The Sandpiper (1965)

Director:

Vincente Minnelli

Writers:

Martin Ransohoff (story)
Irene Kamp (adaptation) ...

Release Date:

23 June 1965 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Tagline:

She gave men a taste of life that made them hunger for more!

Plot:

Free-spirited, young, unwed mother seduces a Episcopalian priest. Lots of pretty beach/ocean scenery.

Plot Keywords:

Love | School | Boarding School | Clergy | Atheist

Awards:

Won Oscar. Another 3 wins & 2 nominations

Cast

Elizabeth Taylor	...	Laura Reynolds
Richard Burton	...	Dr. Edward Hewitt
Eva Marie Saint	...	Claire Hewitt
Charles Bronson	...	Cos Erickson
Robert Webber	...	Ward Hendricks
James Edwards	...	Larry Brant
Torin Thatcher	...	Judge Thompson
Tom Drake	...	Walter Robinson
Douglas Henderson	...	Paul Sutcliff (as Doug Henderson)
Morgan Mason	...	Danny Reynolds

Runtime:

117 min | Argentina:118 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Certification:

Argentina:18 | Iceland:L | USA:TV-14 | West Germany:16 (f) | Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15

Filming Locations:

Big Sur, California, USA

Company:

Filmways Pictures

Trivia:

The working title was "The Flight of the Sandpiper" (back of still 1831 x 17).

Goofs:

Errors made by characters (possibly deliberate errors by the filmmakers): Claire Hewitt, talking to her husband about Danny, says, "He was reciting the Prologue to Chaucer's Canterbury Tales in Old English." The language Chaucer wrote in, and that the boy recites in, is Middle English, not Old English.

Movie Connections:

Featured in AFI's 100 Years... 100 Songs (2004) (TV)

Soundtrack:

The Shadow of Your Smile

Hilariously misguided tripe; a must for bad movie-lovers

For their third film together (and their first as a newly-married couple), the Burtons chose one of the most infamous bad movies of all-time, the hilariously misguided effort THE SANDPIPER (1965). The film had a great pedigree starting with director Vincent Minnelli (who helmed such classics as 1944's MEET ME IN ST. LOUIS, 1958's GIGI, and even 1970's criminally underrated ON A CLEAR DAY YOU CAN SEE FOREVER), and great supporting cast featuring Eva Marie Saint, Charles Bronson, Robert Webber, and James Edwards. Unfortunately, the film misses the mark on almost every occasion, undermining a potentially interesting love story with poorly-developed characters and cornball dialogue. I won't spend the time discussing the film's clumsy attempts as addressing such complex issues as theology, which are handled even worse than the central love triangle.

In all fairness, Burton has the right degree of sullenness to play the conflicted reverend, but the script gives him little else to do other than appear solemn. Burton is unarguably one of the greatest acting talents of his time, but this character is so one-note that even he cannot save it. Unfortunately, Taylor fares even worse – although she does display a believable rebelliousness that is necessary for her role of the free-spirited, agnostic artist, she is simply out of her element amongst the mid-sixties beatnik scene. No matter how hard she tries, it simply impossible believe a glamour queen like Taylor as a shack-living, bra-burning hippie, and the characterization only becomes less convincing and more ridiculous as the movie goes on.

In the supporting cast, only Robert Webber's villainous Ward makes much of an impression, as Eva Marie Saint is completely wasted as Burton's wronged wife and Charles Bronson is as miscast as Taylor as a sexually ambiguous sculptor. Even with its terrible dialogue, leaden plotting, and unconvincing performances, The Sandpiper is still certainly watchable. The location footage of the Big Sur is sometimes breathtaking and the Oscar-winning theme song "The Shadow of Your Smile" is memorable, but these attributes alone cannot lift the movie out the realm of being a "bad movie classic." Despite it's dubious quality and unanimously bad reviews from critics (or maybe because of them), THE SANDPIPER was yet another significant hit at the box office for the Burtons.