Tropic of Cancer (1970)

Director:

Joseph Strick

Writers:

Betty Botley (screenplay)
Henry Miller (novel)
(more)

Release Date:

27 February 1970 (USA)

Genre:

Biography | Drama

Plot:

The film depicts the adventures of expatriate American writer Henry Miller and his friends, as they pursue art, money, food, and sex in Paris.

Plot Keywords:

Bordello | Proofreader | Asylum | Writer | Herald Tribune

Cast

Rip Torn	...	Henry Miller
James T. Callahan	...	Fillmore
David Baur	...	Carl
Laurence Lignères	...	Ginette
Phil Brown	...	Van Norden
Dominique Delpierre	...	Vite Cheri
Magali Noël	...	The Princess
Raymond Gérôme	...	M. Le Censeur
Ginette Leclerc	...	Madame Hamilton
Sabine Sun	...	Elsa
Sheila Steafel	...	Tania
Gladys Berry	...	American Lady
George Birt	...	Sylvester
Stuart De Silva	...	Ranji
Steve Eckardt	...	Cronstadt (as Steve Eckhardt)
Philippe Gasté	...	Train Passenger
Gisèle Grimm	...	Germaine
Eléonore Hirt	...	Yvette
Jo Lefevre	...	Accordianist
Françoise Lugagne	...	Iréne
Roger Lumont	...	Cafe Patron
Guy Marly	...	Dog Lover
Edward Marcus	...	Boris (as Ed Marcus)
Henry Miller	...	Spectator
Christine Oscar	...	Helen
Elliott Sullivan	...	Peckover
Loryanne	...	Mme. Hamilton's Girl
Catherine d'Hugues	...	Mme. Hamilton's Girl
Nadia Vasil	...	Mme. Hamilton's Girl
Liane Saunier	...	Mme Hamilton's Girl
Bernard Taine	...	Dijon Schoolboy
Yves Rannon	...	Dijon Schoolboy
Lionel Bejian	...	Dijon Schoolboy
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Ellen Burstyn	...	Mona Miller (uncredited)

Directed by
Joseph Strick

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Betty Botley		screenplay
Henry Miller		novel
Joseph Strick		screenplay

Produced by
Betty Botley	....	associate producer
Michel Rittener	....	associate producer
Joseph Strick	....	producer

Original Music by
Stanley Myers

Cinematography by
Alain Derobe		(photographed by) (as Alain de Robe)

Film Editing by
Sidney Meyers
Sylvia Sarner

Production Management
Michel Rittener	....	production manager
Suzanne Wiesenfeld	....	unit manager
Phillip Kenny	....	unit production manager (uncredited)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Jean-Michel Lacor	....	assistant director
Martine Marchand	....	assistant director

Sound Department
Joseph de Bretagne	....	sound engineer (as Jo de Bretagne)
Bart Keane	....	sound editor
James A. Gleason	....	sound re-recording mixer (uncredited)
James Perdue	....	sound recordist (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Jacques Cherel	....	chief electrician
Colin Mounier	....	camera operator
Yves Agostini	....	first assistant camera (uncredited)

Music Department
Stanley Myers	....	conductor

Other crew
Paul Buegin	....	administrator
Eugène Herrly	....	machinist (as Eugene Herrly)
Catherine Prévert	....	script supervisor (as Catherine Prevert)
Michael Wernham	....	publicist

Production Companies

• Tropic Productions

Distributors

• Paramount Pictures (1970) (USA) (theatrical)
• Olive Films (2010) (Canada) (DVD)
• Olive Films (2010) (USA) (DVD)

Also Known As:

MPAA:

Rated NC-17 for strong language and sex-related dialogue (re-rating) (1992)

Runtime:

87 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

West Germany:18 | France:-12 | Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15 | UK:R | USA:NC-17 (re-rating) (1992) | USA:X

Company:

Tropic Productions

Trivia:

According to Robert Evans's biography, "The Kid Stays in the Picture", this film was made as the result of a bet between Evans and Henry Miller in which Miller won.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Henry Miller:This, then, this is not a movie. This is a libel, slander, defamation of character, a prolonged insult, a gob of spit in the face of art, a kick in the pants to God, man, destiny, time, love, beauty, what you will. I'm going to sing for you. A little off-key perhaps, but I will sing. I will sing while you croak. I will dance over your dirty corpse.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in American Grindhouse (2010)

Soundtrack:

Aufschwung (Flight)

Interesting, but unfocused

In order to appreciate Henry Miller's style, it is essential to get a feel for the juxtaposition of his elegant, often heartfelt prose, and the profane nature of his subject matter. He is the modern Catullus, the poet not of "lovemaking" but of the joys of flat-out *****ing.

The movie had difficulty synthesizing this sense of sacred and profane in harmony. It tried now with a Rip Torn overvoice reading from Miller's work, then with some poetic shots of the beauty of Paris. It never really seemed to succeed.

The movie could never find anything to focus on. It represents a string of vignettes, and they don't seem to lead to any common goal. Many scenes seem to concentrate on the minor characters for much too long, and without apparent purpose. Such picaresque efforts rely on the charm of characterization for impact, and this film has some of that, but not enough. It's structured as if somebody said "let's make a film of Tropic of Cancer" without actually feeling any passion for why they wanted to do that.

It was certainly interesting to see Rip Torn so young and so good-looking, and to see Ellen Burstyn in such a flagrant display of nudity. Some of the locales are accurately evocative, and Torn is reasonably credible in the lead. It is fairly explicit in the sexual scenes, and extremely explicit in its use of language.

You could watch it and not feel you've wasted your time, but be advised that you won't feel much rewarded, either.