Retro Television Review: The American Short Story #11: Paul’s Case

Welcome to Retro Television Reviews, a feature where we review some of our favorite and least favorite shows of the past! On Saturdays, Lisa will be reviewing The American Short Story, which ran semi-regularly on PBS in 1974 to 1981. The entire show can be purchased on Prime and found on YouTube and Tubi.

This week, Eric Roberts appears in an adaptation of a Willa Cather short story.

Episode #11: “Paul’s Case”

(Dir by Lamont Johnson, originally aired in 1980)

At the turn of the century, Paul (Eric Roberts) is a young man from Philadelphia who struggles academically and who just doesn’t seem to fit in anywhere. He comes from a poor family but he wants people to think of him as being rich and worry-free. He gets a job working at a theater and finally experiences a life other than the dreary one forced on him by his father. But eventually, Paul steals money from his job and uses it to go to New York. In New York, he lives out his fantasy of being rich and free but, after a few days, he realizes that the fantasy is only temporary. With his father coming to the city to claim him, Paul throws himself in front of train.

Based on a story by Willa Cather, Paul’s Case is an effective and heart-breaking entry in The American Short Story series. It feature a very early performance from Eric Roberts. Roberts was only 24 years old when he played Paul and he gives a poignantly vulnerable performance as a young man who simply does not fit in with the world in which he’s been born. He’s too delicate, too much of a “dandy,” for his father’s unimaginative (and homophobic) world but he’s also not rich enough to truly be a part of the exciting world that he discovers in the theater and in New York.

Perfectly capturing the tone of the source material and featuring an excellent turn from Eric Roberts, Paul’s Case is The American Short Story at its best.

Previous Eric Roberts Films That We Have Reviewed: