Absolutely brilliant

This is one of the few movies I've ever seen where the whole audience broke into spontaneous, loud applause a third of the way in.

A movie that not only functions as a solid scarefest but a razor-sharp satire.

One of the most extraordinary films you will see this year. Take that as you want.

Joan Crawford plays a lonely typist who works out of her LA bungalow. After she encounters Cliff Robertson as a younger man, and the two fall in love, she notices signs of mental instability in Robertson's character. The film hints at the answer to the question it raises over the reasons that underlie the younger-man-older-woman romance. Robertson had been previously married to the character played by Vera Miles's. Later the film introduces Robertson's father, played by Lorne Greene. It's within the triangular relationship between Robertson, his father Lorne Greene, and his ex-wife Vera Miles that the film reveals, a storyline that takes the viewer into a pretty interesting gutter. This is heightened by the absence of Robertson's mother, Greene's ex-wife, who died but left behind an inheritance. When Crawford's character is added into the mix in one of her more neurotic roles (even the psychiatrist in the film notices her neuroses) and Robert Aldrich directing, this film achieves some epic moments.

"Autumn Leaves" is a pop standard, an agreeably sentimental, even elegiac, song. Someone must have thought that an effective screenplay with that title could be written. Unfortunately, this isn't it.Joan plays a middle-aged woman who earns a modest living typing manuscripts. She's content to be lonely and alone, until a handsome young man (Cliff Robertson) shows up. After an extended courtship, she finally agrees to marry him -- then starts realizing he's a pathological liar, and worse.Generally speaking, a story should be about //one thing//. The original idea -- of the difficulties of an older woman marrying a man 20 years her junior (from which an excellent film could have been made) -- abruptly swerves to Joan's fight to cure her husband of his problems. These are (unconvincingly) worked out by throwing him into a mental institution, and giving him drugs and electroconvulsive therapy. The character has real problems -- largely induced by his father breaking up his former marriage by seducing his previous wife (!) -- but the diagnosis of schizophrenia seems, at best, excessive, at worst, absurd.The casting is so-so to poor. Crawford was never a //great// actress, but though lacking the depth the part would benefit from, she acquits herself fairly well. Cliff Robertson is okay up to the point he has to start acting crazy, then he opens his eyes real wide as if someone has goosed him with a pointy barbecue implement.Ruth Donnelly gives a noisy imitation of Thelma Ritter, while Lorne Greene delivers his patented canned-ham performance. Vera Miles is wasted, giving no indication that she's a good actress.Even with such poor casting, Robert Aldrich could have done a lot to mitigate an ill-conceived script. He didn't. Aldrich was one of those "competent hack" directors whose films were good when the script and casting were good, but not otherwise."Autumn Leaves" is worth watching mostly for laughs. It's prime MST3K material.

This film starts out extremely interestingly as we get to know sex-starved "spinster" Millicent Wetherby, a sensitive writer who never had a real relationship because she spent her good years attending to a sickly father.The movie creates genuine interest and suspense as we try to figure out what motivates Burt (a 33-year-old Cliff Robertson) to pursue Milly, played by Joan Crawford when she was 52.The film takes a garish turn when we realize that Burt has been driven mad by his philandering wife (a slimy Vera Miles) and lascivious father (Lorne Greene), and the film's best moment pits Millicent against this incestuous pair: "Your filthy souls are too evil for hell itself!" Crawford, wearing a strikingly unflattering bob, is nevertheless the heart of this film. She plays prim and prissy well and comes up with a number of memorable zingers, i.e., "The only trouble with the future is it comes so much sooner than it used to"..."There's something unladylike about a black eye on a woman." Though an asylum psychiatrist does a creditable job of normalizing the option of mental-health treatment, I found Burt's symptoms to be overdone and over-the-top.Crawford's unwavering sympathy for her mate strained credulity at times. For example, when he smashes a leaden typewriter onto her hand she doesn't seem to mind at all! The final scene, in which Burt gains his "walking papers," is interesting, although a bit facile. Can six months in an asylum cure pathological lying? The happy ending would have us believe as much.

There's something very rewarding about discovering a well-acted mid-20th century movie you never heard about, in this case, Autumn Leaves starring Joan Crawford and Cliff Robertson, which I saw on TCM. In some ways dated, this movie shines with excellent acting by the two leads - one a star of the film noir era, and the other, a future star making his film debut. The story involves a romance that work-at-home secretary Joan Crawford only reluctantly embraces because her lover is a much younger man. Cliff Robertson falls head over heels in love with her and they marry. Of course, you know the wheels are going to come off this match. The young man becomes traumatized by the appearance of his father, played by a distinguished looking but thoroughly evil Lorne Green and his femme fatale, Vera Miles. Crawford is confused by the bizarre situation and her husband suffers a complete mental breakdown. There is some surprisingly strong language and domestic violence for a movie of the 1950's. Crawford and Robertson deliver strong performances, particularly as the movie moves to its climax. For his first movie, Robertson shows surprising range and strength as an actor. Presented with a husband who is now unhinged, Crawford, takes action to help him, knowing it might have unintended consequences for both of them. This is a movie that keeps its momentum and doesn't disappoint. Highly recommend.