Grey Gardens (1975)

An old mother and her middle-aged daughter, the aunt and cousin of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, live their eccentric lives in a filthy, decaying mansion in East Hampton.

Directors:

Ellen Hovde, Albert Maysles,

Stars:

Edith 'Little Edie' Bouvier Beale, Edith Bouvier Beale, Brooks Hyers

1 win & 2 nominations.

Cast

Credited cast:
Edith 'Little Edie' Bouvier Beale	...	Herself
Edith Bouvier Beale	...	Herself
Brooks Hyers	...	Himself - Gardener
Norman Vincent Peale	...	Himself (voice)

Storyline

The Maysles brothers pay visits to Edith Bouvier Beale, nearing 80, and her daughter Edie. Reclusive, the pair live with cats and raccoons in Grey Gardens, a crumbling mansion in East Hampton. Edith is dry and quick-witted - a singer, married but later separated, a member of high society. Edie is voluble, dresses - as she puts it - for combat in tight ensembles that include scarves wrapped around her head. There are hints that Edie came home 24 years before to be cared for rather than to care for her mother. The women address the camera, talking over each other, moving from the present to events years before. They're odd, with flinty affection for each other.

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Plot Keywords:

mansion | cat | raccoon | singer | flea | 

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Genres:

Documentary

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Certificate:

PG

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

27 September 1975 (USA)

Also Known As:

Két nő - egy ház

Filming Locations:

East Hampton, Long Island, New York, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Portrait Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

100 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Trivia

The film was something of an accident, in the sense that Albert Maysles and David Maysles came across Edith Bouvier Beale and Edith 'Little Edie' Bouvier Beale when involved in another project - a movie about (Jacqueline Kennedy's sister) Lee Radziwill's childhood. As part of research, the Maysles brothers were introduced to the Beales, and were captivated by their world. Deciding not to make the Radzwill film, they turned instead to the Beales. A year after first meeting the two women, began filming.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Edith 'Little Edie' Bouvier Beale: What're you doing down there? You staying there?

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Connections

Remade as Grey Gardens (2009)

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Soundtracks

"Tea for Two"
(uncredited)
Music by Vincent Youmans
Lyrics by Irving Caesar
Sung by Edith 'Little Edie' Bouvier Beale

User Reviews

Very Sad, Very Human, Oft Funny...but with a whiff of exploitation

I was speechless and devastated after my first viewing of this - many parts of GREY GARDENS are very funny and unbelievably surreal - documentary of not, this really gives Fellini or David Lynch a run for their money in the weirdsville sweepstakes. I kept focusing on how these women (who are clinically way beyond eccentric) reveal their own humanity in the most surprising of ways, and I wonder whether their retreat from the world was prompted by something beyond the stuffiness of life in the unreal blue-blood universe, perhaps some abuse, or perhaps simply a streak of defiance and rebellion that spiralled out of their control and took on a life of its' own. This might be one of the greatest ever films that comes dangerously close to exploitation, without going completely over the edge - as the Edies do their thing, I kept noting things like the empty gin bottles in the rubble-strewn bedroom, cats urinating on the bed, racoons emerging from holes in the walls, and the final scene seemed incredibly sad - like a child's birthday party gone seriously wrong. Very definitely worth seeing and seeking out - you'll never forget it, but very disturbing.