Goodbye, my fancy

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Movie
Original title Goodbye, my fancy
Country of production United States
original language English
Publishing year 1951
length 107 minutes
Rod
Director Vincent Sherman
script Ivan Goff ,
Ben Roberts
production Henry Blanke for Warner Brothers
music Daniele Amfitheatrof
camera Ted D. McCord
cut Rudi Fehr
occupation

Goodbye, My Fancy is an American comedy film starring Joan Crawford and directed by Vincent Sherman from 1951. The film is based on the play of the same name by Fay Kanin .

action

Congressman Agatha Reed returns to her college to receive an award. Shortly before her graduation, Agatha was expelled from the facility for chairing a panel on political issues. Your main opponent at the time, Dr. James Merrill is now the principal of the college. Both were very much in love with each other at the time, despite the political differences.

As soon as they face each other again after the years, the old passion flares up again. However, time has not done anything to bridge the differences in their basic political attitudes. Their ideals clash irreconcilably and the two of them constantly quarrel when they are not assuring each other of their affection. Then Matt Cole shows up, a press photographer who has adored Agatha for years. In the end, Agatha finally realizes who she really loves and chooses Cole.

background

For her portrayal in As long as a heart beats , Joan Crawford won the Oscar for best leading actress at the Academy Awards in 1946 and the next films Humoresque and Unrestrained Love remained at the high level. However, by the end of the decade, her career tended to come to a dead end again. The studio couldn't find suitable roles and after the success of the overheated melodrama The Street of the Successful , Crawford was committed to portraying ambitious women fighting for their place without any consideration.

After a few appearances in dramatic roles, the producers decided to give Joan Crawford a comedy role to make her image appear softer and more feminine. The choice fell on Goodbye, My Fancy , a tabloid piece by Fay Kanin with political undertones, in which Madeleine Carroll celebrated a great success in the 1948/49 season. The play brought it to a total of 446 performances and was the breakthrough for the hitherto unknown theater actress Shirley Booth . The title comes from the poem of the same name by Walt Whitman and alludes to the central theme of the comedy. It's about seeing your first love again and the question of which of the ideals and convictions of that time may still endure after many years. The piece was thus also in the tradition of State of the Union , which was also about the clash between more conservative political ideas and liberal attitudes. Filming, directed by Vincent Sherman , who was responsible for Crawford's two previous films, was relatively tense. The actress knew that her contract with Warner Brothers was coming to an end. In the following year she left the studio and creates a new comeback and the third nomination for an Oscar with her appearance as the threatened heroine in Masked Hearts .

Joan Crawford says she was surprised when she was offered the role. Decades later, she told Roy Newquist:

“When I first read the script, I thought the Warners would only offer me the role because they couldn't have Kate Hepburn or Roz Russell . I still think they could have done this kind of lively political comedy better than I did. "

Theatrical release

The budget of $ 1,312,000 was the mean cost of a Crawford film. Goodbye, My Fancy proved unpopular at the box office, grossing just $ 1,130,000 in the US, the lowest value for an actress' film in years. In addition, there was another modest 228,000 US dollars from abroad. With a total result of $ 1,358,000, Goodbye, My Fancy turned out to be a financial flop, highlighting the progressive decline in the pull of Joan Crawford at the box office.

Reviews

The reviews were mostly negative. Crawford's highly dramatic style, it was widely believed, would not fit this type of conversational comedy.

As usual, Bosley Crowther left the actress in a bad way in his review in the New York Times :

“The actress is known for her aggressive behavior and impressive demeanor. But that's also the problem with Goodbye, My Fancy. The congressman depicted by Crawford is as cool and aloof as the dome on the Capitol. "

literature

  • Roy Newquist (Ed.): Conversations with Joan Crawford . Citadel Press, Secaucus, NJ 1980, ISBN 0-8065-0720-9 .
  • Lawrence J. Quirk : The Complete Films of Joan Crawford . Citadel Press, Secaucus, NJ 1988, ISBN 0-8065-1078-1 .
  • Lawrence J. Quirk, William Schoell: Joan Crawford. The Essential Biography . University Press, Lexington, KY. 2002, ISBN 0-8131-2254-6 .
  • Alexander Walker: Joan Crawford. The Ultimate Star . Weidenfeld & Nicolson, London 1983, ISBN 0-297-78216-9 .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ When I first read the script I thought Warner was offering me the picture because he couldn't get either Kate Hepburn or Roz Russell for the part. I still think they could have done this sort of sophisticated political comedy better than I did.
  2. ↑ For the lady is famously given to striking aggressive attitudes and to carrying herself in a manner that is formidable and cold. That is the principal misfortune of Goodbye My Fancy. Miss Crawford's errant congresswoman is as aloof and imposing as the capital dome.