Romancefest 2013: Anna Lucasta

ANNA LUCASTA is a low budget drama most notable for featuring Eartha Kitt and Sammy Davis, Jr. It is interesting to see a flick from this era, though, when most low budget movies were about sci-fi monsters and were populated wall to wall with white people. ANNA LUCASTA, on the other hand, has black characters of several different walks of life, ranging from college grads to sailors, prostitutes to housewives. It’s rare to see this range in a movie from 1958.

Eartha Kitt stars as the title character, a young woman who is thrown out of her house by her father on the night of her prom when she is caught in a romantic situation with her boyfriend. She leaves home and ends up living as a prostitute in San Diego (plenty of sailors there). As the story begins, Kitt’s father (Rex Ingram) has received word that an old friend’s son, a recent well-off college graduate (Henry Scott) will be coming to town, and is in need of a wife. The extended family, all living under one roof, begins to scheme ways to play matchmaker and get the money for themselves and hit upon the idea of bringing Anna back into the home and marrying her off.

Eartha Kitt is great in the lead role. It was cool to see her play everything from comedy to tragedy, when all I’ve ever known her as is the Catwoman. Rex Ingram is suitably creepy, and even sympathetic, as Kitt’s alcoholic father. Sammy Davis, Jr. is particularly good as a sailor (and former customer) Kitt once almost married who returns in one last attempt to whisk her off her feet. Aside from these leads, my favorite supporting character was Frederick O’Neal as one of the extended family, a junk salesman who is the most scheming of the bunch.

Like CARMEN JONES, the weak link here is Henry Scott as the square-jawed, straight arrow romantic lead. Again, it’s half the script’s fault that he’s so boring, because that’s how he’s written, and half the actor’s fault, because he’s just not as flashy as everyone else on screen.

It’s surprising based on a performance like this that Eartha Kitt didn’t rise to a higher level of stardom than she did. Then again I suppose this film was probably little seen in its time. Still, it’s a good, gritty, unique drama that seems to have been overlooked and is worth checking out.