HOT SPELL

Shirley MacLaine and Shirley Booth

HOT SPELL (1958). Director: Daniel Mann.

Housewife Alma Duval (Shirley Booth) is hoping that the 45th birthday celebration for her beloved husband, John (Anthony Quinn), will be a memorable occasion, but things are brewing that may make that impossible. John is very unhappy with his life and has taken on a lover who is decades younger than he is. Oldest son Buddy (Earl Holliman) feels that his dad doesn't take him seriously and is always putting him down. Daughter Virginia (Shirley MacLaine) is in love with aspiring doctor, Wyatt (Warren Stevens), but is only headed for heartbreak. And youngest son Billy (Clint Kimbrough) is uncertain about himself and unable to understand his father's unhappiness. Based on a play, Hot Spell is a thoughtful and beautifully-acted drama that looks at the ins and outs of marriage and family life with compassion and perception. Heading a terrific cast is a splendid Booth [About Mrs. Leslie], who must contend with her children's problems even as her own marriage, and her dreams of a happier future (tied to a home they lived in many years before), begin to crumble. Quinn is also superb, adding dimension and sympathy to what could have been an odious character in some ways, with fine work from Holliman [The Big Combo] and MacLaine (especially the latter). Kimbrough was an attractive and sensitive young actor who should have had many more credits than the twenty he amassed. Eileen Heckart [The Bad Seed] also appears as Alma's friend, Fran, and is also very good, as expected. One could argue that the movie is resolved a little too neatly, but it is generally quite effective and at times very poignant.

Verdict: A lost gem. ***1/2.