Overnight Sensation (1984)

After housewife Eve Peregrine writes a sudden hit novel, her husband George, a successful fashion photographer, finds it difficult to deal with the attention being showered on her. His ... See full summary »

Director:

Jon Bloom

Writer:

Craig Buck (screenplay)

Stars:

Louise Fletcher, Robert Loggia, Shari Belafonte

Nominated for 1 Oscar.

Cast

Cast overview:
Louise Fletcher	...	Eve Peregrine - 'E.K. Hamilton'
Robert Loggia	...	George Peregrine
Shari Belafonte	...	Daphne (as Shari Belafonte-Harper)

Storyline

After housewife Eve Peregrine writes a sudden hit novel, her husband George, a successful fashion photographer, finds it difficult to deal with the attention being showered on her. His difficulty in getting through the book increases when he begins to suspect that the steamy affair in its plot is drawn from her real life.

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Plot Keywords:

housewife | novel | photographer | lawyer | author | 

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Genres:

Short | Drama

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

October 1984 (USA)

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Company Credits

Technical Specs

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Connections

References The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson (1962)

User Reviews

Terrific adaptation of an excellent Somerset Maugham story

"Overnight Sensation" is a terrific short film that reworks a Somerset Maugham story ("The Colonel's Lady") and updates it from England of the late 1930s to 1980s Southern California, while still managing to faithfully convey the essence of the original Maugham text. In this version Robert Loggia plays a successful, hotshot photographer (the part of the Colonel in the text) and Louise Fletcher his devoted wife (the Colonel's Lady). Just as in the original story, the wife begins to experience success and her husband struggles to acknowledge or believe it. What makes the film work so well is the combination of excellent performances by the actors, a solid & inventive updating of the original storyline, and assured direction (it makes me wonder why this is Jon Bloom's only director credit). Finally, the denouement (while different than Maugham's original) is creative, yet effective & bittersweet. Highly recommended viewing that's much more satisfying than that other Somerset Maugham adaptation from around the same time (the one starring Bill Murray).