Funny Lady (1975)

Story of singer Fanny Brice's stormy relationship with showman Billy Rose.

Director:

Herbert Ross

Writers:

Jay Presson Allen (screenplay), Arnold Schulman (screenplay)

Stars:

Barbra Streisand, James Caan, Omar Sharif

Nominated for 5 Oscars. Another 6 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Barbra Streisand	...	Fanny Brice
James Caan	...	Billy Rose
Omar Sharif	...	Nicky Arnstein / Nick Arnstein
Roddy McDowall	...	Bobby
Ben Vereen	...	Bert Robbins
Carole Wells	...	Norma Butler
Larry Gates	...	Bernard Baruch
Eugene Troobnick	...	Ned (as Gene Troobnick)
Heidi O'Rourke	...	Eleanor Holm
Royce Wallace	...	Adele
Lilyan Chauvin	...	Mademoiselle
Samantha C. Kirkeby	...	Fran (as Samantha Huffaker)
Matt Emery	...	Buck Bolton
Joshua Shelley	...	Painter
Cliff Norton	...	Stage Manager

Storyline

The continuing story of Fanny Brice following that depicted in Funny Girl (1968) is presented. An established star on Broadway as a headliner for the Ziegfeld Follies, Fanny and the rest of the world are hitting difficult times entering into the 1930s. Her marriage to Nicky Arnstein, who she still loves is ending in divorce, and even Florenz Ziegfeld Jr. is having trouble coming up with money to continue to produce the Follies. Along comes brash nightclub owner, song lyricist and wannabe impresario Billy Rose, who says he can raise the money and has the material to produce his own revue, which he wants to star Fanny. Fanny is both attracted to and repelled by Billy because of his chutzpah, his stubbornness and knowing that underneath his outer veneer is the soul of a true hustler... much like she was when she was first starting out and much like she still is now. Through their professional trials and tribulations, they slowly start to fall for each other. But Fanny admits that Nicky ...

---

Plot Keywords:

nightclub | singer | 1930s | love | songwriter | 

---

Taglines:

Streisand & Caan - How Lucky Can You Get!

---

Genres:

Biography | Comedy | Drama | Musical | Romance

---

Certificate:

PG

Details

Official Sites:

Sony Movie Channel [United States]

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

15 March 1975 (USA)

Also Known As:

Naljakas daam

Filming Locations:

Pan-Pacific Auditorium - 7600 W. Beverly Boulevard, Fairfax, Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Gross USA:

$40,055,897

Company Credits

Production Co:

Columbia Pictures Corporation, Rastar Pictures, Vista

Technical Specs

Runtime:

136 min

Sound Mix:

4-Track Stereo

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor) (uncredited)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Bert Robbins (Ben Vereen) is a composite of Bert Williams and Bill Robinson.

---

Goofs

In the rainy scene where they are leaving the theatre, there are signs posted about "Crazy Quilt" in its 5th month. The show only had 79 performances from mid-May to July, 1931.

---

Quotes

Billy Rose: [referring to having borrowed money from the mob to finance his show] They're gonna build me into the West Side Highway.
Fanny Brice: That's the only good news I've heard tonight.
Billy Rose: I'm not kidding.
Fanny Brice: Neither am I.

---

Connections

Follows Funny Girl (1968)

---

Soundtracks

Blind Date
(uncredited)
Written by John Kander and Fred Ebb
Performed by Barbra Streisand

User Reviews

Not bad but something's missing

Okay sequel to the wonderful Funny Girl is missing several key ingredients that hold it back from the level of the first film. The most important would seem to be director William Wyler, who kept the first film moving even at an extended length this one plods here and there. The supporting characters here aren't as enjoyable or fleshed out as in the first, where is Kay Medford's wonderful mother? Most of the music is excellent, the problem with most is the staging. We only get snippets of many of them like "More Than You Know" and "Am I Blue" and several of the ones we do get full versions of are muddled, the worst is "It's Gonna Be a Great Day". Barbra gives a great rendition of the song but it's drowned mostly in long shots and the sound of the shuffling feet of the surrounding dancers. "Let's Hear It For Me" is a blatant ripoff of "Don't Rain on My Parade". There is a haunting version of "If I Love Again" though. Caan is alright as Billy Rose but he and Babs share little chemistry and he mostly shouts his part hardly making the most romantic leading man. As for Streisand, who made this under duress from a contract obligation, she is of course loaded with talent but seems brittle and haughty, two things Fanny Brice never was. The production design is excellent and some of the costumes are eye popping, the feathered dress in itself is amazing, but they are dressing up an average affair. Not a waste of time just don't go into it expecting the high quality of the first film.