''Me, Natalie'' is a 1969 American comedy-drama film directed by

Fred Coe Frederick Hayden Hughs Coe (December 23, 1914 – April 29, 1979) was an American television producer and director most famous for '' The Goodyear Television Playhouse''/''The Philco Television Playhouse'' in 1948-1955 and '' Playhouse 90'' from ...

about a homely young woman from

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

who moves to

Greenwich Village Greenwich Village ( , , ) is a neighborhood on the west side of Lower Manhattan in New York City, bounded by 14th Street to the north, Broadway to the east, Houston Street to the south, and the Hudson River to the west. Greenwich Village ...

and finds romance with an aspiring painter. The

screenplay ''ScreenPlay'' is a television drama anthology series broadcast on BBC2 between 9 July 1986 and 27 October 1993. Background After single-play anthology series went off the air, the BBC introduced several showcases for made-for-television, f ...

by A. Martin Zweiback is based on an original story by Stanley Shapiro. Patty Duke, who starred in the title role, won a

Golden Globe Award The Golden Globe Awards are accolades bestowed by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association beginning in January 1944, recognizing excellence in both American and international film and television. Beginning in 2022, there are 105 members of ...

for her performance. The film also starred James Farentino, Salome Jens, Elsa Lanchester,

Martin Balsam Martin Henry Balsam (November 4, 1919 – February 13, 1996) was an American actor. He had a prolific career in character roles in film, in theatre, and on television. An early member of the Actors Studio, he began his career on the New Y ...

and Nancy Marchand. It marked

Al Pacino Alfredo James Pacino (; ; born April 25, 1940) is an American actor. Considered one of the most influential actors of the 20th century, he has received numerous accolades: including an Academy Award, two Tony Awards, and two Primetime Emmy ...

's film debut.

Plot

From childhood,

teenager Natalie Miller, who has upper front teeth that are slightly bucked, and a nose too large for her face, has considered herself to be homely, and has never subscribed to her mother's determined belief that she will grow up to be pretty. By contrast, her best friend, Betty, is a popular and beautiful blonde cheerleader who has been going steady with the handsome Stanley since junior high school. Natalie's efforts to become a cheerleader herself, impress a blind date, and attend her graduation dance all fail. She is briefly cheered up by her beloved Uncle Harold, who tells her that someday a man will look beyond her face, and see her good inner qualities, but she becomes disillusioned after Harold gets engaged to a sexy, voluptuous go-go dancer, Shirley. Believing that Harold chose Shirley based on her looks, Natalie regards Shirley with contempt, and when Harold dies suddenly, avoids attending his funeral. A year later, Natalie encounters Shirley, who has turned to drugs in her grief over Harold. Natalie sees that Shirley and Harold really did love each other, and that Shirley's physical attractiveness has not brought her happiness. Natalie's parents worry because she has been expelled from college, has not found a job, and has no boyfriends or marital prospects. They try to arrange dates for her, and her father attempts to bribe Morris, an unattractive aspiring

optometrist Optometry is a specialized health care profession that involves examining the eyes and related structures for defects or abnormalities. Optometrists are health care professionals who typically provide comprehensive primary eye care. In the Un ...

, to marry her. After learning of the bribery scheme, an incensed Natalie moves out of her parents' apartment, planning to move in with Shirley in Manhattan. Upon arriving at Shirley's bohemian apartment building in Greenwich Village, Natalie finds that Shirley has committed suicide. Natalie rents and fixes up Shirley's vacant apartment, and gets a cocktail waitress job at the "Topless Bottomless Club". Natalie is attracted to her downstairs neighbor, David Harris, an architect, who has left his job for three months to pursue his dream of becoming a painter. Having dismissed David as a "sex pervert" because he is usually painting beautiful nude female models, she is taken aback when David finds her face "interesting" and asks her to model for him. Their friendship gradually grows into a romance, with Natalie encouraging his painting aspirations and David building her self-confidence. However, just after Natalie sees her old friend, Betty, make an unhappy marriage due to an out-of-wedlock pregnancy, Natalie discovers David is actually married to a wealthy, beautiful woman and has two young sons. After a confrontation, David reassures Natalie that he really loves her and he will go back to his family home, end his marriage, and return to her. At first Natalie waits eagerly in his apartment for his return, but as time goes by she feels guilty about separating him from his family. Finally she writes David a farewell letter, saying she will always love him but expressing the wish to take responsibility for her own happiness, and leaves.

