Candy (1968)

Candy Christian, an innocent high-schooler, encounters numerous colorful characters and humorous sexual situations while attempting to find meaning in life.

Director:

Christian Marquand

Writers:

Buck Henry (screenplay), Terry Southern (novel)

Stars:

Ewa Aulin, Richard Burton, Charles Aznavour

Nominated for 1 Golden Globe.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Ewa Aulin	...	Candy Christian
Charles Aznavour	...	Hunchback Juggler
Marlon Brando	...	Grindl
Richard Burton	...	MacPhisto
James Coburn	...	Dr. A.B. Krankeit
John Huston	...	Dr. Arnold Dunlap
Walter Matthau	...	Gen. R.A. Smight
Ringo Starr	...	Emmanuel
John Astin	...	T.M. Christian / Jack Christian
Elsa Martinelli	...	Livia
Sugar Ray Robinson	...	Zero
Anita Pallenberg	...	Nurse Bullock
Lea Padovani	...	Silvia Fontegliulo
Florinda Bolkan	...	Lolita
Marilù Tolo	...	Conchita

Storyline

Candy Christian is an innocent young girl when she first hears MacPhisto, an alcoholic Welsh poet, talk of love and self-sacrifice. Candy narrowly escapes MacPhisto's attempt to rape her, only to succumb to her father's Mexican gardener, Emmanuel. When her father catches her with the gardener, he banishes her to a trip with his twin brother, Uncle Jack, and Jack's wife Aunt Livia, who are headed for New York City. As Candy makes her way to the airport, Emmanuel's three sisters attack her because she has corrupted their brother. Because of Candy, Emmanuel has now forsaken the priesthood. During the scuffle, Candy's father takes a blow to the head, resulting in a serious head injury. Candy nearly gives in to General R.A. Smight on the plane in exchange for a blood transfusion for her father. In New York City, an ego-maniacal brain surgeon Dr. A.B. Krankeit operates on her father, while Uncle Jack pursues his own operation on Candy. When Candy bashes him with a bedpan, Uncle Jack is put ...

---

Plot Keywords:

naive girl | seduction | mini skirt | based on novel | female nudity | 

---

Taglines:

She's only faithful to the book.

---

Genres:

Adventure | Comedy | Fantasy

---

Did You Know?

Trivia

This movie was entirely financed thanks to Marlon Brando's participation. Director Christian Marquand and Brando had known each other for a long time and were good friends. Brando agreed to do this movie as a favor to his friend. Marquand had helped with negotiations with French Premier Georges Pompidou in his purchase of the Tahitian island of Tetiaroa. He didn't particularly like the script but he had fun shooting his sequence. Then other stars agreed to play a part in the movie and it was even easier to convince the producers.

---

Quotes

General R.A. Smight: Who were they, hm? I couldn't see much down there but I could see enough to tell that they were scum. Were they Albanians?
Jack Christian: Oh, no, no, no it was just a personal thing.
General R.A. Smight: I got a nose for Albanians. They looked like Albanians to me.
Jack Christian: No, no, they were just some Mexicans.

---

Alternate Versions

The version available to stream from Shout! Factory TV is much shorter, lasting only 1hr 40min. It has been heavily edited to shorten or remove many of the sexually explicit scenes and nudity, sexually suggestive conversation, and some other fowl language. It is missing about 15min total from the original version.

---

Connections

Remake of Candide (1962)

---

Soundtracks

Magic Carpet Ride
Written by John Kay (uncredited) and Rushton Moreve (uncredited)
Performed by Steppenwolf

User Reviews

This film needs more consideration than it has been accorded.

I saw this film over the weekend on Showtime for the first time since I saw it in 1969. My memories of the film were sketchy and after it was over, I logged on here to find serious discussion of it so I could interpret some of the symbolism in the movie. What I found instead was inadequate discussion of what was good about the movie. Admittedly, it was over the top in a way that was typical of "alternative" movies in the late 60s, but there were some very interesting points that most people seem to overlook. Also open for dismissal seems to be the final sequence in the film where Candy walks through a field and passes each person she encountered during the movie. At the beginning of this sequence, she is wearing a pristine white sheet as a toga, but by the end of the stroll her sheet is covered in an ornate flower design. Almost throwaway bits during the stroll include Walter Matthau's army general as Don Quixote, the "Fountain of Youth" injections being given by James Coburn and John Astin's two characters being revealed as two aspects of the same. This movie seems quite capable of generating some serious discussion other than the obvious attack on its excesses and the vapid acting of the lead actress.

Details

Country:

Italy France USA

Language:

English Welsh

Release Date:

17 December 1968 (USA)

Also Known As:

Candy - hun er så fræk

Filming Locations:

Fort Wadsworth, Staten Island, New York City, New York, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$3,000,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Dear Film Produzione, Les Films Corona, Selmur Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

124 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1