''Loving'' is a 1970 American
comedy-drama
Comedy drama, also known by the portmanteau ''dramedy'', is a genre of dramatic works that combines elements of comedy and drama. The modern, scripted-television examples tend to have more humorous bits than simple comic relief seen in a typical ...
film released by
Columbia Pictures
Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. is an American film production studio that is a member of the Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group, a division of Sony Pictures Entertainment, which is one of the Big Five studios and a subsidiary of the mu ...
and directed by
Irvin Kershner
Irvin Kershner (born Isadore Kershner; April 29, 1923November 27, 2010) was an American film director, actor, and producer of film and television.
He gained notice early in his career as a filmmaker for directing quirky, independent drama films ...
. It is based on the novel ''Brooks Wilson Ltd.'' written by
pulp magazine
Pulp magazines (also referred to as "the pulps") were inexpensive fiction magazines that were published from 1896 to the late 1950s. The term "pulp" derives from the cheap wood pulp paper on which the magazines were printed. In contrast, magazine ...
illustrator
John McDermott under his pen name
J.M. Ryan. The movie starred
George Segal
George Segal Jr. (February 13, 1934 – March 23, 2021) was an American actor. He became popular in the 1960s and 1970s for playing both dramatic and comedic roles. After first rising to prominence with roles in acclaimed films such as ''Ship o ...
in the lead role of a philandering illustrator and
Eva Marie Saint
Eva Marie Saint (born July 4, 1924) is an American actress of film, theatre and television. In a career spanning over 70 years, she has won an Academy Award and a Primetime Emmy Award, alongside nominations for a Golden Globe Award and two Brit ...
as his wife. The cast included
Sterling Hayden
Sterling Walter Hayden (born Sterling Relyea Walter; March 26, 1916 – May 23, 1986) was an American actor, author, sailor and decorated Marine Corps officer and an Office of Strategic Services' agent during World War II. A leading man for mos ...
,
David Doyle
David (; , "beloved one") (traditional spelling), , ''Dāwūd''; grc-koi, Δαυΐδ, Dauíd; la, Davidus, David; gez , ዳዊት, ''Dawit''; xcl, Դաւիթ, ''Dawitʿ''; cu, Давíдъ, ''Davidŭ''; possibly meaning "beloved one". w ...
,
Keenan Wynn
Francis Xavier Aloysius James Jeremiah Keenan Wynn (July 27, 1916 – October 14, 1986) was an American character actor. His expressive face was his stock-in-trade; and though he rarely carried the lead role, he had prominent billing in mos ...
,
Roy Scheider
Roy Richard Scheider (; November 10, 1932 – February 10, 2008) was an American actor and amateur boxer. Described by AllMovie as "one of the most unique and distinguished of all Hollywood actors", he gained fame for his leading and supporting ...
, and
Sherry Lansing
Sherry Lansing (born Sherry Lee Duhl; July 31, 1944) is an American philanthropist and retired film studio executive. She is a former CEO of Paramount Pictures and president of production at 20th Century Fox. In 1996, she became the first woman ...
. Broadway actress
Betsy von Furstenberg
Countess Elizabeth Caroline Maria Agatha Felicitas Therese von Fürstenberg-Herdringen (August 16, 1931 – April 21, 2015), known as Betsy von Furstenberg, was a German-born American actress who starred in several Broadway plays, films and tele ...
has a small uncredited role, only one of two motion pictures she ever appeared in.
Plot
Brooks Wilson is a busy man, juggling his work as a commercial artist with a marriage to Selma, and two young daughters. He also has a girlfriend on the side, Grace, who wants him to commit to her, but he cannot do it.
Brooks is trying desperately to land an elusive account from Lepridon, but this is seeming harder to achieve than he thought. One evening they attend a party at a grand Connecticut home. Feeling his life is falling apart, Brooks seduces flirty Nelly, wife of his associate Will. They go to a children's playhouse outside the main house, and their indiscretions are caught on closed-circuit television. Selma and Will are devastated. Brooks and Will fall into a fist-fight. After the commotion dies down, the harried Brooks tells Selma that he finally landed the Lepridon account. She smacks him with her handbag, and they stare at each other in silence, seeing their marriage honestly for the first time.
