''Desperate Characters'' is a 1971 American drama film produced, written, and directed by

Frank D. Gilroy Frank Daniel Gilroy (October 13, 1925 – September 12, 2015) was an American playwright, screenwriter, and film producer and director. He received the Tony Award for Best Play and the Pulitzer Prize for Drama for his play ''The Subject Was Roses' ...

, who based his screenplay on the 1970 novel of the same name by Paula Fox.

Plot

Sophie and Otto Bentwood are a middle-aged, middle class, childless couple trapped in a loveless marriage. He is an attorney, and she is a translator of books. Their existence is affected not only by their disintegrating relationship but by the threats of urban crime and vandalism that surround them everywhere they turn, leaving them feeling paranoid, scared, and desperately helpless. The film details their fragile emotional and psychological states as they interact with each other and their friends.

Cast

Shirley MacLaine Shirley MacLaine (born Shirley MacLean Beaty, April 24, 1934) is an American actress, author, and former dancer. Known for her portrayals of quirky, strong-willed and eccentric women, MacLaine has received numerous accolades over her seven-dec ...

as Sophie Bentwood *

Kenneth Mars Kenneth Mars (April 4, 1935 – February 12, 2011) was an American actor. He appeared in two Mel Brooks films: as the deranged Nazi playwright Franz Liebkind in '' The Producers'' (1967) and Police Inspector Hans Wilhelm Friedrich Kemp in ''Young ...

as Otto Bentwood * Sada Thompson as Claire *

Jack Somack Jack Somack (September 1, 1918 – August 24, 1983) was an American chemical engineer, and actor. He is best remembered for his appearance in the Alka-Seltzer "spicy meatball" television commercial. Life and career Somack was born in Chicago ...

as Leon *

Gerald S. O'Loughlin Gerald Stuart O'Loughlin Jr. (December 23, 1921 – July 31, 2015) was an American television, stage, and film actor and director who was primarily known for playing tough-talking and rough-looking characters. He is best known for Ed Ryker on ''T ...

as Charlie *Chris Gampel as Mike Holstein *Mary Alan Hokanson as Flo Holstein *Robert Bauer as Young Man *

Carol Kane Carolyn Laurie Kane (born June 18, 1952) is an American actress. She became known in the 1970s and 1980s in films such as '' Hester Street'' (for which she received an Academy Award nomination for Best Actress), ''Dog Day Afternoon'', ''Annie ...

as Young Girl * Michael Higgins as Francis Early *Michael McAloney as Raconteur *Wallace Rooney as Man on Subway * Rose Gregorio as Ruth *Elena Karam as Saleslady *Nick Smith as The Caller *Robert Delbert as Hospital Attendant *

Shauneille Perry Shauneille Gantt Perry Ryder (July 26, 1929 – June 9, 2022) was an American stage director and playwright. She was one of the first African-American women to direct off-Broadway. Biography Shauneille Perry was born on July 26, 1929, in Chicag ...

as Woman Doctor *

Robert Bauer Robert F. Bauer (born February 22, 1952) is an American attorney who served as White House Counsel under President Barack Obama. Early life and education Born in New York City into a Jewish family, Bauer graduated from Phillips Exeter Academy ...

as Young Man *Gonzalee Ford as Nurse *

Patrick McVey Patrick McVey (March 17, 1910 – July 6, 1973) was an American actor who starred in three television series between 1950 and 1961: ''Big Town'', '' Boots and Saddles'', and ''Manhunt''. Early life McVey was born in Fort Wayne, Indiana. His ...

as Mr. Haynes *L.J. Davis as Tom

Production

Sir

Lew Grade Lew Grade, Baron Grade, (born Lev Winogradsky; 25 December 1906 – 13 December 1998) was a British media proprietor and impresario. Originally a dancer, and later a talent agent, Grade's interest in television production began in 1954 ...

had signed Shirley MacLaine to make a TV series ''

Shirley's World ''Shirley's World'' is a television series aired first by ABC during the 1971–72 television season. The sitcom was co-produced by the British ITC Entertainment and American producer Sheldon Leonard, with English producer-director Ray Aust ...

