''Any Wednesday'' is a 1966 American

Technicolor Technicolor is a family of Color motion picture film, color motion picture processes. The first version, Process 1, was introduced in 1916, and improved versions followed over several decades. Definitive Technicolor movies using three black-and ...

romantic comedy film Romantic comedy (also known as romcom or rom-com) is a sub-genre of comedy and romance fiction, focusing on lighthearted, humorous plot lines centered on romantic ideas, such as how true love is able to surmount all obstacles. Romantic comedy e ...

starring

Jane Fonda Jane Seymour Fonda (born December 21, 1937) is an American actress and activist. Recognized as a film icon, Jane Fonda filmography, Fonda's work spans several genres and over six decades of film and television. She is the recipient of List of a ...

Jason Robards Jason Nelson Robards Jr. (July 26, 1922 – December 26, 2000) was an American actor. Known for his roles on stage and screen, he gained a reputation as an interpreter of the works of playwright Eugene O'Neill. Robards received numerous accola ...

, and Dean Jones. It was directed by

Robert Ellis Miller Robert Ellis Miller (July 18, 1927 – January 27, 2017) was an American film director. Filmography * '' Breaking Point'' (1963) – TV Series * '' Any Wednesday'' (1966) * '' Sweet November'' (1968) * ''The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter'' (196 ...

from a screenplay by producer Julius J. Epstein based on the play of the same name by Muriel Resnik, which ran on Broadway for 983 performances from 1964 to 1966."Any Wednesday"
on the

Internet Broadway Database The Internet Broadway Database (IBDB) is an online database of Broadway theatre productions and their personnel. It was conceived and created by Karen Hauser in 1996 and is operated by the Research Department of The Broadway League, a trade asso ...

The film was titled ''Bachelor Girl Apartment'' in the UK. The story centers on a Manhattan woman (Fonda) who is trying to decide between two suitors, one married (Robards) and one not (Jones), on the day of her 30th birthday.

Plot

John Cleves (

) is a businessman with an office in New York and a home in New Jersey. On one day of each week, Wednesday, he spends the night in the city, lying to wife Dorothy (

Rosemary Murphy Rosemary Murphy (January 13, 1925 – July 5, 2014) was an American actress of stage, film, and television. She was nominated for three Tony Awards for her stage work, as well as two Emmy Awards for television work, winning once, for her perfo ...

) that he is out of town on business when he actually is seeing Ellen, his mistress (

). A business client from

Akron, Ohio Akron () is a city in Summit County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Ohio, fifth-most populous city in Ohio, with a population of 190,469 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The Akron metr ...

, Cass Henderson ( Dean Jones), comes to town and is unable to find a hotel room for the night. Cleves' new secretary knows of an "executive suite" the boss maintains in town, so Cass is sent there for the night. When he meets Ellen, he mistakenly assumes she is a certain kind of lady hired by Cleves to entertain him. The secretary compounds the error by telling Dorothy about the apartment. Dorothy goes there and discovers Ellen and Cass, assuming them to be a young couple. The women take a liking to each other so Dorothy invites them to spend an evening out on the town with her and John. Dorothy eventually catches on to what her husband is up to and leaves him. Ellen invites her to use the apartment. John goes there and tries to win his wife's love back, but she just tells her husband to come visit her on any Wednesday.

Cast

as Ellen Gordon *

as John Cleves * Dean Jones as Cass Henderson *

as Dorothy Cleves, reprising her role from the Broadway production. * Ann Prentiss as Miss Linsley *Jack Fletcher as Felix *

King Moody Robert "King" Moody (December 6, 1929 – February 7, 2001) was an American actor, best known for playing Shtarker in the television series ''Get Smart'' and for his portrayal as Ronald McDonald in the McDonald's commercials from 1969 to 1985. ...

as Milkman *Kelly Jean Peters as Girl in Museum *Monty Margetts as Nurse

Production

Exterior location scenes for ''Any Wednesday'' were filmed in

Manhattan Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. During the course of the 28-month run of the play ''Any Wednesday'' on Broadway, the role of Ellen was played by

Sandy Dennis Sandra Dale Dennis (April 27, 1937 – March 2, 1992) was an American actress. She made her film debut in the drama '' Splendor in the Grass'' (1961). For her performance in the comedy-drama film '' Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?'' (1966), she ...

