Funny Lady (1975)

Story of singer Fanny Brice's stormy relationship with showman Billy Rose.

Director:

Herbert Ross

Writers:

Arnold Schulman (story), Jay Presson Allen (screenplay),

Stars:

Barbra Streisand, James Caan, Omar Sharif

Nominated for 5 Oscars. Another 6 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Barbra Streisand	...	Fanny Brice
James Caan	...	Billy Rose
Omar Sharif	...	Nicky Arnstein
Roddy McDowall	...	Bobby Moore
Ben Vereen	...	Bert Robbins
Carole Wells	...	Norma Butler
Larry Gates	...	Bernard Baruch
Eugene Troobnick	...	Ned (as Gene Troobnick)
Heidi O'Rourke	...	Eleanor Holm
Royce Wallace	...	Adèle
Lilyan Chauvin	...	Mademoiselle
Samantha C. Kirkeby	...	Fran (as Samantha Huffaker)
Matt Emery	...	Buck Bolton
Joshua Shelley	...	Painter
Cliff Norton	...	Set Manager

Storyline

1930s in New York. The famous singer Fanny Brice has divorced her first husband Nicky Arnstein. During the depression she has trouble finding work as an artist but meets Billy Rose, a newcomer who writes lyrics and owns his own nightclub.

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Plot Keywords:

1930s | new york city | sequel | female protagonist | love | 

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Taglines:

How Lucky Can You Get

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Genres:

Musical | Comedy | Drama | Romance

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Certificate:

PG

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

15 March 1975 (USA)

Also Known As:

Paraxeni kyria

Filming Locations:

Atlantic City, New Jersey, USA

Box Office

Gross:

SEK 625,311 (Sweden)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Columbia Pictures Corporation, Rastar Pictures, Vista

Technical Specs

Runtime:

136 min

Sound Mix:

4-Track Stereo

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Ben Vereen's character is a composite of both Bert Williams and Bill Robinson.

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Goofs

When Fanny Brice takes off, singing, in the yellow biplane, the plane is shown taking off from a runway clearly marked with Instrument Landing System (ILS) bars, which had not yet been developed in the late 1920's when the scene is set.

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Quotes

Billy Rose: [referring to having borrowed money from the mob to finance his show] They're gonna build me into the West Side Highway.
Fanny Brice: That's the only good news I've heard tonight.
Billy Rose: I'm not kidding.
Fanny Brice: Neither am I.

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Connections

Referenced in In & Out (1997)

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Soundtracks

"It's Only a Paper Moon/I Like Her"
(uncredited)
Music by Harold Arlen
Lyrics by E.Y. Harburg and Billy Rose
Additional material by John Kander and Fred Ebb
Performed by James Caan

User Reviews

Disjointed bio sequel with a great Streisand performance

This sequel to FUNNY GIRL gives us an older, shrewder, tougher Fanny Brice than in the first film and Streisand pulls out the stops to give another terrific performance - one that should have netted her an Oscar nom but didn't - it's way better than her work in FUNNY GIRL and that did deserve its Oscar.

The film's look at Brice's stormy second marriage to Billy Rose has two very big negatives working against it. First, Caan does a terrific job as Rose but the character is a dumb and abusive mug - he's common and Brice is really slumming here. So we can't really care that she makes a go of it. Second, the film is very disjointed. Great numbers we hear complete on the soundtrack album are truncated to a few seconds - others are complete as performed but the performance and staging are lacklustre.

Don't get me wrong - it's very entertaining -much more so than FUNNY GIRL. Streisand is funnier and has more character to work with. There's a plethora of songs, which keep things moving and colorful. However, it doesn't add up to much. An okay ride but with no real significance except

for Streisand's beautifully shaded performance.

I counted 23 musical numbers or snatches of same matching 12 numbers on the soundtrack album. Main Title (Isn't It Better?); Blind Date; More Than You Know; More Than You Know-reprise; Paper Moon/I Like Him; Girl Of Mine; Million Dollar Baby; Goodtime Charlie; You Must Have The Rain; So Long, Honey Lamb (truncated); Am I Blue? (truncated); I Got A Cold in My Nose; Goodtime Charlie- reprise; A Great Day; People (background music); More Than You Know - reprise; How Lucky Can You Get?; Isn't It Better?; Me And My Shadow - orchestral; If I Love Again; People (background music); Let's Hear It For Me; Me And My Shadow; Let's Hear It For Me- reprise; End Title - How Lucky Can You Get?

This is overall an okay way to spend two and a quarter hours but only Streisand fans will really reap the benefits of watching their idol deliver another stunning portrayal.