Jackson as Mr. Wetherby Maxine Cooper as Nurse Evans Marjorie Bennett as Waitress Frank Gerstle as Mr. Ramsey Leonard Mudie as Colonel Hillyer Maurice Manson as Mr. Masterson Boh Hopkins as Desk Clerk Production The film's original working title was The Way We Are. Robert Aldrich originally developed it for his own company, the Associates and Aldrich and it was announced in July 1954, based on an original script by Jack Jevne. Aldrich got Joan Crawford attached and they sold it to William Goetz who had a deal with Columbia. Filming began on August 25, 1955. Song The title was changed from The Way We Are to capitalize on the success of the then popular tune "Autumn Leaves" as sung by Nat King Cole. Crawford's character is fond of the song, but it is not identified by name in the script. Cole's rendition is used over the film's main title sequence and the cast credits at the end. The song's original title is "Les feuilles mortes" with music by Joseph Kosma and lyrics by Jacques Prévert. English lyrics were written by the American songwriter Johnny Mercer (1949). The song was introduced by Yves Montand in the French feature film Les Portes de la Nuit (1946). Reception Although Bosley Crowther panned the film in The New York Times on August 2, 1956, (calling it a "dismal tale"), Lawrence Quirk in Motion Picture Herald and William Zinsser in the New York Herald Tribune commented favorably upon the film. Autumn Leaves was a modest box-office success, chiefly among Crawford's female fans. The actress thought highly of the film, deeming it the "best older woman/younger man movie ever made", and added, "Everything clicked on Autumn Leaves. The cast was perfect, the script was good, and I think Bob [Aldrich] handled everything well. I really think Cliff did a stupendous job; another actor might have been spitting out his lines and chewing the scenery, but he avoided that trap. I think the movie on a whole was a lot better than some of the romantic movies I did in the past...but somehow it just never became better known. It was eclipsed by the picture I did with Bette Davis." The film has grown in stature among Aldrich fans since its 1956 premiere and is now regarded as one of the director's best films. Dan Callahan of Slant Magazine (June 16, 2004) wrote, "All of Aldrich's