I wasn’t familiar with this film until I found it by chance recently, and what a find it was. Shirley Booth delivers a remarkably powerful performance, easily among the most intense I've ever witnessed. In "Lola," Shirley plays the wife of “Doc” (Burt Lancaster), who is battling alcoholism, and they maintain an extremely structured existence with her handling the household duties while he works at the hospital. As events unfold, we gradually understand the circumstances that brought them to this point, alongside Lola’s desire for connection. To fulfill this need, she rents out a spare room to student "Marie" (Terry Moore). Initially hesitant, “Doc” grows fond of Marie, though not so much of her boyfriend, "Turk" (Richard Jaeckel). She seems committed to him, but as his worry over her decisions increases, so does his temptation towards that solitary bottle in the cabinet! It’s only during the final fifteen minutes that everything clicks into place and we understand why these characters are the way they are. Lancaster portrays his character with restraint and complete believability, complementing Booth's exceptional performance, which evokes both empathy and frustration. What works well is the absence of fabricated obstacles and catastrophes; it’s a story about people grounded in a realistic situation—typical for its time—that has fostered genuine and enduring feelings between them. It functions more as a drama than a romance, and I believe it's definitely worth dedicating ninety minutes to.

Source on TMDB