''The Group'' is a 1966 American ensemble film directed by

Sidney Lumet Sidney Arthur Lumet ( ; June 25, 1924 – April 9, 2011) was an American film director. He was nominated five times for the Academy Award: four for Best Director for ''12 Angry Men'' (1957), '' Dog Day Afternoon'' (1975), ''Network'' (1976 ...

based on the 1963 novel of the same name by Mary McCarthy about the lives of a group of eight female graduates from Vassar from 1933 to 1940. The cast of this social

satire Satire is a genre of the visual, literary, and performing arts, usually in the form of fiction and less frequently non-fiction, in which vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, often with the intent of shaming o ...

includes

Candice Bergen Candice Patricia Bergen (born May 9, 1946) is an American actress. She won five Primetime Emmy Awards and two Golden Globe Awards for her portrayal of the title character on the CBS sitcom ''Murphy Brown'' (1988–1998, 2018). She is also kno ...

, Joan Hackett,

Elizabeth Hartman Mary Elizabeth Hartman (December 23, 1943 – June 10, 1987) was an American actress of the stage and screen. She debuted in the popular 1965 film ''A Patch of Blue'', playing a blind girl named Selina D'Arcy, opposite Sidney Poitier, a role for ...

, Shirley Knight,

Jessica Walter Jessica Walter (January 31, 1941 – March 24, 2021) was an American actress who appeared in over 170 film, stage and television productions. In film, she was best known for her role as a psychotic and obsessed fan of a local disc jockey in t ...

Kathleen Widdoes Kathleen Effie Widdoes (born March 21, 1939) is an American actress. She is best known for her role as Emma Snyder in the television soap opera ''As the World Turns'', which earned her four Daytime Emmy Award nominations. Widdoes was also nomin ...

, and Joanna Pettet. The film also features small roles for

Hal Holbrook Harold Rowe Holbrook Jr. (February 17, 1925 – January 23, 2021) was an American actor, television director, and screenwriter. He first received critical acclaim in 1954 for a one-man stage show that he developed called ''Mark Twain Tonight!'' ...

Carrie Nye Carolyn Nye McGeoy (October 14, 1936 – July 14, 2006), known professionally as Carrie Nye, was an American actress. In her career spanning 32 years, she was nominated for a Tony Award in 1965, a Primetime Emmy Award in 1980, and a Drama Desk ...

James Broderick James Joseph Broderick III (March 7, 1927November 1, 1982) was an American actor. He is known for his role as Doug Lawrence in the television series ''Family'', which ran from 1976 to 1980, and he played a pivotal role in the 1975 film '' Dog Da ...

Larry Hagman Larry Martin Hagman (September 21, 1931 – November 23, 2012) was an American film and television actor, director, and producer, best known for playing ruthless oil baron J. R. Ewing in the 1978–1991 primetime television soap opera, ''Dal ...

and Richard Mulligan. The film touched on controversial topics for its time:

free love Free love is a social movement that accepts all forms of love. The movement's initial goal was to separate the state from sexual and romantic matters such as marriage, birth control, and adultery. It stated that such issues were the concern ...

contraception Birth control, also known as contraception, anticonception, and fertility control, is the use of methods or devices to prevent unwanted pregnancy. Birth control has been used since ancient times, but effective and safe methods of birth contr ...

abortion Abortion is the termination of a pregnancy by removal or expulsion of an embryo or fetus. An abortion that occurs without intervention is known as a miscarriage or "spontaneous abortion"; these occur in approximately 30% to 40% of pre ...

lesbianism A lesbian is a homosexual woman.Zimmerman, p. 453. The word is also used for women in relation to their sexual identity or sexual behavior, regardless of sexual orientation, or as an adjective to characterize or associate nouns with fema ...

, and

mental illness A mental disorder, also referred to as a mental illness or psychiatric disorder, is a behavioral or mental pattern that causes significant distress or impairment of personal functioning. Such features may be persistent, relapsing and remitt ...

