The Stripper [1963] [DVD]

Also known as "Woman of Summer". Lila Green (Joanne Woodward) is an insecure and aging showgirl for Madame Olga's stage shows. When her boyfriend, Rick (Robert Webber), runs off with the show's money, Madame Olga (Gypsy Rose Lee) and Ronny (Louis Nye) let Lila go. Lila goes to stay with her old neighbors, Helen Bard (Claire Trevor) and her teenage son, Kenny (Richard Beymer). Lila decides to go out and get a regular job and try and live a normal life. All seems well, until Lila and Kenny stop fighting their attraction for one another.

Franklin J. Schaffner is one of my favorite directors, thanks to super movies such as: "The Planet of the Apes" (1968), "Patton" (1970), "Papillon" (1973), "The Boys from Brazil"(1978), "Sphinx" (1981), all different as topic and genre. This "The Stripper," one of his first feature films, another genre, has as lead one of the best actresses ever, the unique Joanne Woodward, which is totally exceptional, always, in everything I've seen her, no more comments. The other actors, Richard Beymer, Claire Trevor, Carol Lynley, Robert Webber, are also very good. It's not a superproduction like the others, it's just a small drama in a province's American city, but it's absolutely worth seeing.