About Mrs. Leslie


About Mrs. Leslie is a 1954 American drama film directed by Daniel Mann and starring Shirley Booth and Robert Ryan. It was nominated for a BAFTA Award in 1955.

Plot summary

Rooming house owner Mrs. Vivien Leslie reminisces in flashbacks about her past as a cafe entertainer turned dress shop owner who had a longtime affair with mysterious, lonely industrialist George Leslie, who originally hired her as a vacation "companion." Though they enjoyed each other's company annually at a peaceful oceanside retreat, George told Vivien nothing of his life outside the vacations, until she learned accidentally of his aviation work and his unhappy marriage. In subplots, Vivien's tenants and neighbors, including a young couple aspiring to television success, carry on soap-opera lives. Meanwhile, through her reminiscences and her involvement in her tenants' troubles, Vivien questions whether her relationship with George cost her as much as it gave her.

Cast

Based on the novel About Mrs. Leslie by Viña Delmar. According to a Hollywood Reporter news item, Paramount purchased the rights to Vina Delmar's novel in June 1950, and tentatively assigned the project to George Stevens.
In September 1953, Hollywood Reporter announced that Paul Nathan, story editor and casting director for the "recently dissolved Hal Wallis Productions," was to "start work" on the picture, but the exact nature and extent of his contribution have not been determined.