''The Gazebo'' is a 1959 American
black comedy
Black comedy, also known as dark comedy, morbid humor, or gallows humor, is a style of comedy that makes light of subject matter that is generally considered taboo, particularly subjects that are normally considered serious or painful to discus ...
CinemaScope
CinemaScope is an anamorphic lens series used, from 1953 to 1967, and less often later, for shooting widescreen films that, crucially, could be screened in theatres using existing equipment, albeit with a lens adapter. Its creation in 1953 by ...
film about a married couple who are being blackmailed. It was based on the 1958
play of the same name
Play most commonly refers to:
* Play (activity), an activity done for enjoyment
* Play (theatre), a work of drama
Play may refer also to:
Computers and technology
* Google Play, a digital content service
* Play Framework, a Java framework
* Pla ...
by
Alec Coppel
Alec Coppel (17 September 1907 – 22 January 1972) was an Australian-born screenwriter, novelist and playwright. He spent the majority of his career in London and Hollywood, specialising in light thrillers, mysteries and sex comedies. He is best ...
and directed by
George Marshall
George Catlett Marshall Jr. (December 31, 1880 – October 16, 1959) was an American army officer and statesman. He rose through the United States Army to become Chief of Staff of the US Army under Presidents Franklin D. Roosevelt and Harry ...
.
Helen Rose
Helen Rose (February 2, 1904 – November 9, 1985) was an American costume designer and clothing designer who spent the bulk of her career with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.
Career
Helen Rose was born on February 2, 1904 to William Bromberg and Ray Bobbs ...
was nominated for the
Academy Award for Best Costume Design
The Academy Award for Best Costume Design is one of the Academy Awards presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) for achievement in film costume design.
The award was first given in 1949, for films made in 194 ...
, Black-and-White. According to MGM financial records, the film earned $1,860,000 in North America and $1,450,000 elsewhere, making a profit of $628,000. It is also the last film released by MGM in the 1950s.
Plot
Television mystery writer and director Elliott Nash is blackmailed by Dan Shelby over nude photographs of his wife Nell, taken when she was 18 years old. Elliott does not inform Nell, the star of a Broadway musical, but works feverishly to pay off the increasing demands.
Finally, Elliott decides that murder is the only way out. He obtains advice from his friend, District Attorney Harlow Edison (
Carl Reiner
Carl Reiner (March 20, 1922 – June 29, 2020) was an American actor, stand-up comedian, director, screenwriter, and author whose career spanned seven decades. He was the recipient of many awards and honors, including 11 Primetime Emmy Awards, ...
), who thinks he is helping with a mystery plot. When a figure presumed to be the blackmailer shows up at the Nashes' suburban home to collect his latest payment, Elliott shoots him, wraps the body in bathroom shower curtains, then hides it in the concrete foundation being poured for the antique gazebo his wife has bought. He struggles to keep Sam Thorpe, the contractor hired to install the structure, and Miss Chandler, the real estate agent trying to sell the Nashes' house, from stumbling across his scheme.
Edison brings news that Shelby has been shot dead in his hotel room, leaving Elliott wondering who he murdered. Nell's name is on a list of blackmail victims belonging to Shelby, so she and Elliott are both suspects. Shelby had approached Nell also, but she felt that if the photos were published, the publicity would be good for her. The Nashes are cleared when the murder weapon is found to belong to Joe the Black, an associate of Shelby's who collected payments. Police Lieutenant Jenkins realizes that Joe decided to steal all the money. Elliott is relieved to discover his victim was another criminal. However, two others were in the gang: the Duke and Louis the Louse, who kidnap Nell and take her to her home to find Joe the Black, who had $100,000 in a briefcase. They eventually figure out that the body is in the gazebo's foundation, now crumbling due to unexpected rain. They bring the body, wrapped in the shower curtains, into the Nash living room, and leave with the briefcase. When Elliott gets home, he unties his wife and confesses what he has done, moving the body to another room.
Soon, Lieutenant Jenkins shows up, having arrested the Duke and Louis. From what they have told him, Jenkins is sure that Elliott murdered Joe. Just as Elliott is about to confess, he sees that the bullet he fired missed Joe and ended up lodged in a book. A doctor confirms that Joe actually died of a pre-existing heart problem, and Elliott's pet pigeon Herman, who he had been nursing back to health after an injury, flies off with the bullet, so no evidence ties him to the death. As the police leave, Herman drops the bullet on Jekins' hat, which he discards in disgust, thinking he was hit by pigeon
guano
Guano (Spanish from qu, wanu) is the accumulated excrement of seabirds or bats. As a manure, guano is a highly effective fertilizer due to the high content of nitrogen, phosphate, and potassium, all key nutrients essential for plant growth. G ...
.