Plot

After their days at a prestigious Eastern university, eight devoted women friends go their separate ways. Wealthy and very beautiful Lakey, always regarded as their leader, leaves for Europe to begin a new life on her own. The domestic lives of the others go mainly awry. Priss marries an overbearing, controlling doctor and has two miscarriages before she gives birth to a son. Kay, who was Lakey's pet and was always less sophisticated and wealthy than the other members of the group, marries an abusive playwright who cheats on her. After an unhappy affair with a cold, sarcastic painter, Dottie gives up a flamboyant lifestyle in Greenwich Village to settle down with a dull Arizona businessman. Pokey has her hands full with two sets of twins. Helena travels the world but is unable to find happiness at home, while catty and ambitious Libby becomes successful in the literary world despite lacking depth. Polly has an affair with a married man, but later finds real happiness with a kind doctor. With the outbreak of war in Europe in 1939, Lakey then returns home. When the others discover that the woman with her is more than just a traveling companion, they realize that she is a lesbian. After a tragedy that results in the death of Kay in 1940, Lakey joins them at the funeral for one last time together as the group.

Cast

Main

as Elinor "Lakey" Eastlake * Joan Hackett as Dottie Renfrew Latham *

as Priss Hartshorn Crockett * Shirley Knight as Polly Andrews Ridgeley * Joanna Pettet as Kay Strong Peterson * Mary-Robin Redd as Mary "Pokey" Prothero Beauchamp *

as Libby MacAusland *

as Helena Davison *

as Dr. James "Jim" Ridgeley * James Congdon as Sloan Crockett *

as Harald Peterson *

as Gus Leroy * Richard Mulligan as Dick Brown * Robert Emhardt as Henry Andrews *

as Norine Blake

Supporting

Philippa Bevans Philippa Bevans (10 Feb 1913 – 10 May 1968) was an English actress of stage and screen. She was born in London, England, and was the daughter of actors Lionel Bevans and Viola Roache. She originally appeared as a child actress on stage. Along ...

as Mrs. Hartshorn * Leta Bonynge as Mrs. Prothero *

Marion Brash Marion Brash (March 27, 1931 – January 10, 2022) was an American actress known for her work in television and cinema. Early years Brash was born in Berlin (as Marion Brasch), and came to the United States as a child. Her acting debut came in ...

as Radio Man's Wife * Sarah Burton as Mrs. Davison *

Flora Campbell Flora Campbell (August 1, 1911 – November 6, 1978) was an American actress on radio, television, and stage. Campbell was born in Oklahoma, the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. T. Bernard Campbell. She had a twin sister, Dorothy. She did her collegi ...

as Mrs. MacAusland * Bruno Di Cosmi as Nils *

Leora Dana Leora Dana (April 1, 1923 – December 13, 1983) was an American film, stage and television actress. Education Dana was born in New York City and her elder sister was Doris Dana. Dana graduated from Barnard College and the Royal Academy of Dr ...

as Mrs. Renfrew * Bill Fletcher as Bill, the Actor *

George Gaynes George Gaynes (born George Jongejans; May 16, 1917 – February 15, 2016) was a Finnish-born American singer, actor, and voice artist. Born to Dutch and Russian-Finnish parents in the Grand Duchy of Finland of the Russian Empire, he served in the ...

as Brook Latham *

Martha Greenhouse Martha Miriam Greenhouse (June 14, 1921 – January 5, 2013) was an American stage, film and television actress, who also served as an actors' union leader. The Omaha, Nebraska-born actress spent her formative years in New York City, and was a 1 ...

as Mrs. Bergler *

Russell Hardie William Russell Hardie (May 20, 1904 – July 21, 1973) was an American film actor. He appeared in '' The Costello Case'', ''Broadway to Hollywood'', '' Stage Mother'', '' Christopher Bean'', '' As the Earth Turns'', '' Men in White'', ''Oper ...

as Mr. Davison * Vince Harding as Mr. Eastlake * Doreen Lang as Nurse Swenson * Chet London as Radio Man *

Baruch Lumet Baruch Lumet (''Burech Lumet''; 16 September 1898 – 8 February 1992) was an American actor best known for his work in the Yiddish theatre. Early life Lumet was born in Warsaw, then part of Congress Poland, to a Yiddish-speaking Jewish family. ...

