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| re: Jean Kerr's MARY, MARY -- Anyone see it on Broadway? | |
| Last Edit: PlayWiz 11:49 am EDT 07/13/21 | |
| Posted by: PlayWiz 11:41 am EDT 07/13/21 | |
| In reply to: Jean Kerr's MARY, MARY -- Anyone see it on Broadway? - BroadwayTonyJ 11:18 am EDT 07/13/21 | |
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| I just watched it the other day on the Watch TCM app, and it was something of a chore to get through. It probably was a bit titillating and up to date in its time for having a divorce at the center of a comedy and talk about possibly having sex with an ex-wife. I'm a big Debbie Reynolds fan, but I find her out of her element here. At times she's too big, like Bonnie Franklin doing "One Day at a Time", but trying to sound sophisticated and not really convincing me that she is. She looks great in her costumes, and yes, she has some good moments. A better-cast lead would have helped, as she didn't really have this particular style down pat. Perhaps Deborah Kerr might have? Barry Nelson, who did the role on Broadway, is excellent and for the most part, until the part with the unintended sleeping pills, rather underplays the role, but I can see how effective he must have been on Broadway. Hiram Sherman, also excellent; he's great in wonderful "Solid Gold Cadillac" supporting Judy Holliday. Diane McBain was also very good. Michael Rennie is fine, though I don't think he's as glamourous as the role describes him. I just think the script isn't that funny, and it was overlong as well. I mainly watched because it had been such a long-running hit back in the day, and for the most part, it seemed like once was enough. I think Reynolds could play comedy back then, but of a different kind. She's great opposite Tony Randall in "The Mating Game" as a rustic down-to-earth girl-next-door and later on was effective in things like "Divorce American Style" and "How Sweet It Is", among other things. |
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| re: Jean Kerr's MARY, MARY -- Anyone see it on Broadway? | |
| Posted by: dbdbdb 02:06 pm EDT 07/13/21 | |
| In reply to: re: Jean Kerr's MARY, MARY -- Anyone see it on Broadway? - PlayWiz 11:41 am EDT 07/13/21 | |
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| For what it's worth, in her memoir, Reynolds says that her performance was a carbon copy of Barbara Bel Geddes, as she couldn't find any other way to play it. I guess we can amend it to say that Reynolds gave what she thought was a carbon copy of Bel Geddes. | |
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| re: Jean Kerr's MARY, MARY -- Anyone see it on Broadway? | |
| Posted by: shocktheatre 07:32 pm EDT 07/13/21 | |
| In reply to: re: Jean Kerr's MARY, MARY -- Anyone see it on Broadway? - dbdbdb 02:06 pm EDT 07/13/21 | |
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| I will say, that before I passed out watching this on TV, Reynolds looked great in that green gown. But she could not sell that dialogue. | |
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| re: Jean Kerr's MARY, MARY -- Anyone see it on Broadway? | |
| Posted by: Jax 12:41 pm EDT 07/13/21 | |
| In reply to: re: Jean Kerr's MARY, MARY -- Anyone see it on Broadway? - PlayWiz 11:41 am EDT 07/13/21 | |
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| Debbie Reynolds ruined any number of boulevard comedies back in the day when she was a Hollywood star: "The Pleasure of His Company," "Goodbye Charlie," and "Mary, Mary." Her idea of funny was to overact and make faces; it worked in broader farces not in pieces that required a sophisticated touch. Shirley MacLaine could have done all her roles better (expect for Pleasure which demands an ingenue.) Jane Fonda was the other go-to gal for Broadway comedies, and she did better with "Barefoot," "Sunday in New York" and "Any Wednesday." As for Jean Kerr, he career overlapped with Neil Simon's but her stuff has not lasted as his has. It may be the deeply Catholic, marriage is worth prizing viewpoint her plays espoused. It was popular then, but society has moved on and we have had comedies about single mothers, gay relationships, etc. Never saw "Mary, Mary" on stage (the film feels like the actors are moving through caramel) but did see "Finishing Touches" and "Lunch Hour." Both bright, upper middle class, but lacking some of the wit and polish that you find in the better plays of Samuel Taylor. |
