Main Cast: Susan Hayward, John Gavin, Vera Miles, Charles Drake, Virginia Grey
Release Year: 1961
Country: US
Run Time: 107 minutes
Plot
This third film version of the lachrymose Fannie Hurst novel Back Street stars Susan Hayward as Rae Smith the role previously essayed by Irene Dunne (in 1932) and Margaret Sullavan (in 1941). In both earlier films, Rae Smith sacrifices 28 years of her life to her married lover, who can never get a divorce and who compels Rae to squirrel herself away in a shabby back-street apartment. In contrast, Susan Hayward's Rae Smith is a fiercely independent fashion designer, whose fidelity to the very married John Gavin doesn't retard her livelihood in the least. Vera Miles makes a meal of her supporting role as Gavin's shrewish, alcoholic wife. Though cinematographer Stanley Cortez does his utmost, he can't completely hide the fact that Hayward is at least ten years older than her costars, making her seem more of a doting aunt than the "other woman" (the film might have been more effective had Hayward and Miles switched roles). Its plot inconsistencies and logic lapses notwithstanding, Back Street proved to be another hit for producer Ross Hunter. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Review
Even though this version of Back Street far outdoes previous versions in terms of gloss and sheen, it's ultimately less effective than the classic Irene Dunne-Charles Boyer version. It's hard to say that films that aim to be nothing more than soap opera have a great deal of depth, but this Street is definitely more shallow than the 1941 version. The major problem is that the creators don't really seem to believe in the material; instead, they act as if they've been handed a blueprint and have built a project perfectly according to plan, but with little of themselves invested in it. Because the structure is sound, it still works -- at least for fans of weepies like this -- but it fails to engage the viewer in any but the most basic way. The casting of the lovers is also a bit of a problem. John Gavin certainly has the appropriate matinee idol looks for the part, but his performance is wooden and unconvincing. Susan Hayward is quite good, but also a bit too old for the part; also, despite her skill, she's not exactly the right type for this kind of glossy melodrama, and she compensates by overacting a bit. Of course, compared to Vera Miles,, she's a model of restraint. But Miles' delicious performance is in a role that's meant to be totally over the top. She steals the movie away from the stars without batting an eyelash. Miles and the sleek production make the film worth catching. ~ Craig Butler, All Movie Guide
The story follows two lovers who have limited opportunities to get together because one of them is married.
It was nominated for Academy Award for Best Costume Design, Color (Jean Louis). Unlike the previous film versions, this one gives Susan Hayward plenty of opportunity to appear in Jean Louis's spectacular gowns. This was a trademark of Ross Hunter's remakes of older "weepies"; he pulled the same trick in Lana Turner's versions of Imitation of Life and Madame X.
Of all three screen versions of Back Street, this 1961 production took the most dramatic license from the novel. It is different to both the 1932 and 1941 screen versions in many ways - changing the names of several characters and modernizing the story to what was then the present day. Good examples of how the plotline was sensationalized in this third version are the attempted suicide and the fatal car crash.
