Desire Under the Elms (1958)

Director:

Delbert Mann

Writers:

Irwin Shaw (screenplay)
Eugene O'Neill (play)

Release Date:

6 May 1958 (Japan)

Genre:

Drama | Romance

Plot:

Ephraim Cabot is an old man of amazing vitality who loves his New England farm with a greedy passion...

Plot Keywords:

Farm | Disinheritance | Hidden Money | Italian Woman | Rural Setting

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 2 nominations

Cast

Sophia Loren	...	Anna Cabot
Anthony Perkins	...	Eben Cabot
Burl Ives	...	Ephriam Cabot
Frank Overton	...	Simeon Cabot
Pernell Roberts	...	Peter Cabot
Rebecca Welles	...	Lucinda Cabot (as Rebecca Wells)
Jean Willes	...	Florence Cabot
Anne Seymour	...	Eben's Mother
Roy Fant	...	Fiddler
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Edna Bennett	...	Housewife Gossip (uncredited)
Butch Bernard	...	Eben as a Boy (uncredited)
Florine Carlan	...	Young Girl (uncredited)
Robert Cass	...	Seth - Deputy (uncredited)
Vera Denham	...	Farm Woman (uncredited)
Harvey B. Dunn	...	Farmer (uncredited)
Dick Elliott	...	Old Farmer (uncredited)
Jamie Forster	...	Farmer (uncredited)
Greta Granstedt	...	Men (uncredited)
Sandra Harrison	...	Young Girl (uncredited)
Richard Kipling	...	Doctor (uncredited)
Charlotte Knight	...	Midwife (uncredited)
Ezelle Poule	...	Farm Woman (uncredited)
Lucille Vance	...	Housewife Gossip (uncredited)
Robert Williams	...	Jim, the Sheriff (uncredited)

Directed by
Delbert Mann

Writing credits
Irwin Shaw		(screenplay)
Eugene O'Neill		(play)

Produced by
Don Hartman	....	producer

Original Music by
Elmer Bernstein

Cinematography by
Daniel L. Fapp		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
George Boemler

Casting by
Bert McKay		(uncredited)

Art Direction by
J. McMillan Johnson		(as Joseph MacMillan Johnson)
Hal Pereira

Set Decoration by
Sam Comer
Grace Gregory

Costume Design by
Dorothy Jeakins

Makeup Department
Nellie Manley	....	hair style supervisor
Wally Westmore	....	makeup supervisor
Bud Bashaw Jr.	....	makeup artist (uncredited)
Dean Cole	....	hairdresser (uncredited)
Gertrude Reade	....	hairdresser (uncredited)
Karl Silvera	....	makeup artist (uncredited)

Production Management
Frank Caffey	....	production manager (uncredited)
Harry Caplan	....	unit production manager (uncredited)
Curtis Mick	....	assistant production manager (uncredited)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Richard Caffey	....	assistant director
Bud Brill	....	second assistant director (uncredited)
Bernard McEveety	....	assistant director (uncredited)
Sheldon Schrager	....	assistant director (uncredited)

Art Department
Eugene Acker	....	standby painter (uncredited)
Vern Bain	....	props (uncredited)
Carl Coleman	....	props (uncredited)
Gene Lauritzen	....	construction coordinator (uncredited)

Sound Department
Winston H. Leverett	....	sound recordist (as Winston Leverett)
Harold Lewis	....	sound recordist
Nick Gerolimates	....	cableman (uncredited)
Hayden Hohstadt	....	mike grip (uncredited)
Jim Miller	....	sound recordist (uncredited)
Bob Simpson	....	sound boom operator (uncredited)
Bill Wistrom	....	sound editor (uncredited)

Visual Effects by
John P. Fulton	....	special photographic effects

Camera and Electrical Department
Guy Bennett	....	camera operator (uncredited)
James Grant	....	assistant camera (uncredited)
Irv Newmeyer	....	company grip (uncredited)
Loren Nutten	....	best boy (uncredited)
Sterling Smith	....	still photographer (uncredited)
Stanley Williams	....	gaffer (uncredited)

Casting Department
Olive Long	....	secretary: casting director (uncredited)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Joan Joseff	....	costume jeweller (uncredited)
John Noble	....	costumes: men (uncredited)
Ruth Stella	....	costumes: ladies (uncredited)

Music Department
Van Cleave	....	orchestrator (uncredited)

Other crew
Bob Adams	....	craft service (uncredited)
Josephine Earl	....	dance director (uncredited)
Dave Golding	....	public relations consultant (uncredited)
Louanne Hogan	....	humming voice: Sophia Loren (uncredited)
G.A. Pedersen	....	auditor (uncredited)
Dorothy Yutzi	....	script supervisor (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Don Hartman Productions

Distributors

• Paramount Pictures (1958) (USA) (theatrical)
• American Broadcasting Company (ABC) (1970) (USA) (TV)
• Audio Visual Entertainment (2009) (Greece) (DVD)

Also Known As:

"Eugene O'Neill's Desire Under the Elms" - USA (complete title)

Runtime:

111 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Certification:

Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15 | Argentina:16 | Germany:12 (re-rating) | West Germany:18 (original rating) | Australia:PG

Filming Locations:

Paramount Studios - 5555 Melrose Avenue, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Don Hartman Productions

Trivia:

Sophia Loren plays Anthony Perkins stepmother in the film. In real life, she was two years younger than Perkins.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Film Geek (2005)

Loren and Perkins sizzle

Loren and Perkins smoke up the screen in this black and white, well-done love story. It is fascinating to see how quickly an all-American father and son can be weak for the same foreign woman. Sophia is wonderfully foreign, very talented in an early role. Anthony Perkins and she have surprisingly strong chemistry, the first kiss between them is one of the hottest kisses in the cinema. Burl Ives does an outstanding job as the miserly father who nabs himself a young pretty foreign wife. Sophia makes you believe she is married to Burl, she represents many a foreign wife who have married for economy. Anthony Perkins shocks you with his hatred and rivalry with his father.