Never Too Late (1965)

Director:

Bud Yorkin

Writers:

Sumner Arthur Long (play)
Sumner Arthur Long (screenplay)

Release Date:

4 November 1965 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy

Plot:

Fifty-something Edith Lambert is thrilled to find out that she's going to have a baby. Her husband Harry, however, is less enthusiastic.

Plot Keywords:

Pregnant | Beautiful Woman | Expectant Mother | Pregnancy | Expectant Father

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Paul Ford	...	Harry Lambert
Connie Stevens	...	Kate Clinton
Maureen O'Sullivan	...	Edith Lambert
Jim Hutton	...	Charlie Clinton
Jane Wyatt	...	Grace Kimbrough
Henry Jones	...	Dr. Kimbrough
Lloyd Nolan	...	Mayor Crane
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Edward C. Higgins	...	Policeman

Runtime:

USA:105 min | UK:104 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Finland:K-12

Filming Locations:

Concord, Massachusetts, USA

Company:

Tandem Productions

Trivia:

The original Broadway production of "Never Too Late" by Sumner Arthur Long opened at the Playhouse Theater on November 26, 1962 and ran for 1007 performances.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Saint Maybe (1998) (TV)

A strenuous farce...

Screenwriter Sumner Arthur Long adapted his own hit play about a small town middle-aged woman who is giddy upon learning she's pregnant--and puzzled by the indifference or anxiety shown by her disgruntled husband, daughter, and son-in-law. Casting original Broadway leads Maureen O'Sullivan and Paul Ford as the expecting-oldsters was probably a no-brainer, and both players are light on their feet, though O'Sullivan is truly too mature for this scenario. Of course, the character has to be an older woman--that's the point of the whole picture--yet the sight of O'Sullivan sporting a baby bump is far more strange than funny (she's a pregnant grandma). As for Ford, he isn't the cute old codger he's meant to be; he looks more like a drunk you'd see hanging out at the local pool-hall. Connie Stevens (in groovy pale-pink lipstick) does what she can with the very thin role of the couple's married daughter, and she tries finding hubby Jim Hutton adorable, but the hard work shows (Hutton was a notch lower than even Dean Jones on the romance-meter). The production values are more than adequate, and there are a few laughs here and there, but the overall results are of forced gaiety--and infernal insults bandied about at top volume. *1/2 from ****