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| re: Jean Kerr's MARY, MARY -- Anyone see it on Broadway? | |
| Posted by: TheOtherOne 06:03 pm EDT 07/14/21 | |
| In reply to: re: Jean Kerr's MARY, MARY -- Anyone see it on Broadway? - Jax 12:41 pm EDT 07/13/21 | |
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| "Her idea of funny was to overact and make faces; it worked in broader farces not in pieces that required a sophisticated touch." This was annoying in "The Unsinkable Molly Brown" as well. |
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| Debbie does Guignol | |
| Posted by: shocktheatre 07:59 pm EDT 07/14/21 | |
| In reply to: re: Jean Kerr's MARY, MARY -- Anyone see it on Broadway? - TheOtherOne 06:03 pm EDT 07/14/21 | |
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| Hmm. Gotta defend Debbie a bit here. She never got her due for "What's the Matter with Helen" I am serious. | |
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| re: Jean Kerr's MARY, MARY -- Anyone see it on Broadway? | |
| Posted by: Billhaven 06:30 pm EDT 07/14/21 | |
| In reply to: re: Jean Kerr's MARY, MARY -- Anyone see it on Broadway? - TheOtherOne 06:03 pm EDT 07/14/21 | |
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| I don’t think Reynolds was any good in Mary, Mary but it wasn’t from excessive mugging. She seemed to be singing all her lines. Mary’s defining characteristic is her need to respond to anything with a quip. This requires an expert in dry/sly delivery. This is not Reynold’s forte. Also, the character doesn’t believe ( has never been told) she is pretty. Debbie is nothing if not as pert and pretty as 1960s actresses get! | |
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| Mary failed me | |
| Posted by: shocktheatre 07:21 pm EDT 07/13/21 | |
| In reply to: re: Jean Kerr's MARY, MARY -- Anyone see it on Broadway? - Jax 12:41 pm EDT 07/13/21 | |
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| I tried to watch the film version on TCM. I was not successful. Sleep won out. Sorry, Mary. |
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| re: Mary failed me | |
| Posted by: scoot1er 10:47 pm EDT 07/13/21 | |
| In reply to: Mary failed me - shocktheatre 07:21 pm EDT 07/13/21 | |
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| I saw Mary, Mary on Broadway and saw the film as well. Barbara bel Geddes was magical and made the whole thing work. I don’t remember much more about it except that it was very, very funny. It moved along briskly and didn’t take itself too seriously. The movie, on the other hand, is heavy-handed and dull and not helped at all by Debbie Reynolds’s lackluster performance. | |
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| I honestly wanted to like Mary but she just bored me to tears | |
| Posted by: shocktheatre 08:26 pm EDT 07/14/21 | |
| In reply to: re: Mary failed me - scoot1er 10:47 pm EDT 07/13/21 | |
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| When LeRoy moved this piece out of that studio set into a studio nightclub set (with snow!) I thought, maybe i will give this a bit more time. Did not work. It's a dull movie and there's no getting around it. I wanted to like it. I had exhausted my Law and Order allotment for the week. What better than a stagebound Hollywood comedy with Debbie Reynolds and Barry Nelson (who I saw on Bway in THE ACT). Maybe I'll give it another shot it they air it in the daytime. |
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| re: I honestly wanted to like Mary but she just bored me to tears | |
| Posted by: Chromolume 11:15 pm EDT 07/14/21 | |
| In reply to: I honestly wanted to like Mary but she just bored me to tears - shocktheatre 08:26 pm EDT 07/14/21 | |
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| You should change your screenname to Boredtheatre. Annie bores you. Mary bores you. What else? | |
| Link | Bored |
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| re: I honestly wanted to like Mary but she just bored me to tears | |
| Posted by: Holland 02:11 am EDT 07/15/21 | |
| In reply to: re: I honestly wanted to like Mary but she just bored me to tears - Chromolume 11:15 pm EDT 07/14/21 | |
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| In all fairness, this only seems to apply to women's names with two syllables. Unless it begins with L. | |