Cast
*
Glenn Ford
Gwyllyn Samuel Newton "Glenn" Ford (May 1, 1916 – August 30, 2006) was a Canadian-American actor who often portrayed ordinary men in unusual circumstances. Ford was most prominent during Classical Hollywood cinema, Hollywood's Golden Age as ...
as Elliott Nash
*
Debbie Reynolds
Mary Frances "Debbie" Reynolds (April 1, 1932 – December 28, 2016) was an American actress, singer, and businesswoman. Her career spanned almost 70 years. She was nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Most Promising Newcomer for her portra ...
as Nell Nash
*
Carl Reiner
Carl Reiner (March 20, 1922 – June 29, 2020) was an American actor, stand-up comedian, director, screenwriter, and author whose career spanned seven decades. He was the recipient of many awards and honors, including 11 Primetime Emmy Awards, ...
as Harlow Edison
*
John McGiver
John Irwin McGiver (November 5, 1913 – September 9, 1975) was an American character actor who made more than a hundred appearances in television and motion pictures over a two-decade span from 1955 to 1975.
The owl-faced, portly character ac ...
as Sam Thorpe
*
Mabel Albertson
Mabel Ida Albertson (July 24, 1901 – September 28, 1982) was an American actress of television, stage, radio and film who portrayed Phyllis Stephens in the TV sitcom ''Bewitched''.
Early years
Mabel Ida Albertson was born on July 24, 1901, in ...
as Miss Chandler
*
Doro Merande
Doro Merande (born Dora Matthews, March 31, 1892 – November 1, 1975) was an American actress who appeared in film, theater, and television.
Early years
Born in Columbus, Kansas, as Dora Matthews, she was the daughter of a minister. A ...
as Matilda, the Nashes' servant
*
Bert Freed
Bert Freed (November 3, 1919 – August 2, 1994) was an American character actor, voice-over actor, and the first actor to portray Detective Columbo.
Life and career
Born and raised in the Bronx, New York, Freed began acting while attending P ...
as Lieutenant Joe Jenkins
*
Martin Landau
Martin James Landau (; June 20, 1928 – July 15, 2017) was an American actor, acting coach, producer, and editorial cartoonist. His career began in the 1950s, with early film appearances including a supporting role in Alfred Hitchcock's ''North ...
as The Duke
*
Robert Ellenstein
Robert Ellenstein (June 18, 1923 – October 28, 2010) was an American actor. The son of Meyer C. Ellenstein, a Newark dentist, Ellenstein grew up to see his father become a two-term mayor from 1933 to 1941. He served in the United States Army ...
as Ben
*
Dick Wessel
Richard Michael Wessel (April 20, 1913 – April 20, 1965) was an American film actor who appeared in more than 270 films between 1935 and 1966. He is best remembered for his only leading role, a chilling portrayal of strangler Harry "C ...
as Louis the Louse (as Richard Wessel)
* James Gavin as Sgt. Drucker (uncredited)
*
Stanley Adams as Dan Shelby, the blackmailer (uncredited)
*
Harlan Warde
Harlan Warde (born Harlan Ward Lufkin; November 6, 1917 – March 13, 1980) was a character actor active in television and movies.
Career
Warde showed up in supporting roles as detectives, doctors, and ministers. Warde made five guest appearan ...
as Dr Bradley (uncredited)
*
ZaSu Pitts
Zasu Pitts (; January 3, 1894 – June 7, 1963) was an American actress who starred in many silent dramas, including Erich von Stroheim's epic 1924 silent film ''Greed'', and comedies, transitioning successfully to mostly comedy films with the ...
as Mrs MacGruder (scenes deleted)
*
James Kirkwood Sr.
James Cornelius Kirkwood Sr. (February 22, 1876 – August 24, 1963) was an American actor and director.
Biography
Kirkwood debuted on screen in 1909 and was soon playing leads for D. W. Griffith. He started directing in 1912, and became a fa ...
as Mr MacGruder (scenes deleted)
Production
A comic subplot involves
Alfred Hitchcock
Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock (13 August 1899 – 29 April 1980) was an English filmmaker. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential figures in the history of cinema. In a career spanning six decades, he directed over 50 featur ...
inadvertently assisting Elliott in a murder plan via telephone, while checking on a script Nash is writing for him. The play's author Alec Coppel had written such a script for Hitchcock's film ''Vertigo''.
[Spoto, Donald.'' The Dark Side of Genius: The Life of Alfred Hitchcock''. p. 386. ]
See also
*
List of American films of 1959
The American films of 1959 are listed in a table of the films which were made in the United States and released in 1959. The film '' Ben-Hur'' won the Academy Award for Best Picture, among winning a record-setting eleven Oscars.
A–B
C–D ...
References
External links
*
*
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gazebo, The
1959 films
1950s black comedy films
American black comedy films
American black-and-white films
Films about screenwriters
American films based on plays
Films directed by George Marshall
Films set in Connecticut
Films set in New York City
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer films
Films with screenplays by George Wells
1959 comedy films
1959 drama films
1950s English-language films
1950s American films