''. She asked Grade to fund the film which she did for minimal payment and a share of the profits; Grade agreed. He says the budget was so low he managed to recoup his money.

Critical reception

In his review in ''The New York Times'',

Vincent Canby Vincent Canby (July 27, 1924 – October 15, 2000) was an American film and theatre critic who served as the chief film critic for ''The New York Times'' from 1969 until the early 1990s, then its chief theatre critic from 1994 until his death in ...

wrote "I must confess that ''Desperate Characters'' left me, if not unmoved, then unenriched. It's as if its cheerlessness had been bottled straight, without the additive that transforms recognizable experience into art...In every respect, the screenplay is a vast improvement over Gilroy's

Pulitzer Prize The Pulitzer Prize () is an award for achievements in newspaper, magazine, online journalism, literature, and musical composition within the United States. It was established in 1917 by provisions in the will of Joseph Pulitzer, who had made h ...

-winning ''

The Subject Was Roses ''The Subject Was Roses'' is a Pulitzer Prize-winning 1964 play written by Frank D. Gilroy, who also adapted the work in 1968 for a film with the same title. Background The play premiered on Broadway at the Royale Theatre on May 25, 1964, s ...

''. Its literary style, however, is similar, and it's a style to which I...find it difficult to respond. His characters talk in great chunks of theatrical exchanges, and monologues, which not only deny the splendid accuracy of the situations and the settings, but also somehow make me suspicious of the integrity of the characters. This is especially true of the supporting characters, who are always telling us too much, remembering too many details out of the past, nudging us for sympathy and never letting us discover them at our own speed...I have a feeling that the director has perfectly served the writer. That is to say that Gilroy has realized the movie he intended to make. I wish I liked it more." Roger Ebert of the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' described it as "a terribly interesting and well-acted movie that does not deserve some of the criticism it's getting...Kenneth Mars offers a deeply felt, complex performance...Shirley MacLaine, as his wife, achieves one of the great performances of the year. She proves that we were right, when we saw her in films like '' The Apartment'', to know that she really had it all, could go all the way with a serious role. Watching Miss MacLaine and Mars work together is enough to justify the movie, whatever you think of its urban paranoia." ''TV Guide'' rates it 3½ out of a possible four stars and calls it a "well-written if somewhat stagey character study

ith The Ith () is a ridge in Germany's Central Uplands which is up to 439 m high. It lies about 40 km southwest of Hanover and, at 22 kilometres, is the longest line of crags in North Germany. Geography Location The Ith is immediatel ...

one of Maclaine's best performances."''TV Guide'' review
/ref> Stanley Kauffmann of ''The New Republic'' called this "a film of authenticity, of delicately realized intangibles: small-scale about large issues, truthful without settling for honest-to-God TV fact." He lists it as a "top film worth seeing" in late 1971. 9/25/71, Vol. 165 Issue 13, p24-34, 2p

Awards and nominations

21st Berlin International Film Festival The 21st annual Berlin International Film Festival was held from 26 June – 6 July 1971. The ''Young Filmmakers Forum'' (in 1987 renamed ''International Forum for New Cinema'') section was introduced at the festival. The Golden Bear was awarded ...

: ** Silver Bear for Best Actress (Shirley MacLaine, co-winner with

Simone Signoret Simone Signoret (; born Simone Henriette Charlotte Kaminker; 25 March 1921 – 30 September 1985) was a French actress. She received various accolades, including an Academy Award, three BAFTA Awards, a César Award, a Primetime Emmy Award, a ...

) ** Silver Bear for an outstanding single achievement (winner) ** Silver Bear for Best Screenplay (winner) ** UNICRIT Award (Frank D. Gilroy, winner) ** Golden Bear for Best Picture (nominee)

References

External links

''Desperate Characters'' at the Internet Movie Database
* {{Frank D. Gilroy 1971 films 1971 drama films Films based on American novels Films set in New York City Films directed by Frank D. Gilroy ITC Entertainment films Paramount Pictures films American drama films 1970s English-language films 1970s American films