A Piano for Mrs. Cimino (1982) (TV)

Director:

George Schaefer

Writers:

John Gay
Robert Oliphant (book)

Release Date:

3 February 1982 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

An elderly widow must find meaning and activity in her life when her son suggests she is no longer capable of handling her own affairs.

Plot Keywords:

Widow | Nursing Home | Hearing | Judge | Dementia

Awards:

Nominated for Primetime Emmy. Another 2 wins

Cast

Bette Davis	...	Esther McDonald Cimino
Penny Fuller	...	Mrs. Polanski
Christopher Guest	...	Philip Ryan
George Hearn	...	George Cimino
Graham Jarvis	...	Leach
Alexa Kenin	...	Karen Cimino
Keenan Wynn	...	Barney Fellman
Paul Roebling	...	Roger Desmond
LeRoy Schulz	...	Harold Cimino
Walter Marsh	...	Dr. Mitchell
Celeste Insell	...	Nurse Graham
Fran Gebhard	...	Gloria Cimino
Karen Austin	...	Alice Cimino
Anna Hagan	...	Social Service Dir.
Antony Holland	...	Judge Schultz
David Petersen	...	Mr. Hartman
Bill Buck	...	Dr. Sorrell
Ted Stidder	...	Mr. Anderson
Joan Panton	...	Mrs. Nash
Cathryn Johnston	...	Mrs. Wohlsteader
Barbara Tremain	...	Mrs. Yeager
Terence Kelly	...	Mr. Emory
Wiley Harker	...	Mr. Bales
Eda Reiss Merin	...	Mrs. Gatlin
David Cramer	...	Bank Clerk
David Downing	...	Mr. Harris

Directed by
George Schaefer

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
John Gay
Robert Oliphant		book

Produced by
Tony Converse	....	executive producer
Roger Gimbel	....	executive producer
Adrienne Luraschi	....	associate producer
George Schaefer	....	producer
Christopher Seitz	....	co-producer (as Christopher H. Seitz)

Original Music by
James Horner

Cinematography by
Edward R. Brown

Film Editing by
Rita Roland

Casting by
Susan Bluestein

Art Direction by
Graeme Murray
Fred Price		(as Fred R. Price)

Makeup Department
Salli Bailey	....	hair stylist
Phyllis Newman	....	makeup artist
Robert Norin	....	makeup artist: Miss Davies (as Bob Norin)
Peggy Shannon	....	hair stylist: Miss Davies

Production Management
John Wardlow	....	unit production manager: Canada (as V. John Wardlow)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Scott Cameron	....	second assistant director
John M. Poer	....	first assistant director
Hugh Spencer-Phillips	....	assistant director: Canada
David W. Rose	....	third assistant director (uncredited)

Art Department
Wayne McLaughlin	....	property master
Kimberley Richardson	....	set decorator: Canada (as Kimberly Richardson)

Sound Department
James Troutman	....	sound editor: Sound FX, Inc. (as Jim Troutman)
Rob Young	....	sound mixer
T.A. Moore Jr.	....	sound re-recording mixer (uncredited)
Clancy T. Troutman	....	sound designer (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
John S. Bartley	....	gaffer
Tim Hogan	....	key grip
Rod Parkhurst	....	camera operator
Chris Helcermanas-Benge	....	still photographer (uncredited)

Casting Department
Lynne Carrow	....	additional casting: Canada (as N. Lynne Carrow)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Jean Causey	....	wardrobe supervisor
Noel Taylor	....	costumes: Miss Davies

Editorial Department
Joseph Guresky	....	assistant editor

Music Department
Tom Carlin	....	music editor: La Da Productions (as Tommy Carlin)
James Horner	....	conductor (uncredited)

Transportation Department
Scott Irvine	....	transportation captain

Other crew
Patti Allen	....	production coordinator (as Patrice Allen)
Lorraine Baird	....	production accountant
Christian Brousselle	....	french adaptation: dubbed version
Paul Cameron	....	production executive
Sarah Grahame	....	script supervisor
Mary Kelly	....	location auditor

Production Companies

• EMI Television (for)
• Roger Gimbel Productions

Distributors

• Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS) (1982) (USA) (TV) (original airing)
• Marquee Entertainment Inc.
• Omnitem Communications (????) (France) (DVD)

Other Companies

• Consolidated Film Industries (CFI)  titles and opticals
• Marsha Kleinman & Associates  casting
• Panavision  panaflex camera and lenses by
• Producers' Sound Service  re-recording by (as Producers Sound Service)
• Sound FX  sound editing

Also Known As:

Runtime:

Brazil:92 min | USA:100 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Filming Locations:

Santa Monica, California, USA

Company:

EMI Television

Bette as she ages

As less and less opportunities arose for Bette Davis to make motion pictures in the 1970s and 1980s in lead roles, she appeared on more and more television films. A PIANO FOR MRS. CIMINO was one of these. The film was about a widow who was considered too old to run her husband's music store by her family. Davis gave considerable dignity to the occasionally frail Mrs. Cimino. While she was occasionally on the edge of disaster (we see her almost cheated by a con artist at one point), she usually shows she can handle most of the crisis she faces. It also turns out that the music store, which a conservator turns over to an acquaintance (Graham Jarvis) to run, is almost run into the ground by Jarvis and an inept nephew.

Before the film ends, Davis meets a new man of her own age whom she starts living with. Interestingly enough it is Keenan Wynn, who had appeared once before in a film with Davis - PHONE CALL FROM A STRANGER, made three decades earlier. There he was a happy-go-lucky salesman who could get on one's nerves due to his sense of humor, but who turned out to be a steady and reliable husband to Davis' unfaithful wife - after she gets crippled. Here Wynn is a decent fellow who plays the piano while Mrs. Cimino sings. They turn out to be a good couple together.

It was a good film for Davis to appear in - giving her a proper aging role that was meaningful. While her last great part, the blind sister in THE WHALES OF AUGUST, was still to come, had she stopped with A PIANO FOR MRS. CIMINO it would have been a lesser but respectable conclusion to her career.