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| You make this too easy | |
| Posted by: shocktheatre 11:37 pm EDT 07/14/21 | |
| In reply to: re: I honestly wanted to like Mary but she just bored me to tears - Chromolume 11:15 pm EDT 07/14/21 | |
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| Let me ponder my answer............ | |
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| re: Jean Kerr's MARY, MARY -- Anyone see it on Broadway? | |
| Posted by: duckylittledictum 12:59 pm EDT 07/13/21 | |
| In reply to: re: Jean Kerr's MARY, MARY -- Anyone see it on Broadway? - Jax 12:41 pm EDT 07/13/21 | |
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| Saw a national tour with Pippa Scott and others I've forgotten. In high school, I was totally flummoxed at its popularity. Many years later I tried to read it and was still bewildered. | |
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| Let's get hard core here... (re: Jean Kerr's MARY, MARY -- Anyone see it on Broadway?) | |
| Posted by: Marlo*Manners 12:12 pm EDT 07/14/21 | |
| In reply to: re: Jean Kerr's MARY, MARY -- Anyone see it on Broadway? - duckylittledictum 12:59 pm EDT 07/13/21 | |
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| Who saw Julia Meade in the national tour of "Mary, Mary" with Scott McKay, Tom Helmore and Larry Gates? It played Chicago in 1963. Trivia: Broadway replacements included Inger Stevens, Diana Lynn, Julia Meade, Mindy Carson and Nancy Olson as Mary McKellaway. George Grizzard, Murray Hamilton, Biff McGuire, Tom Poston, Scott McKay and William Prince replaced Barry Nelson as Bob McKellaway. Carrie Nye, Kathryn Hays and Judy Lewis replaced Betsy von Furstenberg as Tiffany Richards. Michael Wilding, Edward Mulhare, Tom Helmore and Michael Evans replaced Michael Rennie as Dirk Winsten. The show ran from March 6, 1961 to December 12, 1964 for 1,572 performances. Marlo Manners (Lady Barrington) |
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| Link | Adorable Julia |
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| re: Let's get hard core here... (re: Jean Kerr's MARY, MARY -- Anyone see it on Broadway?) | |
| Posted by: larry13 02:27 pm EDT 07/14/21 | |
| In reply to: Let's get hard core here... (re: Jean Kerr's MARY, MARY -- Anyone see it on Broadway?) - Marlo*Manners 12:12 pm EDT 07/14/21 | |
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| Thank you for all your "Trivia: Broadway Replacements." One of my own: Nancy Olson celebrates her 93rd birthday today. | |
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| re: Let's get hard core here... (re: Jean Kerr's MARY, MARY -- Anyone see it on Broadway?) | |
| Posted by: Billhaven 01:03 pm EDT 07/14/21 | |
| In reply to: Let's get hard core here... (re: Jean Kerr's MARY, MARY -- Anyone see it on Broadway?) - Marlo*Manners 12:12 pm EDT 07/14/21 | |
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| Ms. Manners, I’m surprised you didn’t mention “Mary’s “ original understudy. None other than Elizabeth Ashley! 5-6 months into the run she got Take Her, She’s Mine playing a teenager! | |
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| Elizabeth Ashley | |
| Posted by: shocktheatre 08:18 pm EDT 07/14/21 | |
| In reply to: re: Let's get hard core here... (re: Jean Kerr's MARY, MARY -- Anyone see it on Broadway?) - Billhaven 01:03 pm EDT 07/14/21 | |
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| Caught her on an L&O/SVU rerun on cable. There was a close-up of her hands: wow. What is her secret? I've always been a fan. Her book is a real page-turner. |
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| Mary, Mary, Barefoot In The Park, and The Philadelphia Story | |
| Posted by: Whistler 01:44 pm EDT 07/14/21 | |
| In reply to: re: Let's get hard core here... (re: Jean Kerr's MARY, MARY -- Anyone see it on Broadway?) - Billhaven 01:03 pm EDT 07/14/21 | |
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| They're all charming scripts, especially when underplayed and grounded by intelligent actors like Bel Geddes, Nelson, Ashley, Redford, Natwick, Hepburn, Grant, and Stewart. The film script of Philadelphia Story is more compact, and the one for Mary, Mary could have used some equal edits. But these three scripts taught me to write and appreciate light comedy. And I keep coming back to: "You work and you work for a lousy six cents." And "With the rich and the powerful, a little patience." And "Being with Mary is like being in a telephone booth with an open umbrella: No matter which way you turn, you get it in the eye." |