Cast

* Patty Duke as Natalie Miller * James Farentino as David Harris * Salome Jens as Shirley Norton * Elsa Lanchester as Miss Dennison *

as Harold Miller * Nancy Marchand as Edna Miller *

Philip Sterling Philip Sterling (October 9, 1922 – November 30, 1998) was an American film and television actor. He played Dr. Winston Croft on 28 episodes of the American daytime soap opera '' The Doctors''. He also played Judge Truman Ventnor on 21 episode ...

as Sidney Miller * Deborah Winters as Betty Simon * Ron Hale as Stanley Dexter * Bob Balaban as Morris *

as Tony * Catherine Burns as Hester * Ann Thomas as Mrs. Schroder *

Matthew Cowles Matthew Cowles (September 28, 1944 – May 22, 2014) was an American actor and playwright. Early life The son of actor and theatre producer Chandler Cowles, he was born in New York City. Career In 1966 Cowles played the title role in Edward Al ...

as Harvey Belman * Milt Kamen as Plastic Surgeon * Robert Frink as Freddie * Dennis Allen as Max * Robyn Morgan as Natalie Miller (age 7)

Production

Works by Nathan Wasserberger were used in the film as the paintings produced by the character David Harris.

Critical reception

In his review in ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'',

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 ...

called the film "an artificial mess of wisecracks and sentimentality" and added, "Locales and a gummy musical score by Henry Mancini and

Rod McKuen Rodney Marvin McKuen (; April 29, 1933 – January 29, 2015) was an American poet, singer-songwriter, and actor. He was one of the best-selling poets in the United States during the late 1960s. Throughout his career, McKuen produced a wide range ...

are among the things constantly impinging on ''Me, Natalie''. Another is Coe's apparent indecision as to whether the movie is a character study or a gag comedy. Mostly it's just gags, delivered abrasively by Miss Duke, who is even less effective when registering

pathos Pathos (, ; plural: ''pathea'' or ''pathê''; , for " suffering" or "experience") appeals to the emotions and ideals of the audience and elicits feelings that already reside in them. Pathos is a term used most often in rhetoric (in which it is ...

Roger Ebert Roger Joseph Ebert (; June 18, 1942 – April 4, 2013) was an American film critic, film historian, journalist, screenwriter, and author. He was a film critic for the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' from 1967 until his death in 2013. In 1975, Ebert beca ...

of the ''

Chicago Sun-Times The ''Chicago Sun-Times'' is a daily newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Since 2022, it is the flagship paper of Chicago Public Media, and has the second largest circulation among Chicago newspapers, after the '' Chicago ...

'' found it to be "as conventional and corny as warmed-over "Young at Heart" . . . a pleasant film, very funny at times . . . Patty Duke, as Natalie, supplies a wonderful performance." ''

TV Guide TV Guide is an American digital media company that provides television program listings information as well as entertainment and television-related news. The company sold its print magazine division, TV Guide Magazine LLC, in 2008. Corporat ...

'' considers the film "somewhat bland" but calls Duke "a wonder" and adds, "Handled by a lesser actress, the results might have seemed more stereotypical, but Duke is convincing."

Awards and nominations

* Golden Globe Award for Best Actress - Motion Picture Musical or Comedy (Patty Duke, winner) * Grammy Award for Best Original Score Written for a Motion Picture or Television Show (nominee) *

Writers Guild of America Award The Writers Guild of America Awards is an award for film, television, and radio writing including both fiction and non-fiction categories given by the Writers Guild of America, East and Writers Guild of America West since 1949. Eligibility ...

for Best Drama Written Directly for the Screen (nominee)

References

External links

* * * {{tcmdb title, 23919 1969 films 1960s coming-of-age comedy-drama films 1960s romantic comedy-drama films American coming-of-age comedy-drama films American romantic comedy-drama films Cinema Center Films films Films directed by Fred Coe Films featuring a Best Musical or Comedy Actress Golden Globe winning performance Films scored by Henry Mancini Films set in New York City Films shot in New York City 1969 comedy films 1969 drama films 1960s English-language films 1960s American films