Uncle Vanya (1957)

Set in the rural Russian countryside of the late 19th century, an elderly professor (Clarence Derwent) and his much younger wife (Dolores Dorn) visit their estate where his daughter (Peggy McCay) resides. Tension arises when a country doctor (Franchot Tone) and the professor's brother in law (George Voskovec) from his first marriage both fall under the spell of the beautiful young wife. Based on the classic play by Anton Chekhov and directed by John Goetz. Franchot Tone was performing in an off Broadway production of UNCLE VANYA and decided to produce a film version of that production and this was the result. With one exception, the entire stage cast reprise their stage roles. The exception is Dolores Dorn, who was Tone's wife at the time, who takes over from Signe Hasso who played the role in the stage production. Unfortunately, with a couple of exceptions, the actors give their stage performances playing to the balcony and with grand gestures (Derwent is the worst offender). One can't tell from this film if the stage production was any good but as cinema, it's stagnant. When doing a filmed play, it helps if you have great performances that overrides the proscenium effect and that's not the case here. With Gerald Hiken, Shirley Gale and Mary Perry.