Bobby Deerfield (1977)

Director:

Sydney Pollack

Writers:

Alvin Sargent (screenplay) and
Erich Maria Remarque (novel)

Release Date:

4 November 1977 (Denmark)

Genre:

Drama | Romance

Tagline:

He had to meet her - to find himself!

Plot:

Bobby Deerfield, a famous American race car driver on the European circuit, falls in love with the enigmatic Lillian Morelli, who is terminally ill.

Plot Keywords:

Love | Race Car | Fire | Car Race | Magician

Awards:

Nominated for Golden Globe.

Cast

Al Pacino	...	Bobby
Marthe Keller	...	Lillian
Anny Duperey	...	Lydia
Walter McGinn	...	The Brother
Romolo Valli	...	Uncle Luigi
Stephan Meldegg	...	Karl Holtzmann
Jaime Sánchez	...	Delvecchio (as Jaime Sanchez)
Norm Nielsen	...	The Magician
Mickey Knox	...	Tourist
Dorothy James	...	Tourist
Guido Alberti	...	Priest In The Garden
Monique Lejeune	...	Catherine Modave
Steve Gadler	...	Bertrand Modave
Van Doude	...	The Flutist
Aurora Maris	...	Woman In The Gas Station
Gérard Hernandez	...	Carlos Del Montanaro
Maurice Vallier	...	Priest
Antonino Faà di Bruno	...	Vincenzo (as Antonio Faa'Di Bruno)
André Valardy	...	Autograph Hound (as Andre Vallardy)
Féodor Atkine	...	Tommy (as Fédor Atkine)
Patrick Floersheim	...	Mario
Bernie Pollack	...	Head Mechanic
Al Silvani	...	Mechanic
Isabelle de Blonay	...	Nurse (as Isabelle De Blonay)
Franco Ressel	...	Man With Dog
Dominique Briand	...	Reporter
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Maurice Baquet	...	(uncredited)
Yvonne Dany	...	Nurse (uncredited)

Directed by
Sydney Pollack

Writing credits
Alvin Sargent		(screenplay)
Erich Maria Remarque		novel "Der Himmel kennt keine Günstlinge"

Produced by
John Foreman	....	executive producer
Sydney Pollack	....	producer

Original Music by
Dave Grusin

Cinematography by
Henri Decaë		(director of photography) (as Henri Decae)

Film Editing by
Fredric Steinkamp

Casting by
Margot Capelier

Production Design by
Stephen B. Grimes		(as Stephen Grimes)

Art Direction by
Marc Frédérix		(as Mark Frederix)

Set Decoration by
Gabriel Béchir		(as Gabriel Bechir)

Makeup Department
Alex Archambault	....	hair stylist
Jacky Bouban	....	makeup artist (as Jacky Boubon)
Brad Wilder	....	makeup artist

Production Management
Guy Luongo	....	production manager: Italy
Philippe Modave	....	production manager: France
Bill Finnegan	....	unit production manager (uncredited)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Meyer Berreby	....	second assistant director
Paul Feyder	....	assistant director
Stephen B. Grimes	....	second unit director (as Stephen Grimes)
Jean-François Villemer	....	assistant director

Art Department
John Alvin	....	poster artist

Sound Department
Basil Fenton-Smith	....	production sound (as Basil Fenton Smith)
Les Fresholtz	....	sound re-recordist
Marvin I. Kosberg	....	sound editor
Michael Minkler	....	sound re-recordist (as Mike Minkler)
Arthur Piantadosi	....	re-recording
Josef von Stroheim	....	sound editor (as Josef Von Stroheim)

Special Effects by
Augie Lohman	....	special effects

Stunts
Rémy Julienne	....	stunt coordinator (as Remy Julienne)

Camera and Electrical Department
Georges Ferrière	....	gaffer (as Georges Ferriere)
Jean Gimello	....	key grip
John Jopson	....	additional cinematographer: racing scenes
Tony Maylam	....	cameraman: additional racing footage filmed by
Yves Rodallec	....	camera operator
Kathy Fields	....	special still photographer (uncredited)

Casting Department
Boaty Boatwright	....	casting coordinator

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Roland Meledandri	....	suits: Al Pacino (as Meladandri)
Annalisa Nasalli-Rocca	....	wardrobe: women (as Annalisa Nasalli Rocca)
Bernie Pollack	....	wardrobe: men

Editorial Department
Don Guidice	....	assistant editor
Catherine Kelber	....	assistant editor: France
William Steinkamp	....	assistant editor

Music Department
Dan Wallin	....	music scoring mixer
Ted Whitfield	....	music editor

Transportation Department
Mario Andretti	....	driver: Formula 1 car
José Carlos Pace	....	driver: Formula 1 car (as Carlos Pace)
Patrick Depailler	....	driver: Formula 1 car (as Patrick De Paillier)
James Hunt	....	driver: Formula 1 car
Tom Pryce	....	driver: Formula 1 car

