Two for the Seesaw (1962)

User Rating:

6.6/10   

Director:

Robert Wise

Writers:

William Gibson (play)
Isobel Lennart (screenplay)

Release Date:

24 November 1962 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Romance

Tagline:

a square from Nebraska? an off-beatnik from Greenwich Village? It just didn't figure... that they would... that they could... that they did!

Plot:

Jerry Ryan is wandering aimlessly around New York, having given up his law career in Nebraska when his wife asked for a divorce...

Plot Keywords:

Dancer | Divorce | Dysfunctional Marriage | Divorcee | Businessmen

Awards:

Nominated for 2 Oscars. Another 1 win & 1 nomination

Cast

Robert Mitchum	...	Jerry Ryan
Shirley MacLaine	...	Gittel 'Mosca' Moscawitz
Edmon Ryan	...	Frank Taubman
Elisabeth Fraser	...	Sophie
Eddie Firestone	...	Oscar
Billy Gray	...	Mr. Jacoby

Runtime:

119 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Certification:

UK:12 (DVD rating) | Spain:15 | West Germany:16 | Finland:K-15 (new rating: 2001) | Ireland:PG | France:U | Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15 | USA:Approved | UK:PG (video rating) (2004) | UK:X (original rating)

Filming Locations:

Brooklyn Bridge, New York City, New York, USA

Company:

Argyle Productions

Trivia:

The original Broadway production of "Two for the Seesaw" by William Gibson opened at the Booth Theater in New York on January 16, 1958, ran for 750 performances and was nominated for the 1958 Tony Award for the Best Play.

Goofs:

Errors made by characters (possibly deliberate errors by the filmmakers): Gittle pours milk into a pan so she can make warm milk - but she only leaves it on stove for about five seconds.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in The Sound of Music: From Fact to Phenomenon (1994) (V)

Soundtrack:

A Second Chance

remarkable time capsule

The post-beatnik / pre-hippie party scene is truly spectacular as a snapshot of a time/place rarely caught on film. While most of America was still living a black & white Eisenhower existence, this film shows the cutting edge NYC scene that had already moved beyond bebop and Kerouac and was just about to stumble full tilt into the Warhol Factory. The party scene probably seemed about as weird to middle America as the alien bar scene in Star Wars, fifteen years later. But one kid in every high school across the country changed their plans to attend 'State' and filled out last minute applications to NYU; they knew that they would grow old waiting for that world to reach their hometown.

A little known treat for anyone into the early days of "alt".