Bernice Bobs Her Hair (TV 1976)

Bernice, a shy young woman, leaves her safe home to go visit her flapper cousin. When her cousin tries to teach Bernice how to be much more modern, Bernice gives her much more than she ... See full summary »

Director:

Joan Micklin Silver

Writers:

F. Scott Fitzgerald (story), Joan Micklin Silver (screenplay)

Stars:

Shelley Duvall, Veronica Cartwright, Lane Binkley

Cast

Credited cast:
Shelley Duvall	...	Bernice
Veronica Cartwright	...	Marjorie
Lane Binkley	...	Roberta
Patrick Reynolds	...	Draycott (as Patrick Byrne)
Dennis Christopher	...	Charley
Polly Holliday	...	Mrs. Harvey
Mark La Mura	...	Carpenter
Murray Moston	...	Barber
Mark Newkirk	...	Reece
Gary Springer	...	Otis
Leslie Thorsen	...	Genevieve
Claudette Warlick	...	Annie
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Bud Cort	...	Warren
Ken Olin	...	G. Reece Stoddard

Storyline

Bernice, a shy young woman, leaves her safe home to go visit her flapper cousin. When her cousin tries to teach Bernice how to be much more modern, Bernice gives her much more than she bargained for.

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Plot Keywords:

flapper | cousin cousin relationship | coming of age | braids | title directed by female | 

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Genres:

Drama

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

6 October 1976 (USA)

Also Known As:

Berenice levágatja a haját

Filming Locations:

Savannah, Georgia, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Learning in Focus, William Dern Associates

Technical Specs

Runtime:

45 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Connections

Referenced in Mystery Science Theater 3000: Kitten with a Whip (1994)

User Reviews

It's cute and good for a laugh.

Wishing to lift our spirits before jumping into a heavily themed discussion about "The Great Gatsby," my teacher showed our class this short and enjoyable story. She described it as a "chick-flick" and perhaps she was right. I found it entertaining and one could easily identify with the b***hy Marjorie or timid Bernice. Marjorie was the average girl who was popular and had boys aching to dance with her, while Bernice was her homely, boring cousin staying for a summer visit. Naturally, Marjorie felt she was superior to Bernice and felt like her vapid cousin's inability to socialize was ruining her whole summer. What followed a slow beginning was a light-hearted and funny transformation of Bernice. You will be shocked at the end.

The picture quality was rather poor and at times it was hard for a young child of the 80's like me to understand what they were saying. However, these unpleasant elements did not detract from my enjoyment of the story. The characters and plot were all believable. Although the ending was fitting and a splendid example of poetic justice, my whole class was left wanting to see more. See this film if you like to see film adaptations of Fitzgerald's and do not care for high-tech contemporary films.

I'd give it a 7/10...for now.