as Mr. Schneider * John O'Leary as Put Blake * Hildy Parks as Nurse Catherine * Lidia Prochnicka as The Baroness * Polly Rowles as Mrs. Andrews * Douglas Rutherford as Mr. Prothero * Truman Smith as Mr. Bergler * Loretta White as Mrs. Eastlake

Cameo appearance/Uncredited

* Arthur Anderson as Pokey's husband John Beauchamp * Ron Charles as Dr. Jones * Richard Graham as Rev. Garland * Edward Holmes as Mr. MacAusland * Brian Sands as Steven Crockett (aged 4)

Music

Songs used: * ''Landlord, Fill the Flowing Bowl'',

traditional A tradition is a belief or behavior (folk custom) passed down within a group or society with symbolic meaning or special significance with origins in the past. A component of cultural expressions and folklore, common examples include holidays or ...

. * ''The Cannibal King'', traditional. * ''Liebeslieder-Walzer'' (''Wie des Abends schöne Röte, Vögelein durchrauscht die Luft''),

Johannes Brahms Johannes Brahms (; 7 May 1833 – 3 April 1897) was a German composer, pianist, and conductor of the mid-Romantic period. Born in Hamburg into a Lutheran family, he spent much of his professional life in Vienna. He is sometimes grouped wit ...

* ''Come, Ye Sons of Art!'',

Henry Purcell Henry Purcell (, rare: September 1659 – 21 November 1695) was an English composer. Purcell's style of Baroque music was uniquely English, although it incorporated Italian and French elements. Generally considered among the greatest E ...

Release

The film grossed $6 million at the box office, earning $3 million in US theatrical rentals. It was the 25th highest-grossing film of 1966.

Home media

''The Group'' was released to DVD by MGM Home Video on January 15, 2011, via the MGM Choice Collection as a Region 1 manufacture-on-demand DVD.

Reception

Critic Moira Finnie of

FilmStruck FilmStruck was a film streaming service from Turner Classic Movies which catered to cinephiles and focused on rare, classic, foreign, arthouse, and independent cinema. It launched in November 2016 and succeeded Hulu as the exclusive online str ...

sums up ''The Group'':

The crowd of highly educated, privileged characters on the screen in ''The Group'' approached their postgraduate life in the
Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...
as though it was a midterm exam to be aced and filed away, with each milestone treated like a fast course in typing or dancing, another skill acquired, to be trotted out at the next luncheon with the other girls in the group. Full of ideas about a woman's role in the society, but with little real life experience other than in school, the movie chronicles their continued education in the real world.

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'' wrote that the film is faithful to the novel but retains too much detail.

Awards

* Joan Hackett was nominated for the British

BAFTA Film Award The British Academy Film Awards, more commonly known as the BAFTA Film Awards is an annual award show hosted by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) to honour the best British and international contributions to film. The cere ...

for the best foreign (i.e. non-British) actress. * The film was nominated for the

Golden Bear The Golden Bear (german: Goldener Bär) is the highest prize awarded for the best film at the Berlin International Film Festival. The bear is the heraldic animal of Berlin, featured on both the coat of arms and flag of Berlin. History The win ...

at the

16th Berlin International Film Festival The 16th annual Berlin International Film Festival was held from 24 June – 5 July 1966. The Golden Bear was awarded to the British film ''Cul-de-sac'' directed by Roman Polanski. Jury The following people were announced as being on the jury f ...

in 1966.

References

External links

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Group 1966 films 1966 drama films American drama films Films about abortion Films based on American novels Films directed by Sidney Lumet Films set in the 1930s Films set in the 1940s Films set in Arizona Films set in Massachusetts Films set in New York City Films set in Ohio Films set in 1933 Films set in 1934 Films set in 1935 Films set in 1936 Films set in 1937 Films set in 1938 Films set in 1939 Films set in 1940 Films with screenplays by Sidney Buchman United Artists films American feminist films Lesbian-related films 1966 LGBT-related films 1960s feminist films 1960s female buddy films 1960s English-language films 1960s American films