– who won a

Tony Award The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Broadway Theatre, more commonly known as a Tony Award, recognizes excellence in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ce ...

for her performance – and

Barbara Cook Barbara Cook (October 25, 1927 – August 8, 2017) was an American actress and singer who first came to prominence in the 1950s as the lead in the original Broadway musicals '' Plain and Fancy'' (1955), ''Candide'' (1956) and ''The Music Man'' ( ...

Don Porter Donald Cecil Porter (September 24, 1912 – February 11, 1997) was an American stage, film, and television actor. On television, he played Peter Sands, the boss of Ann Sothern's character on '' Private Secretary'', and Russell Lawrence, the ...

and

Gene Hackman Eugene Allen Hackman (January 30, 1930 – ) was an American actor. Hackman made his credited film debut in the drama ''Lilith (film), Lilith'' (1964). He later won two Academy Awards, his first for Academy Award for Best Actor, Best Actor for ...

also appeared in it.Passfiume, Andrea
"Any Wednesday (1966)" (article)
on

TCM.com Turner Classic Movies (TCM) is an American movie channel, movie-oriented pay television, pay-TV television network, network owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. Launched in 1994, Turner Classic Movies is headquartered at Turner's Techwood broadcas ...

Critical reception

Richard F. Shepard of ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' was fairly positive, writing that the story had made the transition from stage to screen "not much the worse for wear," though he felt "it might have been better if it were shorter. The funny lines, and there are a good number, would have been even sharper." ''

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), ...

'' called it "an outstanding sophisticated comedy" with "solid direction and excellent performances." Philip K. Scheuer of the ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...

'' wrote, "Neither Jason Robards nor Jane Fonda strikes me particularly as a 'natural' comedian (whatever that may be) and the timing of both seems off ... In the case of Robards, a superior actor whenever he is permitted to be, I must admit to some surprise that he was willing to waste his time and talents on such a contrived and cinematically weak affair as this." Richard L. Coe of ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...

'' called Fonda "miscast" because she "is simply not the sort of girl who doesn't know what she is doing." He thought Rosemary Murphy stole the film with an "immensely amusing" performance. ''

The Monthly Film Bulletin The ''Monthly Film Bulletin'' was a periodical of the British Film Institute published monthly from February 1934 until April 1991, when it merged with '' Sight & Sound''. It reviewed all films on release in the United Kingdom, including those wi ...

'' wrote, "A moderately entertaining film version of a Broadway stage production; but it could have been much more so if director Robert Ellis Miller had a lighter touch."

Awards and honors

Jane Fonda was nominated for a 1966

Golden Globe Award The Golden Globe Awards are awards presented for excellence in both international film and television. It is an annual award ceremony held since 1944 to honor artists and professionals and their work. The ceremony is normally held every Janua ...

in the category "Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy"."Awards"
/ref>

Home media

On August 18, 2009,

Warner Home Video Warner Bros. Discovery Home Entertainment, Inc. (doing business as Warner Bros. Home Entertainment; formerly known as Warner Home Video and WCI Home Video and sometimes credited as Warner Home Entertainment) is the American home video distribution ...

released the movie on DVD-R as part of the

Warner Archive Collection The Warner Archive Collection is a home video division for releasing classic and cult films from Warner Bros.' library. It started as a manufactured-on-demand (MOD) DVD series by Warner Bros. Home Entertainment on March 23, 2009, with the inte ...

References

Notes

External links

* * * * {{Robert Ellis Miller 1966 films 1966 romantic comedy films Films about adultery in the United States American romantic comedy films American sex comedy films 1960s English-language films Films scored by George Duning American films based on plays Films directed by Robert Ellis Miller Films set in New York City Films shot in New York City Warner Bros. films 1960s sex comedy films 1966 directorial debut films 1960s American films English-language sex comedy films English-language romantic comedy films