Gaily, Gaily (1969)

To escape sinful impulses, Ben Harvey, a callow youth, leaves his small town for Chicago in 1910. A pickpocket promptly relieves him of his money, and he nearly starves before Queen Lil ... See full summary »

Director:

Norman Jewison

Writers:

Abram S. Ginnes (screenplay), Ben Hecht (novel)

Stars:

Beau Bridges, Melina Mercouri, Brian Keith

Nominated for 3 Oscars. Another 1 win & 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Beau Bridges	...	Ben Harvey
Melina Mercouri	...	Lil
Brian Keith	...	Sullivan
George Kennedy	...	Johanson
Hume Cronyn	...	Grogan
Margot Kidder	...	Adeline
Roy Poole	...	Dunne
Wilfrid Hyde-White	...	The Governor
Melodie Johnson	...	Lilah
John Randolph	...	Father
Charles Tyner	...	Dr. Lazarus
Joan Huntington	...	Kitty
Merie Earle	...	Granny
Claudia Bryar	...	Mother
Eric Shea	...	Younger Brother

Storyline

To escape sinful impulses, Ben Harvey, a callow youth, leaves his small town for Chicago in 1910. A pickpocket promptly relieves him of his money, and he nearly starves before Queen Lil takes him under her wing, gives him a room in her high-class bordello, and gets him a job at a newspaper. He's so sweet and dumb, he thinks Lil's is a boarding house. He's soon caught up in an electoral struggle between a secretly corrupt reformer and an openly corrupt councilman. Can Ben expose corruption or will he be caught up in allure of power? An alcoholic investigative reporter and the bordello's ingénue try to help him grow up.

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Plot Keywords:

1910s | newspaper | pants falling down | man naked under covers | falling off a bridge | 

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Taglines:

Ben Harvey's juices are all dammed up.

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Genres:

Comedy

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for brief nudity/sexual content

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

23 March 1970 (Denmark)

Also Known As:

Chicago, Chicago

Filming Locations:

Dubuque, Iowa, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$8,000,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Mirisch Production Company, The

Technical Specs

Runtime:

107 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Film debut of Margot Kidder.

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Quotes

Francis X. Sullivan: Ahh, he's stone cold dead.

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Connections

Referenced in The Directors: The Films of Norman Jewison (1999)

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Soundtracks

"Tomorrow Is My Friend"
Sung by Jimmie Rodgers
Lyrics by Alan Bergman & Marilyn Bergman
Music by Henry Mancini

User Reviews

Gaily, Gaily was an uneven period comedy that was still pretty enjoyable

Just watched this Beau Bridges/Norman Jewison film on Netflix streaming. Based on Ben Hecht's memoirs, Bridges plays the author as Ben Harvey who comes to Chicago in 1910 to make it as a writer. There he encounters Melina Mercouri as a madam, Brian Keith as his reporter mentor, Hume Cronyn as a crooked businessman, George Kennedy as another shady figure, and Margot Kidder-in her film debut-as Bridges' first time. Plenty of period atmosphere with some quite funny lines and scenes but I have to admit that I was confused by some of the characterizations and action set pieces. Still, it was fascinating to watch so on that note, Gaily, Gaily is worth a look.