Candy (1968)

Director:

Christian Marquand

Writers:

Buck Henry (screenplay)
Mason Hoffenberg (novel)

Release Date:

17 December 1968 (USA)

Genre:

Adventure | Comedy | Fantasy

Tagline:

Good Grief, It's Candy!

Plot:

Based on Terry Southern's satirical novel, a sendup of Voltaire's -Candide-. Young Candy is a high school girl who seeks truth and meaning in life, encountering a variety of kookie characters and humorous sexual situations in the process.

Plot Keywords:

Hermit | Gardener | California | High School | Poet

Awards:

Nominated for Golden Globe.

Cast

Charles Aznavour	...	Hunchback juggler
Marlon Brando	...	Grindl
Richard Burton	...	MacPhisto
James Coburn	...	Dr. A.B. Krankheit
John Huston	...	Dr. Arnold Dunlap
Walter Matthau	...	Gen. R.A. Smight
Ringo Starr	...	Emmanuel
Ewa Aulin	...	Candy Christian
John Astin	...	T.M. Christian / Jack Christian
Elsa Martinelli	...	Livia
Sugar Ray Robinson	...	Zero
Anita Pallenberg	...	Nurse Bullock
Lea Padovani	...	Silvia Fontegliulo
Florinda Bolkan	...	Lolita
Marilù Tolo	...	Conchita

Also Known As:

Candy (France)
Candy e il suo pazzo mondo (Italy)
Good Grief It's Candy (International: English title)

Runtime:

UK:124 min | Portugal:113 min | USA:115 min

Country:

France | Italy | USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Italy:VM14 | West Germany:18 | Australia:M | Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15 | UK:15 (video rating) (2005) | UK:X (original rating) | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Rome, Lazio, Italy

Company:

American Broadcasting Company (ABC)

Trivia:

According to a 1969 issue of Photoplay, Pia Degermark was the first choice for the title role. Other contenders included Connie Kreski and Sydne Rome.

Quotes:

Candy Christian: War certainly seems to be hell.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Le scaphandre et le papillon (2007)

Soundtrack:

Magic Carpet Ride

Good grief, why haven't you watched this yet?

There was a beautiful brief moment in cinema history when film makers freed themselves of the shackles of form and found fun, exciting ways to tell stories. Movies became groovy mind-blowing experiences that forced the viewer to follow the plot as it tripped all over the screen. Unfortunately Jaws came along and reminded the studios of how much money they could be making and the experiment was declared a failure. But during this brief period such wonderful and largely buried treasures as Beyond the Valley of the Dolls, Myra Breckenridge, Magic Christian and Vanishing Point (only Easy Rider seems to have survived the era with its reputation in tact) were created and have since been embraced by the odd as their own. But perhaps the most reviled of the lot has been the film Candy.

Candy tells the simple tale of a sweet young thing that goes out into the world to grow but finds herself confronted at every turn by typical male stereotypes (played by some of the biggest stars of the day) who really only have one goal in mind. Along the way she meets up with the artist (Richard Burton), the soldier (Walter Matthau), the healer (James Coburn) and the guru (Marlon Brando) among others. Candy wants to free her mind but each man tries (and some succeed) to free her of her panties. Despite the premise Candy is more like a teasing Roger Vadim film (think Barbarella) and the nudity is kept to an absolute minimum. The biggest surprise is even with the big name cast, the films best performance belongs to John Astin as Candy's Father and also as her lecherous Uncle who has his own designs on her. The supporting cast is definitely one of the films high points along with the terrific score that features some trippy space tunes along with classic rock. Sadly there are some faults though.

The script by Buck Henry is very hit and miss with some excellent lines immediately followed by many that just produce cringes in the audience. The lead actress Ewa Aulin is lovely to look at but delivers all of her lines like she has just learned them phonetically and has no idea what she is saying and the directer allows the pace to drag at many points.

Still if the films from this era interests you than this one should be required viewing. There is an excellent DVD available so there is no excuses for passing on this under-rated gem.