Joy in the Morning (1965)

User Rating:

5.8/10   

Director:

Alex Segal

Writers:

Sally Benson (writer)
Alfred Hayes (writer)

Release Date:

5 May 1965 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Tagline:

Love is more than a good night kiss!

Plot:

Carl Brown and Annie McGairy are in love. Their Irish immigrant parents knew each other in the old country...

Plot Keywords:

College | Baby Born | Pregnant | Expectant Father | Gay Friend

Cast

Richard Chamberlain	...	Carl Brown
Yvette Mimieux	...	Annie McGairy
Arthur Kennedy	...	Patrick Brown
Oskar Homolka	...	Stan Pulaski
Donald Davis	...	Anthony Byrd
Joan Tetzel	...	Beverly Karter
Sidney Blackmer	...	Dean James Darwent
Virginia Gregg	...	Mrs. Lorgan
Chris Noel	...	Mary Ellen Kincaid
Bartlett Robinson	...	Prof. Victor Newcole
Ellen Atterbury	...	Clerk
Harvey Stephens	...	Dr. Marson
Ira Barmak	...	Dr. Kirkson

Runtime:

USA:103 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Certification:

Finland:K-16

Company:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: When Annie and Carl are showering in the locker room, you can see that Carl is wearing sweatpants when he's supposed to be nude.

Soundtrack:

Joy in the Morning

Surprisingly good

Under normal circumstances I love to hate movies like Joy in the Morning. I try to avoid watching romantic melodramas as much as the next well-adjusted person, but Joy in the Morning was surprisingly good. It's easy to sympathize with the young law student Carl Brown, whose parents turn into his worst nightmare after he marries a poor girl from Brooklyn named Annie McGairy. Carl's mother writes him a scathing letter and makes it clear that she thinks Annie is an opportunist and a gold-digger. Carl's villainous father actually shows up at the couple's home and after a shouting match with his son, withdraws all financial support. The couple's struggle to support themselves is austere and unsentimental. It's difficult to predict if they will stay together until the last ten minutes of the movie.

Richard Chamberlain is excellent as Carl Brown, but the movie belongs to the luminous Yvette Mimieux, who plays Annie McGairy. Though in the beginning of the movie Annie appears naïve and insipid, later on her earnest attempts at being a good wife are endearing because quite simply, Mimieux glows in front of the camera. Any other actress in the part of Annie would have been a disaster.