The Pumpkin Eater (1964)

Director:

Jack Clayton

Writers:

Penelope Mortimer (novel)
Harold Pinter (screenplay)

Release Date:

9 November 1964 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Tagline:

A Much Married Woman Who Drifts From Husband to Husband!

Plot:

The study of a marriage. Jo has five children and husband number two when she meets writer Jake Armitage...

Plot Keywords:

Marriage | Abortion | Writer | Children | Screenwriter

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 6 wins & 5 nominations

Cast

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

Runtime:

USA:118 min | 110 min (TCM Print) | UK:118 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

UK:X (original rating) | Finland:K-16

Filming Locations:

Harrods, Knightsbridge, London, England, UK

Company:

Romulus Films

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 (1964) instead, since it was an official offer.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: 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.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Who Killed Teddy Bear (1965)

Virtuoso film-making highlights a brutally satiric examination of modern marriage

The Pumpkin Eater, which for many years was my favorite movie, is a neglected masterpiece of the British New Wave. I'm not sure whether its lack of recognition is attributable more to its misanthropic point of view or to Jack Clayton's sparse filmography (he never developed the immediately recognizable personal style required for elevation to the auteur pantheon). It didn't help that initial reviewers badly misunderstood the film -- Dwight Macdonald thought it was a typical "women's film", meant to provide erotic titillation! On the other hand, feminist critics probably weren't eager to defend a film that could be interpreted as anti-abortion propaganda (also a misreading). Perhaps a more mature feminism will reclaim this film.

Admittedly, the movie is difficult to understand on a first viewing -- both because of its intricate flashback structure and its complexities of tone and attitude. It took me several viewings to fully sort out the plot, and several more to realize what I was actually seeing -- a very, very black comedy. In this respect it's worth placing with the darkest works of Evelyn Waugh or Henry Green.

The film catches its participants at the top of their form: Pinter never wrote a better screenplay, Anne Bancroft (arguably) never gave a better performance, Peter Finch certainly didn't, and Maggie Smith and James Mason are deliciously evil in supporting roles. There are too many marvelous moments to list them all, but watch especially for the zoo scene between Bancroft and Mason (who are clearly having a great time) and for the slyly-written scene where Finch learns that his wife is pregnant -- again.

So why is it no longer my favorite movie? My admiration for its technique is unabated, but as I get older I find the film's nasty tone harder and harder to take. There's not an admirable human being in the whole movie -- they're all foolish, duplicitous, or vindictive. I can't live with these people, much as I've enjoyed eavesdropping on them over the years.