Barefoot in the Park (1967)

Paul, a conservative young lawyer, marries the vivacious Corie. Their highly passionate relationship descends into comical discord in a five-flight New York City walk-up apartment.

Director:

Gene Saks

Writers:

Neil Simon (play), Neil Simon (screenplay)

Stars:

Robert Redford, Jane Fonda, Charles Boyer

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 6 nominations.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Robert Redford	...	Paul Bratter
Jane Fonda	...	Corie Bratter
Charles Boyer	...	Victor Velasco
Mildred Natwick	...	Ethel Banks
Herb Edelman	...	Harry Pepper (as Herbert Edelman)
Mabel Albertson	...	Harriet
Fritz Feld	...	Restaurant Proprietor
James Stone	...	Delivery Man (as James F. Stone)
Ted Hartley	...	Frank

Storyline

New Yorkers Paul Bratter and Corie Bratter née Banks have just gotten married. He is a stuffed shirt just starting his career as a lawyer. She is an independently minded free spirit who prides herself on doing the illogical purely out of a sense of adventure, such acts as walking through Washington Square Park barefoot when it's 17°F outside. Their six day honeymoon at the Plaza Hotel shows that they can get to know each other easily in the biblical sense. But they will see if they can get to know each other in their real life when they move into their first apartment, a cozy (in other words, small), slightly broken down top floor unit in a five story walk-up. While Corie joyfully bounds up and down the stairs, Paul, always winded after the fact, hates the fact of having to walk up the six flights of stairs, if one includes the stairs that comprise the outside front stoop. Beyond the issues with the apartment itself, Paul and Corie will have to deal with an odd assortment of neighbors...

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Plot Keywords:

apartment | lawyer | conservative | new york city | honeymoon | 

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Taglines:

Broadway's barest, rarest, unsquarest love play

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Genres:

Comedy | Romance

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Certificate:

G

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

25 May 1967 (USA)

Also Known As:

Barfuß im Park

Filming Locations:

111 Waverly Place, Greenwich Village, Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA

Box Office

Gross USA:

$19,994,515

Company Credits

Production Co:

Wallis-Hazen, Nancy Enterprises Inc. (I)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

106 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Actor Marlo Thomas, who starred in the London stage production, campaigned for the movie lead, but was unsuccessful.

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Goofs

When Paul falls over the park bench, his position then changes when seen in the close up.

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Quotes

Victor Velasco: So what are you, a folk singer?
Corie Bratter: No, a wife!

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Connections

Referenced in Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Brute Man (1996)

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Soundtracks

Shama, Shama
Written by Danny Gould, Neil Simon and Luben Balabanoff

User Reviews

Romantic comedy as lightweight as they come.

This film version of one of Neil Simon's early Broadway hits coasts on the likability of its cast and a lot of classic Simon banter. The gossamer-thin plot, about newlyweds who find out they don't know each other as well as they thought, is only a framework to hang a bunch of running gags about drafty New York flats, endless stairs, oddball neighbors and the like.

Laughs are plentiful, although as in the rest of Simon's work, one is acutely aware that nobody is so quick with the one-liners in real life.

Boy, were they young back then! Robert Redford underplays charmingly as Paul Bratter, up-and-coming lawyer and all-round stick-in-the-mud; Jane Fonda is his new bride Corie, sexy, fun-loving and relentlessly cute to the borderline of annoyance. When you find her schtick getting a little hard to take, concentrate instead on veteran character actors Charles Boyer and Mildred Natwick, who lend spirit and class to their comedic roles.

Perhaps the direction by Gene Saks is a tad stagebound (he directed the Broadway version), and the cinematography a bit muddy, but Neal Hefti contributes another sprightly score that does a lot to compensate. Overall, an undemanding, undeniable pleasure.