Those Lips, Those Eyes (1980)

Director:

Michael Pressman

Writer:

David Shaber (writer)

Genre:

Comedy | Romance

Tagline:

On stage, Harry Crystal is sheer magic. In the wings, Artie Shoemaker is learning his tricks!

Plot Keywords:

Actor

Cast

Frank Langella	...	Harry Crystal
Glynnis O'Connor	...	Ramona
Tom Hulce	...	Artie Shoemaker
Jerry Stiller	...	Mr. Shoemaker
Herbert Berghof	...	Dr. Julius Fuldauer
Kevin McCarthy	...	Mickey Bellinger
Joseph Maher	...	Fibby Geyer
George Morfogen	...	Sherman Sprat
Marshall Colt	...	Cooky
Anthony Mannino	...	D'Angeli
Rose Arrick	...	Mrs. Shoemaker
William Robertson	...	Mr. Henry
Steve Levitt	...	Westervelt
Randy Stumpf	...	Loomis
Mark Keyloun	...	Hlavacek

Runtime:

105 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Spain:13 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Cleveland Heights, Ohio, USA

Company:

Herb Jaffe

Goofs:

Anachronisms: When Artie and his father are driving in the truck, discussing Artie's future, passing trees are reflected on the windshield. At the end of the conversation, a street light is reflected that did not exist in 1951 (the setting of the movie).

Quotes:

Harry Crystal: There's one thing you learn in this business, and you learn it over and over: There'll always be a bigger agent, there'll always be a better job and they'll always be a prettier girl.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Moonlighting: Those Lips, Those Lies (#5.8)" (1989)

a part of the theatre, gone forever

It's understandable that one reviewer called the show scenes in the movie,"musicals", and Hollywood did make screen musicals of them. But they are excerpts from the genre of operetta. This was a pre 1940 style of "light comic" music drama, originating in Europe, at the turn of the century. Among the leading composers were Franz Lehar, and Victor Herbert. The cast had to have operatic voices, and sing, not talk the song a la Rex Harrison in "My Fair Lady". Of course in direct rebutal, to what I just said, Frank Langella, a non singing actor, sings "Someday", in a sotto voce (soft) style a la Perry Como. If someone says, "Summerstock, and operetta", and you go, "Huh?", this is not the movie for you, which is why about seven people saw it. This was summer live musical theatre, where youngsters with stars in their eyes, and pros who were never superstars, performed operetta classics in local theatres all over the country, like "The Merry Widow", "Rose Marie", and "The Desert Song". The plots are corny and ludicrous....but the songs...."Someday", "One Alone", "One Kiss", make me cry, because I remember how long ago it was when I first heard them and their beauty captures me more and more. Frank Langella is wonderful, as the romantic male lead in all the shows, who you know is not going to make it to stardom. Glynnis O'Connor, as the ingenue who breaks Tom Hulce's heart is impressive, and to show what an unstable field showbiz is, imdb has no credits for her from 98 to 02. I think Tom Hulce is a highly underrated actor. There's something so endearing about him, but the great roles don't seem to be offered to him today. I own this film and I've watched it over and over. As the pros say, "highly recommended".