slow and corny in parts. Anthony Perkins plays the son of Burl Ives, a man who's worked two wives into the grave and stolen the farm from one of them. Perkins has two half brothers he sends packing off to California in search of gold (this was set in 1840 when Perkins' character was a small boy, the 1850s or after when they're grown). Sophia Loren plays the beautiful new, young wife of Ives who marries for security. She and Perkins fall in love, and tragedy ensues. The ending is not a happy one for any of the three. Loren is gorgeous in her first Hollywood film, but her heavily accented English is hard to understand some of the time. Perkins is great in this as in any role he's played, and Ives acts out his tough, macho character perfectly. Almost perfect. August 24, 2008

Desire Under the Elms

I can remember seeing this film when I was a teenager and I never forgot it. I think it is one of Tony Perkins' best acting parts. This DVD is a sharp black and white copy and is first rate. The musical score and sound is perfect.

Robert Moon October 31, 2007

Gloom, doom, and Loren

It is the 1850s in a rocky New England farm that is home to the despotic owner, Ephraim Cabot (Burl Ives) and his resentful son Eben (Anthony Perkins). At 25, Eben is only staying on the farm because he expects to inherit the land, even though his greedy and cruel father swears that will never happen. The old man goes off and marries Anna (Sophia Loren), a seductive woman of Eben's age. She is repulsed by her husband, but desperately wants the farm, so there is immediate friction between Anna and her new stepson. Hatred soon turns to lust, however, and the two make good use of the hay loft. Anna gives birth to a son and Ephraim declares that the farm will be his alone one day, a decision that leads to a shocking act.

Eugene O'Neill's classic tragedy makes just an OK transition to the screen, despite the talented cast, literate script, and dramatic score by Elmer Bernstein. Something is missing; one never feels any passion or joy or urgency between Eben and Anna; in fact, they both seem to sleepwalk through the story, reciting their lines when it's their turn and glowering throughout. The one who really shines is Burl Ives; he is totally convincing as the hateful, Bible-quoting father and his robust and gleefully evil performance is reason enough to watch the movie. A big problem was the farm; it was the sole location and the object of everyone's desire, and yet the scenes were obviously filmed indoors, giving it a false, stagey look. The pervasive mood is of unremitting gloom, and since none of the characters is likeable or heroic, one is left feeling empty, wishing there had been more of an emotional connection between them and with us. August 6, 2007

A Dark and Disturbing Classic Tragedy by famous Playwright

I think this is one of the best Sophia Loren movies I've ever seen. It is very dark and disturbing. The cast is great, Anthony Perkins (Psycho) Sophia, Burl Ives. When it first came out I think people were a little put off that Sophia Loren, considered more of a Pin-Up was given the role of Mrs Cabot (not originally written as a foriegner). She does outstanding though and both her and Perkins play well together. They fight over the farm, here are some quotes:
"Say it Eban! Everything here is mine and some day I'll take it!" -
"Your Farm! You mean MY FARM!"
There is good support cast too. "So this is our new Ma huh?(refering to Sophia Loren) Why don't you put her in the pen with the other sows?"
The don't make movies like this anymore - Classic! Get it now while you can! The Transfer is very good. Its not perfect but as far I'm conserned it is a perfect release for this era of picture. Good clear picture (B&W,mono ect) and you can hear it fine. Not much for extra features but price is good. It is the first time I've seen it Widescreen. Bravo for Paramount.
October 22, 2004

So-so adaptation of O'Neill's play

Burl Ives plays Ephraim Cabot a greedy miser of a man who has managed to estrange his sons Peter (Pernell Roberts), Simeon (Frank Overton) but most especially Eben (Anthony Perkins) who wears bitterness like an oversized suit. When Ephraim brings home a new, young step-mother for the boys and wife, Anna (Sophia Loren) causes rivalries to begin anew between the brothers, their father but most especially Anna. It seems Ephraim has made the decision to leave the farm Anna when he dies. Eben confronts Anna but their confrontation erupts into passion as the two sleep together.

Eugene O'Neill occupies the same place in American Literature as a playwright as, say, Sophocles did for the Greeks. While Sophocles told of great and heroic characters who fall from grace with the gods, O'Neill focuses on anyone from the average American to the celebrity (I suppose in our screwed up world that's what passes for a "heroic" figure now). O'Neill's best plays ("The Iceman Cometh" and "Long Day's Journey into Night") tend to focus on the everyman and his or her struggles with temptation and how they seek their redemption. While "Desire Under the Elms" isn't O'Neill's best work, it still resonates with a number of difficult and forbidden themes. It's O'Neill's version of "Oedipus" but with characters that for all their heroic qualities, are flawed and simple human beings.

That said this is a so-so film adaptation of O'Neill's play. The fault lies in making the film a "star" vehicle more than anything else. The script compromises the integrity of O'Neill's original play and the direction, although imaginative at times just doesn't bring the drama to life. Mann's opens up the play a bit but some of the sequences still have a static quality to them. The performances range from decent to so over-the-top that they add a campy quality to the film and bring out the soap opera elements of O'Neill's plot. This is definitely an O'Neill play that deserves a reinterpretation despite the fact that it's a fairly minor work in his canon.


Shot in Vistavision one of the earliest widescreen processes, the black and white images would probably have been a bit sharper and with better clarity if there was some sort of full scale restoration done on the film. As it is, "Desire" looks decent although some of the sequences look a bit muddy while other parts look a bit washed out. There's also quite a bit of analog blemishes. Given the age of the film, the black and white images look pretty decent. It's unlikely that Paramount gave the producer responsible for this film-to-DVD transfer the budget for the necessary restoration of this film. The sound is pretty decent although the frequency response isn't as good as it could be. Still, Elmer Bernstein's striking score comes across with good presence and the dialogue is fairly clear.
There are no extras included. There is no commentary track.

Although not a complete disaster, this adaptation of O'Neill's play leaves a lot to be desired. Basically a star vehicle for Sophia Loren and Anthony Perkins, the fine moody cinematography and director Delbert Mann's imaginative direction can't overcome a script that takes a piece meal approach to O'Neill's play.

September 18, 2004

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