The Group (1966)

User Rating:

6.5/10   

Director:

Sidney Lumet

Writers:

Mary McCarthy (novel)
Sidney Buchman (screenplay)

Release Date:

4 March 1966 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

It's 1933, and eight young women are friends and members of the upper- class group at a private girl's school...

Plot Keywords:

Marriage | Physician | Liberal | Wealth | Nursing

Awards:

Nominated for BAFTA Film Award. Another 1 nomination

Cast

Candice Bergen	...	Lakey
Joan Hackett	...	Dottie
Elizabeth Hartman	...	Priss
Shirley Knight	...	Polly
Joanna Pettet	...	Kay
Mary-Robin Redd	...	Pokey
Jessica Walter	...	Libby
Kathleen Widdoes	...	Helena
James Broderick	...	Dr. Ridgeley
James Congdon	...	Sloan Crockett
Larry Hagman	...	Harald Peterson
Hal Holbrook	...	Gus Leroy
Richard Mulligan	...	Dick Brown
Robert Emhardt	...	Mr. Andrews
Carrie Nye	...	Norine

Runtime:

USA:150 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

West Germany:16 | USA:Approved | Finland:K-12 | Sweden:15

Filming Locations:

New York City, New York, USA

Company:

Famartists Productions S.A.

Trivia:

George Gaynes' first film.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Libby McAusland sits down to lunch at the hospital cafeteria there is spilled coffee in the saucer of her cup. When she picks up the cup in the next shot the spilled coffee is gone.

Quotes:

Libby: I'm appalled by all this vulgar breeding.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Hollywood Screen Tests: Take 1 (1999) (TV)

Admittedly, similar to a soap opera in content....

but this film is interesting for the cast, and the time period it depicts. Also the costumes are rather amusing. I have not yet read the book although several reviews have mentioned the time warp factor. Candice Bergen is in an early role as member of an elite group of Vassar graduates. Joan Hackett, Joanna Pettet, Larry Hagman (as her alcoholic husband), Hal Holbrook, James Broderick, Jessica Walter (as swinging single gossip in the NY publishing world), Kathleen Widdoes, Carrie Nye, Elizabeth Hartman and several other notable appearances make for an interesting cast. Some of the dialog will take you back to a different time. The controversy of breast over bottle feeding, Republican vs. FDR Democrat (there are some pretty amusing scenes between Priss (Elizabeth Hartman) and her pediatrician husband, a Republican, who says after her second miscarriage this will give him a bad reputation in the hospital (!). Obviously, the book may be more interesting, and less histrionic. Jessica Walter is very good, and amusing; wish she had done more films in the 80's and 90's (She was great in "Slums of Beverly Hills", with Alan Arkin, as well). I do not watch regular television although several have mentioned she is very good in the Ron Howard comedy "Arrested Development". At any rate, a good escapist film, which I would not completely dismiss as soap opera, since there are skilled actors and some worthwhile dialog. 8/10.