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| ''Critic's Choice'' isn't -- Anyone see it on Broadway? | |
| Posted by: WaymanWong 08:53 pm EDT 07/13/21 | |
| In reply to: re: Jean Kerr's MARY, MARY -- Anyone see it on Broadway? - duckylittledictum 12:59 pm EDT 07/13/21 | |
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| Reading about Jean Kerr reminded me of ''Critic's Choice,'' Ira Levin's play inspired by critic Walter Kerr and his playwright wife, Jean. The comedy's premise was: What if a theater critic had to review his wife's Broadway play, and it was awful? Would he be honest? It opened in 1960, starring Henry Fonda, and was turned into 1963 movie, starring Bob Hope and Lucille Ball, directed by Otto Preminger. ''Critic's Choice'' was on TCM recently, and this comedy was so lame and lackluster that it was beyond Hope (or Ball's talents). |
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| Link | 'Critic's Choice' (1963): Official movie trailer with Lucille Ball & Bob Hope |
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| Critics' Choice the film | |
| Posted by: shocktheatre 07:56 pm EDT 07/14/21 | |
| In reply to: ''Critic's Choice'' isn't -- Anyone see it on Broadway? - WaymanWong 08:53 pm EDT 07/13/21 | |
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| I actually liked the movie. It probably helps if you like Lucy, and especially, Bob Hope. And a fondness for those 60s Holllywood adaptations of Bway plays. And it's startling to see Rip Torn in a towel. |
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| re: ''Critic's Choice'' isn't -- Anyone see it on Broadway? | |
| Posted by: AlanScott 10:29 pm EDT 07/13/21 | |
| In reply to: ''Critic's Choice'' isn't -- Anyone see it on Broadway? - WaymanWong 08:53 pm EDT 07/13/21 | |
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| I think it should be noted that the film of Critic's Choice was directed by Don Weis, not Otto Preminger. Preminger produced and directed the play, but had nothing to do with the film. Even Preminger's worst films — and there are a bunch — show more flair and personality than the film version of Critic's Choice. The ones that are bad are either ambitious or fascinatingly and bizarrely bad (or both), not merely dull, and the film of Critic's Choice is dull, with Lucille Ball's performance being about the only thing that might be felt to make it worth sitting through. | |
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| re: ''Critic's Choice'' isn't -- Anyone see it on Broadway? | |
| Posted by: WaymanWong 11:45 pm EDT 07/13/21 | |
| In reply to: re: ''Critic's Choice'' isn't -- Anyone see it on Broadway? - AlanScott 10:29 pm EDT 07/13/21 | |
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| Thanks for the correction, Alan. I was just surprised to learn Preminger had 12 Broadway credits. I usually think of his movie work. As a 3-time Oscar-nominee, he did ''Laura,'' ''Anatomy of a Murder'' and ''The Cardinal,'' plus ''Porgy & Bess'' and ''Carmen Jones.'' However, part of me will always remember Preminger most as one of the Mr. Freezes from the campy ''Batman'' TV series in the '60s. |
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| Jean Kerr's "Please Don't Eat the Daisies" re: ''Critic's Choice'' | |
| Last Edit: Marlo*Manners 09:40 am EDT 07/14/21 | |
| Posted by: Marlo*Manners 09:27 am EDT 07/14/21 | |
| In reply to: re: ''Critic's Choice'' isn't -- Anyone see it on Broadway? - WaymanWong 11:45 pm EDT 07/13/21 | |
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| Jean Kerr wrote a semi-autobiographical bestseller called "Please Don't Eat the Daisies" which was adapted into a motion picture in 1960 starring David Niven and Doris Day. It has similar plotlines as "Critic's Choice" - a theater critic is married to a writer and they move into the country. He has to review their best friend's new play while fending off the attentions of a Broadway actress - mayhem and hilarity ensues. Niven and Day were better cast as critic and playwriting wife than Hope and Ball. Getting back to the topic at hand - Doris Day had more skill and range than she has generally been credited for. I think she would have scored in the leading role in the film adaptation of "Mary, Mary". Also, a freer adaptation with a quicker, bouncier pace would have resulted in a better picture. I am also of the opinion that Doris Day should have done "Forty Carats" as well which was offered to her and turned down. Liv Ullmann was too young and all wrong. I also think she should have been Nellie Forbush in "South Pacific". Doris started out as a band singer which is live performing. Did she ever do stage work? Marlo Manners (Lady Barrington) |
