I just saw S&F for the first time on the Fox channel and I was impressed. Jerry Ward´s production values are superb as usual, while Martin Ritt´s direction has some ups and down. Seems to me he was struggling to keep the script alive. I´m not going to comment on the lack of connection with the William Faulkner novel since most reviewers have covered the delicate issue. However I believe the film provides ample Hollywood-like entertainment to make it worth watching. All the actors give good performance as expected, but I really enjoyed Margaret Leighton as Caddy and Ethel Waters as Dilsey, both superb. Yul Brynner has enough magnetism to hold his own, but Joanne Woodward is totally miscast as the rebellious Quentin. It´s really intriguing that all the reviewers on this page failed to mention that Miss Woodward was 30 years old when she played the Quentin character who is supposed to be 17. Although Woodward tries hard to act like a teenager, the photography doesn´t help her. In some scenes she looks 40! In spite of this and all the other flaws, I recommend S&F as a good example of the films Hollywood was dishing out at the end of its "golden era".
Review of The Sound and the Fury