Cast
*
George Segal
George Segal Jr. (February 13, 1934 – March 23, 2021) was an American actor. He became popular in the 1960s and 1970s for playing both dramatic and comedic roles. After first rising to prominence with roles in acclaimed films such as ''Ship o ...
as Brooks Wilson
*
Eva Marie Saint
Eva Marie Saint (born July 4, 1924) is an American actress of film, theatre and television. In a career spanning over 70 years, she has won an Academy Award and a Primetime Emmy Award, alongside nominations for a Golden Globe Award and two Brit ...
as Selma Wilson
*
Sterling Hayden
Sterling Walter Hayden (born Sterling Relyea Walter; March 26, 1916 – May 23, 1986) was an American actor, author, sailor and decorated Marine Corps officer and an Office of Strategic Services' agent during World War II. A leading man for mos ...
as Mr. Lepridon
*
Keenan Wynn
Francis Xavier Aloysius James Jeremiah Keenan Wynn (July 27, 1916 – October 14, 1986) was an American character actor. His expressive face was his stock-in-trade; and though he rarely carried the lead role, he had prominent billing in mos ...
as Edward
*Nancie Phillips as Nelly Parks
*Janis Young as Grace
*
David Doyle
David (; , "beloved one") (traditional spelling), , ''Dāwūd''; grc-koi, Δαυΐδ, Dauíd; la, Davidus, David; gez , ዳዊት, ''Dawit''; xcl, Դաւիթ, ''Dawitʿ''; cu, Давíдъ, ''Davidŭ''; possibly meaning "beloved one". w ...
as Will Parks
*
Paul Sparer as Marve
*Andrew Duncan as Willy Wulfman
*
Sherry Lansing
Sherry Lansing (born Sherry Lee Duhl; July 31, 1944) is an American philanthropist and retired film studio executive. She is a former CEO of Paramount Pictures and president of production at 20th Century Fox. In 1996, she became the first woman ...
as Susan
*
Roland Winters
Roland Winters (born Roland Winternitz; November 22, 1904 – October 22, 1989)DeLong, Thomas A. (1996). ''Radio Stars: An Illustrated Biographical Dictionary of 953 Performers, 1920 through 1960''. McFarland & Company, Inc. . P. 287. was an Ame ...
as Tom "Plommie" Plommer
*
Edgar Stehli
Edgar Stehli (July 12, 1884 – July 25, 1973) was a French-born American actor of the stage, the screen and television.
Early years
The son of an English mother and a German-Swiss father, Stehli was born in Lyon, France. The family moved to Ne ...
as Mr. Kramm
*Calvin Holt as Danny
*Mina Kolb as Diane
*
Diana Douglas
Diana Love Webster (née Dill; formerly Douglas and Darrid; January 22, 1923 – July 3, 2015) was an American actress who was known for her marriage to actor Kirk Douglas from 1943 until their divorce in 1951. She was the mother of Michael and ...
as Mrs. Shavelson
*
David Ford as Al
*James Manis as Charles
*Mart Hulswit as Ted
*
John Fink
John Fink (born February 11, 1940) is an American film and television actor.
In the 1970–1971 the NBC sitcom '' Nancy'', Fink was cast as an Iowa veterinarian, Dr. Adam Hudson, who marries the daughter of the President of the United States. ...
as Brad
*William Duffy as Jay
*Irving Selbst as Benny
*Martin Harvey Friedberg as Roger
*Lorraine Cullen as Lizzie Wilson
*Cheryl Bucher as Hannah Wilson
*
Ed Crowley as Mr. Shavelson
*
Roy Scheider
Roy Richard Scheider (; November 10, 1932 – February 10, 2008) was an American actor and amateur boxer. Described by AllMovie as "one of the most unique and distinguished of all Hollywood actors", he gained fame for his leading and supporting ...
as Skip Geiser
*
Sab Shimono as Byron
*Eileen O'Neill as Cindy
*Diane Davies as Barbie
Critical reception
The film has generally been well received by critics. Steven Scheuer found the film "quietly intense" and "humorous, human, and insightful", but found the film's final scene "incongruous in its farcical mayhem," (Scheuer, 1990: 641). On the other hand, Leonard Maltin found the film's climax "superb" and praised the director on his "great feeling for day-to-day detail
f the characters' lives (Maltin, 1991: 730).
Roger Ebert found the film "an amusing and intelligent comedy of manners" (Ebert, 1970) with a great central performance by George Segal. Clive Hirschhorn noted that while the film was "well-observed", and was truly "Segal's film", it was still "uneven" in content (Hirschhorn, 1989: 285). Perhaps the review that most sums up the film comes from Leslie Halliwell, "smart New York sex comedy, typical of many but better than most," (Halliwell, 2000: 496).
See also
*
List of American films of 1970
This is a list of American films released in 1970.
''Patton'' won the Academy Award for Best Picture.
The top-grossing film at the U.S. box office was ''Airport''.
__TOC__
A–B
C–F
G–I
J–M
N–S
T–Z
See also
* 1970 in ...
References
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External links
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{{Irvin Kershner
1970 films
1970 drama films
American drama films
Columbia Pictures films
1970s English-language films
Films based on American novels
Films directed by Irvin Kershner
Films set in Connecticut
Films set in New York City
Films scored by Bernardo Segall
1970s American films