The Pumpkin Eater (1964)

Film screenwriter Jake Armitage and his wife Jo Armitage live in London with six of Jo's eight children, with the two eldest boys at boarding school. The children are spread over Jo's three... See full summary »

Director:

Jack Clayton

Writers:

Penelope Mortimer (novel), Harold Pinter (screenplay)

Stars:

Anne Bancroft, Peter Finch, James Mason

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 6 wins & 5 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Anne Bancroft	...	Jo Armitage
Peter Finch	...	Jake Armitage
James Mason	...	Bob Conway
Janine Gray	...	Beth Conway
Cedric Hardwicke	...	Mr. James - Jo's father
Rosalind Atkinson	...	Mrs. James - Jo's mother
Alan Webb	...	Mr. Armitage - Jake's father
Richard Johnson	...	Giles
Maggie Smith	...	Philpot
Eric Porter	...	Psychiatrist
Cyril Luckham	...	Doctor
Anthony Nicholls	...	Surgeon
John Franklyn-Robbins	...	Parson
John Junkin	...	Undertaker
Yootha Joyce	...	Woman at Hairdressers

Storyline

Film screenwriter Jake Armitage and his wife Jo Armitage live in London with six of Jo's eight children, with the two eldest boys at boarding school. The children are spread over Jo's three marriages, with only the youngest being Jake's biological child, although he treats them all as his own. Jo left her second husband Giles after meeting Giles' friend Jake, the two who were immediately attracted to each other. Their upper middle class life is much different than Giles and Jo's, who lived in a barn in the English countryside. But Jo is ruminating about her strained marriage to Jake, with issues on both sides. Jo suspects Jake of chronic infidelity, she only confronting him with her suspicions whenever evidence presents itself. And Jo's psychiatrist believes that Jo uses childbirth as a rationale for sex, which he believes she finds vulgar. These issues in combination have placed Jo in a fragile mental state. They both state that they love the other, but neither really seems to like ...

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Plot Keywords:

marriage | writer | abortion | children | ex husband ex wife relationship | 

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Taglines:

How many others? Six...a dozen...what does the number matter?

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Genres:

Drama

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Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

9 November 1964 (USA)

Also Known As:

Amartolos gamos

Filming Locations:

London Zoo, Regent's Park, London, England, UK

Company Credits

Production Co:

Romulus Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

118 min 110 min (TCM Print)

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Patricia Neal was offered the lead, but it was not 100% confirmed she would get the role. She then opted, to her later regret, to make Psyche 59 instead, since it was an official offer.

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Goofs

The long tracking shot near end of film (in which camera begins on Jo smoking in bed, then winds through closeups of mementos in her living room) was shot backward; at beginning of shot smoke is going into her cigarette, not out of it.

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Connections

Referenced in Who Killed Teddy Bear (1965)

User Reviews

Brilliant Study Of A Marriage

There are scenes from this movie that have been burned into my memory for years-- Anne Bancroft being accosted a crazed and lonely housewife while in a beauty parlor, her nervous breakdown in the middle of Harrod's in London, James Mason revealing her husband's infidelity to her cruelly while having tea at the zoo-- The Pumpkin Eater is one of my favorite movies. Anne Bancroft never gave a better performance-- she is startlingly good-- plus the excellent Harold Pinter screenplay and the brilliant direction of Jack Clayton-- this film is an eloquent essay on isolation and emptiness among other things. I recommend this film to all serious students of acting, writing, and directing.