Cliff Robertson's film career began on a high note with the 1955 movie version of William Inge's "Picnic." He had only a supporting role but he was co-starred with Oscar-winner William Holden and he got to kiss leading lady Kim Novak. In some ways "Autumn Leaves" was a bit of a come-down but he now moved up to leading-man status and he played opposite, (and kissed), another Oscar winner, Joan Crawford. He also had the opportunity, in a beach scene that grows reminiscent of "From Here to Eternity," to display a fair amount of "beefcake." He stood shirtless next to William Holden in a locker-room scene in "Picnic" but in that movie, both actors shaved their chests. In "Autumn Leaves" his chest hair has been left intact but the clear peak of his "beefcake" footage came three years later in the colorful "Gidget" which showed off his suntanned torso to memorable effect.
"Autumn Leaves," of course, is very much a Joan Crawford vehicle and it's at its best in the early sequence which shows her attending, all by herself, a performance in a concert hall. Rarely has middle-aged loneliness been better depicted on the screen. Things become a bit "soapy" after that but in a way that satisfies rather than disappoints.
The main problem is that the approximately 20 years which separate Joan from Cliff is simply too great a gulf to make this a plausible romance. This problem became even more pronounced in the 1967 "Berserk" in which Joan played opposite the far-younger Ty Hardin. Come to think of it, Ty had a nifty "beefcake" scene in "Berserk" but that, as they say, is another story.
"Autumn Leaves," of course, is very much a Joan Crawford vehicle and it's at its best in the early sequence which shows her attending, all by herself, a performance in a concert hall. Rarely has middle-aged loneliness been better depicted on the screen. Things become a bit "soapy" after that but in a way that satisfies rather than disappoints.
The main problem is that the approximately 20 years which separate Joan from Cliff is simply too great a gulf to make this a plausible romance. This problem became even more pronounced in the 1967 "Berserk" in which Joan played opposite the far-younger Ty Hardin. Come to think of it, Ty had a nifty "beefcake" scene in "Berserk" but that, as they say, is another story.