The Sandpiper (1965)

A free-spirited single mother forms a connection with the wedded headmaster of an Episcopalian boarding school in Monterey, California.

Director:

Vincente Minnelli

Writers:

Martin Ransohoff (story), Irene Kamp (adaptation)

Stars:

Elizabeth Taylor, Richard Burton, Eva Marie Saint

Won 1 Oscar. Another 2 wins & 3 nominations.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Elizabeth Taylor	...	Laura Reynolds
Richard Burton	...	Dr. Edward Hewitt
Eva Marie Saint	...	Claire Hewitt
Charles Bronson	...	Cos Erickson
Robert Webber	...	Ward Hendricks
James Edwards	...	Larry Brant
Torin Thatcher	...	Judge Thompson
Tom Drake	...	Walter Robinson
Douglas Henderson	...	Phil Sutcliff (as Doug Henderson)
Morgan Mason	...	Danny Reynolds

Storyline

Twenty-something Laura Reynolds (Dame Elizabeth Taylor) is a free spirit who questions social conventions, laws, and regulations. A struggling artist, she lives in a secluded beach-side cabin in Big Sur with her nine-year-old illegitimate son, Danny (Morgan Mason), on who she has instilled her values. Because of this questioning of convention, Laura has decided to home school Danny. Also because of this questioning of the law, Danny runs into some legal problems, and as such is court ordered to be sent to San Simeon, a Christian school in Monterey, California. This order is against Laura's wishes. The school's headmaster is Dr. Reverend Edward Hewitt (Richard Burton), who tries to convince Laura that San Simeon is not the prison she probably believes it to be. Married for twenty-one years to his faithful wife Claire (Eva Marie Saint), Edward has become more a fund-raiser at all cost (for a new chapel) rather than an educator or Priest. Despite their differences, Laura and Edward begin...

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Plot Keywords:

school | unwed mother | big sur | deer | love | 

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Taglines:

AN ADULT LOVE STORY

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Genres:

Drama

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Certificate:

TV-14

Did You Know?

Trivia

Charles Bronson previously played a sculptor in the very different "House of Wax."

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Goofs

Claire Hewitt, talking to her husband about Danny, says, "He was reciting the Prologue to Chaucer's Canterbury Tales in Old English." The language Chaucer wrote in, and that the boy recites in, is Middle English, not Old English.

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Quotes

Dr. Edward Hewitt: I was talking to our architect about you. That is to say, I was talking about you and our new chapel. The one we're going to build. It calls for two stained-glass windows and it occurred to me we might try for something indigenous to this particular area. I mean, the mountains, the sea, whatever it is that makes this part of the world unique. That would seem to call for a local artist and I was... I was thinking of you.
Laura Reynolds: Well, but I am an atheist. How could I design something that glorifies a ...
[...]

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Connections

Referenced in Scrooged (1988)

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Soundtracks

There's a Wideness in God's Mercy
(uncredited)
Lyrics by Frederick William Faber
Music by Lizzie Shove Tourjée
Sung by the boys at the final church service

User Reviews

The Soap-Wiper

Richard Burton dials down the angst quotient from his previous year's role as a defrocked priest in "Night of the Iguana", and Elizabeth Taylor begins warming up for her later role as Kate in "Taming of the Shrew". The music and the scenery make the film compelling enough to watch, but the psychological and theological ramblings are strictly for the soap lover. Eva Marie Saint, as the hurt wife, has a few good scenes but not nearly enough to salvage the drama. And it's fun to see a young Charles Bronson in a beatnik role. The whole effort ranks several notches above "The VIP's" and other Burton-Taylor vehicles but all in all, "The Sandpiper" is a long boring day at the beach.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

23 June 1965 (USA)

Also Known As:

Flight of the Sandpiper

Filming Locations:

Monterey, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$5,300,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Filmways Pictures, Venice Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

117 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Color:

Color (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1