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| re: Jean Kerr's "Please Don't Eat the Daisies" re: ''Critic's Choice'' | |
| Posted by: dbdbdb 10:17 am EDT 07/14/21 | |
| In reply to: Jean Kerr's "Please Don't Eat the Daisies" re: ''Critic's Choice'' - Marlo*Manners 09:27 am EDT 07/14/21 | |
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| It should be noted that Please Don't Eat the Daisies, the book, is a collection of comic essays about Kerr's life as a playwright, housewife, and mother. Isobel Lennart is a piece of fiction that borrows a few details from Kerr. The two properties have very little to do with each other. Your idea about Doris Day in Mary, Mary is very interesting, and I agree she might have made something very amusing out of it. I suppose it was impossible that Barbara Bel Geddes would ever have been cast in the film. | |
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| re: Jean Kerr's "Please Don't Eat the Daisies" re: ''Critic's Choice'' | |
| Posted by: JereNYC (JereNYC@aol.com) 11:26 am EDT 07/14/21 | |
| In reply to: re: Jean Kerr's "Please Don't Eat the Daisies" re: ''Critic's Choice'' - dbdbdb 10:17 am EDT 07/14/21 | |
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| I just watched this last night and was thinking that it would have worked so much better as a vehicle for Doris Day and Rock Hudson. The movie is so slowly paced that I would also have suggested that whomever wrote and directed the Day/Hudson film might add a little zip to the proceedings as well. | |
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| "Sunday in New York" while dated, still plays wonderfully as a period piece | |
| Last Edit: PlayWiz 01:05 pm EDT 07/13/21 | |
| Posted by: PlayWiz 12:56 pm EDT 07/13/21 | |
| In reply to: re: Jean Kerr's MARY, MARY -- Anyone see it on Broadway? - Jax 12:41 pm EDT 07/13/21 | |
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| especially interesting in how it confronts the double standard of premarital sex, though marriage is the cop-out go-to answer back then. The whole film is about sex, and there's even a masturbation joke in there, rather amazing for 1963! Jane Fonda is quite good and lovely, Cliff Robertson likewise, and Rod Taylor such a combination of charming, sexy, funny and believable (with a very good American accent) that he almost steals the show. Fonda's and Taylor's roles were originally done by Pat Stanley ("Goldilocks", "Fiorello!") and Robert Redford on Broadway, btw. It also has an interesting plot, with a great plot twist that complicates things, along with funny dialogue by Norman Krasna. I could see "Sunday in New York" being revived, actually -- certainly, as a historic piece about where we've been and how far we've come. :) (ducks) | |
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| It's a fun movie | |
| Posted by: shocktheatre 07:45 pm EDT 07/13/21 | |
| In reply to: "Sunday in New York" while dated, still plays wonderfully as a period piece - PlayWiz 12:56 pm EDT 07/13/21 | |
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| Early Jane always fascinates me, plus you have Cliff and Rod and all that fun stuff. Good flick to wake up to on Sunday, especially if you have breakfast materials in the house. |
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| re: "Sunday in New York" while dated, still plays wonderfully as a period piece | |
| Posted by: Jax 02:13 pm EDT 07/13/21 | |
| In reply to: "Sunday in New York" while dated, still plays wonderfully as a period piece - PlayWiz 12:56 pm EDT 07/13/21 | |
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| Agreed. The movie of "Sunday in New York" is brighter and bouncier than many of the sex comedies of its day, and the mistaken identity twist is inspired. Norman Krasna was something of a master. His "Who Was That Lady? (I Saw You With...on Broadway) is a very clever farce with Tony Curtis and Janet Leigh that still makes me laugh. | |
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