''Star Spangled Girl'' is a 1971 American romantic comedy film directed by

Jerry Paris William Gerald Paris (July 25, 1925 – March 31, 1986) was an American actor and director best known for playing Jerry Helper, the dentist and next-door neighbor of Rob and Laura Petrie, on ''The Dick Van Dyke Show'', and for directing the majo ...

and based on the 1966

Neil Simon Marvin Neil Simon (July 4, 1927 – August 26, 2018) was an American playwright, screenwriter and author. He wrote more than 30 plays and nearly the same number of movie screenplays, mostly film adaptations of his plays. He has received mo ...

play ''

The Star-Spangled Girl ''The Star-Spangled Girl'' is a comedy written by Neil Simon. The play is set in San Francisco, California, in the 1960s. Plot overview The story is a love triangle, mixed with politics. Roommates and radicals Andy Hobart and Norman Cornell a ...

''. It stars

Sandy Duncan Sandra Kay Duncan (born February 20, 1946) is an American actress, comedian, dancer and singer. She is known for her performances in the Broadway revival of ''Peter Pan'' and in the sitcom ''The Hogan Family''. Duncan has been nominated for thr ...

, Tony Roberts,

Todd Susman Todd Susman (born January 17, 1947) is an American actor. Early life A native of St. Louis, Missouri, Susman graduated from Ladue Horton Watkins High School in 1965. Career Susman has appeared in over one hundred different television series and ...

, and Elizabeth Allen.

Plot

In a

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

neighborhood, Andy Hobart does everything he can to keep his struggling, two-man, radical

underground newspaper The terms underground press or clandestine press refer to periodicals and publications that are produced without official approval, illegally or against the wishes of a dominant (governmental, religious, or institutional) group. In specific rec ...

, the ''Nitty Gritty'', going; he steals food from the supermarket and other people's laundry from the dry cleaners, and holds off their creditors, especially their landlady, Mrs. MacKaninee, and their printer, Mr. Karlson. To appease Mrs. MacKaninee, he accompanies her motorcycling, waterskiing, and surfing. He lives with talented, but nerdy Norman Cornell, who writes the entire newspaper. One day, a perky, talkative Southern girl moves into the bungalow across from them. Amy Cooper has come to the big city to train for the

Olympics The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a var ...

with the best swimming coach in the country. Norman falls instantly in love with her (or rather with the way she smells) and neglects his writing, causing Andy untold headaches. Norman drives Amy to distraction with his misguided, over-the-top attempts to win her affection. When he unintentionally gets her fired from her day job, Andy hires her as a secretary, just to keep Norman happy (and writing). Then something unexpected happens. Despite despising everything Andy stands for, the conservative Amy discovers (to her great disgust) that she is physically attracted to him and likes the way he smells, which is rather awkward, since she is scheduled to marry another swimmer in a few weeks. When she informs Andy, he is uncertain how to react. She gets him to kiss her to see how it feels, at which point Norman walks in. Amy decides to go back to Florida because Andy is not interested in her. Norman quits over what he considers a betrayal, but quickly changes his mind and goes back to work, cured of Amy. Meanwhile, Andy discovers to his horror that the smell of Amy permeates the room even after she is gone. He chases after her and gets her to come back.

Cast

as Amy Cooper * Tony Roberts as Andy Hobart *

as Norman Cornell * Elizabeth Allen as Mrs. MacKaninee * Artie Lewis as Mr. Karlson *

Allen Jung Allen Jung (August 8, 1909 – September 12, 1982) was an American film and television actor who was active in Hollywood from the 1930s through the 1970s. Biography Allen was born in Oakland, California. He attended the University of Californi ...

as Laundryman *

Helen Kleeb Helen Kleeb (January 6, 1907 – December 28, 2003) was an American film and television actress. In a career covering nearly 50 years, she may be best known for her role from 1972 to 1981 as Miss Mamie Baldwin on the family drama ''The Walton ...

as YWCA Receptionist *

Harry Northup Harry E. Northup (born September 2, 1940) is an American actor and poet. As an actor, he made frequent appearances in the films of Martin Scorsese and Jonathan Demme. Personal life and career Northup was born in Amarillo, Texas. He lived in 17 ...

as Cowboy on Bus * Gordon Bosserman as Karlson's Boy * Jim Conners as Karlson's Boy * Peter Hobbs as Man in Car

Cast notes

Britt Ekland Britt Ekland (; born Britt-Marie Eklund; 6 October 1942) is a Swedish actress, model and singer. She appeared in numerous films in her heyday throughout the 1960s and 1970s, including roles in '' The Double Man'' (1967), ''The Night They Raided ...

