The Typists (1971) (TV)

Director:

Glenn Jordan

Writer:

Murray Schisgal (play)

Plot:

Law student Paul Cunningham arrives for his first day at a job typing advertisements where he meets supervising typist Miss Sylvia Payton...

Plot Keywords:

Based On Play

Cast

Anne Jackson	...	Sylvia Payton
Eli Wallach	...	Paul Cunningham

Directed by
Glenn Jordan

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Murray Schisgal		play

Produced by
Morris Chapnick	....	associate producer
Lewis Freedman	....	producer

Cinematography by
Pete Burris
James Mayweather

Film Editing by
Ray Steele		(video)

Art Direction by
Michael Devine

Costume Design by
Gordon Brockway

Makeup Department
Frank Griffin	....	makeup artist

Production Management
John Yingling	....	production manager

Sound Department
Pete San Filipo Sr.	....	sound (as Peter San Filipo)

Camera and Electrical Department
Rick Bennewitz	....	camera operator
Larry Bentley	....	camera operator
Jeff Engel	....	lighting director
George LaFontaine	....	lighting designer
Jack Reader	....	camera operator

Editorial Department
Ray Steele	....	editor: video tape

Music Department
Mundell Lowe	....	musical director

Other crew
Gordon Baird	....	technical director
Nancy Funk	....	production assistant
Edith Hamlin	....	executive supervisor
Britt Leonard	....	stage manager
Joel Standard	....	associate director
Ann Woodall	....	assistant to producer

Production Companies

• Community Television of Southern California
• Hollywood Television Theatre
• KCET

Distributors

• Broadway Theatre Archive (USA) (video)
• Kultur (USA) (video)

Also Known As:

Runtime:

USA:56 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Company:

Community Television of Southern California

Incredible Performances from Eli Wallach and Anne Jackson

I believe this was first presented off-Broadway in New York and after it got such rave reviews, was re-created for PBS TV's Great Performances (I might be wrong with the program). But, it was wonderful. It shows why Wallach and Jackson are among the great acting duos in theater history like Hume Cronyn and Jessica Tandy, Ossie Davis and Ruby Dee, Alfred Lunt & Lynn Fontaine, even George Burns and Gracie Allen! The realism in these performances was especially striking. For anyone who has studied acting, THIS is where you want to end up, like these two: KNOWING YOUR CRAFT. Getting yourself INSIDE the character and becoming that person is the goal and that's exactly where Jackson and Wallach are in this play. They know how to use props, just HOW to react to a line and they are perfectly prepared to give just enough to bring these people to life. I studied at the HB Studio in NY and recognize their technique. It works!

Working every day can be a tough grind. In a small office like this one (two people) and a boss you never see in the inner office, you get to know one another very well. During the course of the movie (play) these two not-so-young adults, laugh, argue, share stories, have lunch, get involved in office politics, power-grabbing, grow older, and eventually, face hard realities as the years drift by, leaving them two old people, still working at the same job 40 years later. It teaches people in their 20s that youth is fleeting and before one realizes it, middled-age arrives and suddenly, out of nowhere, you're old. All the hopes and dreams of "becoming a lawyer" or "having my own business" are nothing but childhood dreams, unless you have adult support to attain those goals. This is a heartbreaking play -- joyous, sad, funny and thought-provoking. The whole effect here is like sitting in a theater.

I hope this is out on DVD. I have a good VHS copy from PBS, but I'd love to have it on DVD, hopefully with comments from my former neighbors, Wallach & Jackson, from the west 70s and 80s (I used to see them walking their dog when I lived up there).