The Seduction of Miss Leona

I haunt thrift stores, looking for VHS cassettes of offbeat, long-forgotten, and/or never-recognized things that will never merit a DVD release. I hit a triple on this one. (The version I bought is under the title TO LOVE AGAIN). This is a movie of the week (remember those?) made for CBS in the late 70s, and it has all the hallmarks--serviceable camera-work, ugly sets and wardrobe,nondescript minor players--of those stalwart, churned-out little mini-movies. But on occasion, a MOW script would give enough attention and detail to characterization, and a good director would be in sync enough with well-cast actors, that something quite good would result. That is the case here. Lynn Redgrave is as fine as she was in Georgy Girl. She had such a weird career for such a talented actress; maybe her not-beautiful looks, and a certain eccentricity in acting style, kept her on the sidelines (or in bad projects) so much of the time. As a solitary but passionate woman teaching English literature at a small college in the hinterlands, she never makes a wrong move--even her undisguised accent marks her as an outsider, which Leona is. Brian Dennehy is perfect as the blue-collar man who becomes entranced with her--these two have real chemistry. And kudos to the writer and director for giving Conchata Ferrell something to work with as the wronged wife determined to keep her man. It would have been easy to portray her as just a plump bitch, but Ferrell is given a remarkable scene where she quietly wonders what her laborer husband found in common with a woman "with all those books in her head." In some ways, the movies of the week were the forbears of some of today's better indies. I'll watch this one from time to time in the future.

I didn't think I would like this, just by the original title alone. But in actuality, it should have been "The Seduction of Bliss Dawson" as you will realize if you are lucky enough to see this. You need to look for it under the re-issue title of "To Love Again". Made in 1980, it is not the too-revealing, passionate love story that the title would have you believe. It is the story of a man who loves his children more than his own life and must make a decision whether to leave them and go with the woman he feels he "loves", or stay with his wife and maintain a semblance of a marriage. Brian has a lot of screen time and at age 42, he is looking good and doing an excellent job with the role. Conchata Ferrell also is looking good in these times, although she has always maintained her lovely smile. She doesn't have a chance to use it much, though, in this movie. Anthony Zerbe, an excellent character actor (as seen in Rooster Cogburn among other things) is wasted in this movie without a good character. Lynn Redgrave must make a selfish spinster into someone appealing and sympathetic and that is hard. All in all, I would recommend it if you can find it. It is only available on VHS in used copies and a little pricey for an old movie. But well worth the buy, I think.

Brian Dennehy and Lynn Redgrave have real chemistry here, so much that I read that Lynn's long time husband, John Clark, accused her of having an offscreen affair with Brian. Conchatta Ferrell is also great as the cheated on wife. Anthony Zerbe has a small, but memorable role as Leona's (Lynn Redgrave's) former lover. The basic story is of two mismatched people, a college professor of literature and a married father maintenance man with only a sixth grade education falling passionately in love after he does some remodeling work on her house. It's a funny, sad, and touching movie. They become the talk of the town. It's surprising that it's not more widely known and available to stream given the popularity of Brian Dennehy, Lynn Redgrave, and Conchatta Ferrell who have all passed away in recent years. It's well worth a watch.