40 Carats (1973)

User Rating:

6.1/10   

Director:

Milton Katselas

Writers:

Pierre Barillet (play)
Leonard Gershe (writer)

Release Date:

6 December 1973 (Finland)

Genre:

Comedy

Tagline:

She's a divorcee. She's forty. She's engaged... to a younger man.

Plot:

A forty year old woman who was vacationing in Greece meets a twenty-two year old, who was also on vacation...

Plot Keywords:

Greece | Older Woman Younger Man Relationship | Tadpoling | Based On Play | Number In Title

Awards:

Nominated for Golden Globe. Another 1 nomination

Cast

Liv Ullmann	...	Ann Stanley
Edward Albert	...	Peter Latham
Gene Kelly	...	Billy Boylan
Binnie Barnes	...	Maud Ericson
Deborah Raffin	...	Trina Stanley
Billy Green Bush	...	J.D. Rogers
Nancy Walker	...	Mrs. Margolin
Don Porter	...	Mr. Latham
Rosemary Murphy	...	Mrs. Latham
Natalie Schafer	...	Mrs. Adams
Claudia Jennings	...	Gabriella
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Sam Chew Jr.	...	Arthur Forbes
Brooke Palance	...	Polly
Andrea True	...	Extra

Also Known As:

Forty Carats (USA) (alternative spelling)

Runtime:

110 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Iceland:L | Finland:S | Sweden:Btl | USA:PG | Argentina:Atp

Company:

Columbia Pictures Corporation

Trivia:

Considered for the role of Ann Stanley were Audrey Hepburn, Elizabeth Taylor, Joanne Woodward, Doris Day, Glenda Jackson, Shirley MacLaine and Sophia Loren before the original director William Wyler bowed out of the production.

Movie Connections:

References The Graduate (1967)

Liv Ullmann in a comedy:

"40 Carats" - a light and cheerful comedy is the only comedy I've seen Liv Ullmann in. She plays Ann Stanley, forty years old Manhattan Real Estate agent divorcée who lives with her mother and 16 years old daughter. On her vacation in Greece, she meets 22 years old Peter Latham (Edward Albert), and they spend the night together. Ann quietly disappears into the early morning hours, leaving him with the memories of the night and nothing else - no address or telephone number. Peter later returns to New York, where one evening he arrives to pick up a date for the evening. Guess, who his date's mother is?

What follows is, IMO, funny and charming romantic comedy with wonderful supporting performances from Gene Kelly (as Ann's first annoying husband), Binnie Barnes and Deborah Raffin. I've read some comments that Liv was miscast and was not comfortable playing such a light comedy after all the profound and tragic characters she had played for Bergman. I don't think so. For me, one of the most memorable scenes of the film is the one after Liv (Ann) returns home from her vacation and is asked what Greece was like? Ann turns to face a camera, smiles, and says, "Greece glows under the sun" - but it is her face, her smile, her eyes that glow. If ever the saying, the eyes are the soul's mirror, is true, it is about Liv's eyes. There are kindness, tenderness, strength, and something even more attractive than beauty itself in them - the goodness of her soul.

"40 Carats" was a very pleasant surprise for me. I hope that it will be released on DVD soon and become available for all admirers of Liv Ullmann and of funny and clever romantic comedies.