Other crew
Piero Amati	....	location manager
Antoine Compin	....	location coordinator
Bill Finnegan	....	production executive (as William Finnegan)
Annabelle King	....	production assistant
José Lichtig	....	auditor: France (as Jose Lichtig)
Phill Norman	....	titles
Catherine Prévert	....	script supervisor (as Catherine Prevert)
Ken Ryan	....	auditor: United States (as Kenneth Ryan)

Thanks
José Carlos Pace	....	dedicatee (as Carlos Pace)
Bernie Ecclestone	....	acknowledgment: technical assistance provided with special participation by
Tom Pryce	....	dedicatee

Production Companies

• Columbia Pictures Corporation (present) (as Columbia Pictures)
• Warner Bros. Pictures (present) (as Warner Bros.)
• First Artists (executive production) (as The First Artists Production Company, Ltd.)

Distributors

• Columbia Pictures (1977) (USA) (theatrical)
• Warner Bros. Pictures (1977-1978) (non-USA) (theatrical)
• Warner Home Video (1990) (USA) (VHS)
• Warner Home Video (2006) (UK) (DVD)
• Warner Home Video (2006) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• Sony Pictures Home Entertainment (2008) (Canada) (DVD)
• Sony Pictures Home Entertainment (2008) (USA) (DVD)

Other Companies

• Alfa Romeo  car: 'Bobby Deerfield' (as Alfa Romeo Sprint Veloce)
• Alfa/Brabham Formula 1 Racing Team  technical assistance: with special participation by
• Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO)  special appreciation to: for their kind co-operation (as the Automobile-Club De L'Ouest in Le Mans)
• International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE)  this picture made under the jurisdiction of (as I.A.T.S.E.®)
• Martini Racing Division  technical assistance
• Société De Montgolfier  special appreciation to: for their assistance in filming the hot air balloons

Also Known As:

Runtime:

124 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | French

Color:

Color (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono | Dolby Digital (DVD version)

Certification:

Singapore:NC-16 | Finland:K-12 | Sweden:15 | USA:PG (Approved No. 24936) | Canada:PG (Ontario) (Canadian Home Video rating) | Iceland:L

Filming Locations:

Paris Studios Cinéma, Billancourt, Hauts-de-Seine, France

Company:

Columbia Pictures Corporation

Trivia:

Sydney Pollack took the directing job on the film after his friend, actor Dabney Coleman, showed him the script. Coleman also suggested Gene Hackman for the lead role.

Quotes:

Lillian Morelli:You're such a turtle!
Bobby Deerfield:Turtle?
[she nods]
Bobby Deerfield:Nobody's ever called me that before. A turtle.
Lillian Morelli:Perhaps you are the world's fastest turtle, but just the same, you are a ...
Lillian Morelli, Bobby Deerfield:turtle!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in El rediezcubrimiento de México (1979)

Heaven Has No Favorites

When Bobby Deerfield was marketed in the USA it was sold to the public as a racing picture like Grand Prix or Le Mans. I well remember the advertisements for it. The European racing scene however is only a background for an Erich Maria Remarque novel on which the film is based. It is a very typical Remarque story about doomed people.

Remarque was one of the most pessimistic of 20th century writers. His best known work however usually has a war background. He spent his entire life trying to out do his first great success All Quiet On The Western Front. Such other work as Three Comrades and Arch of Triumph which were also filmed had a war background or post or pre-war if you will.

The novel Bobby Deerfield is based on Heaven Has No Favorites and came out in 1961 and its protagonist was not an American. My guess is that in order to film it and insure box office the protagonist was changed to an American and a rising American star was cast. Al Pacino plays the title role, an American driver on the European circuit who is self involved in his career. In fact he goes visiting another injured driver, not out of any tremendous concern for him, but to find out information about the crash because he's driving the exact same type of car.

While at the hospital he meets Marthe Keller who leaves the hospital with him. She's a terminal tuberculosis patient and she wants to experience a little of life before it's too late. His kind of risk taking profession appeals to her. It takes a while, but the two develop a relationship.

Which was paralleled in real life between Al Pacino and Marthe Keller and that certainly helped the film a lot. Keller joins Ingrid Bergman from Arch of Triumph and Margaret Sullavan in Three Comrades as yet another of Remarque's doomed heroines. And like in war Pacino's in a job where his number can come up any time.

The film was shot on location in France. Sydney Pollack showed some of the style he did while making that other Oscar winning romantic film Out of Africa. The French countryside is captured beautifully.

Still I think it was bad for American audiences to expect another Grand Prix in Bobby Deerfield. There was enough racing scenes in the film to satisfy racing fans, maybe. But make no mistake, this is a tender romantic story and a good one.