Ali MacGraw Elizabeth Alice MacGraw (born April 1, 1939) is an American actress and activist. She gained attention with her role in the film ''Goodbye, Columbus'' (1969), for which she won the Golden Globe Award for Most Promising Newcomer. She gained an ...

Cybill Shepherd Cybill Lynne Shepherd (born February 18, 1950) is an American actress and former model. Her film debut and breakthrough role came as Jacy Farrow in Peter Bogdanovich's coming-of-age drama ''The Last Picture Show'' (1971) alongside Jeff Bridges. ...

and

Goldie Hawn Goldie Jeanne Hawn (born November 21, 1945) is an American actress, dancer, producer, and singer. She rose to fame on the NBC sketch comedy program ''Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In'' (1968–1970), before going on to receive the Academy Award and Go ...

were offered the leading role, but turned it down.

Marlo Thomas Margaret Julia "Marlo" Thomas (born November 21, 1937) is an American actress, producer, author, and social activist. She is best known for starring on the sitcom ''That Girl'' (1966–1971) and her children's franchise '' Free to Be... You and ...

was considered for the lead, as was

Joey Heatherton Davenie Johanna "Joey" Heatherton (born September 14, 1944) is an American actress, dancer, and singer. A sex symbol of the 1960s and 1970s, she is best known for her many television appearances during that time, particularly as a frequent varie ...

. Sandy Duncan hired a professional trainer to help improve her swimming while auditioning for the part of Amy.

Production

Elizabeth Allen shot her scenes in 5 days. The theme song of the film is "Girl", sung by Davy Jones of

The Monkees The Monkees were an American rock and pop band, formed in Los Angeles in 1966, whose lineup consisted of the American actor/musicians Micky Dolenz, Michael Nesmith and Peter Tork alongside English actor/singer Davy Jones. The group was conc ...

. A different single version of the song was heard on the TV show ''

The Brady Bunch ''The Brady Bunch'' is an American sitcom created by Sherwood Schwartz that aired from September 26, 1969, to March 8, 1974, on ABC. The series revolves around a large blended family with six children. The show aired for five seasons and, after ...

''; that episode, "Getting Davy Jones", was originally broadcast December 10, 1971, shortly before the film's release. The opening lyrics are changed for the movie version: "Girl, look what you've done to me, me and my whole world" (single version) becomes "Girl, you have a way with you, you could change my world" (movie version). Jones sang a '90's "

Grunge Grunge (sometimes referred to as the Seattle sound) is an alternative rock genre and subculture that emerged during the in the American Pacific Northwest state of Washington, particularly in Seattle and nearby towns. Grunge fuses elements of p ...

" version of the song during a cameo appearance in ''

The Brady Bunch Movie ''The Brady Bunch Movie'' is a 1995 American comedy film that parodies the 1969–1974 television series ''The Brady Bunch''. The film was directed by Betty Thomas, with a screenplay by Laurice Elehwany, Rick Copp, and Bonnie and Terry Turner, an ...

''. ''Star Spangled Girl'' was a box-office flop.

Reception

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 ...

'' reviewer A. H. Weler wrote, "Time and Hollywood have not done wonders for his exuberant but still essentially lightweight comedy....The uninspired adaptation of Simon's antic is a basically contrived affair that may get a share of chuckles but not many hearty laughs."

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 ...

, however, gave it three stars (out of four), stating, "It pays the slightest possible attention to the story line, and revels in breakneck dialog, and somewhere along the way you begin to like the artificiality of it all."

References

External links

* * * {{Jerry Paris 1971 films 1971 romantic comedy films American films based on plays American romantic comedy films 1970s English-language films Films about journalists Films based on works by Neil Simon Films directed by Jerry Paris Films scored by Charles Fox Films set in the 1960s Films set in San Francisco Paramount Pictures films 1970s American films