Indiscreet (1958 film): Difference between revisions
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'''''Kind Sir''''' is a play that was originally directed by [[Joshua Logan]] |
'''''Kind Sir''''' is a play that was originally directed by [[Joshua Logan]], who had directed ''John Loves Mary'' for Krasna on Broadway. |
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Logan says Krasna wrote it with Alfred Lunt and Lynne Fontane in mind. Logan says after he read it "I was amazed again at the way Norman could take a small misunderstanding, a white lie, and turn it into a full-length, funny and even romantic play... It did not have the GI humor and lustiness of ''John loves Mary'' but it was brilliantly constructed and had the glamour and delightful aura of drawing room comedy that had been missing from the theatre for years."<ref>Logan p 348</ref> Logan called it "a good play. It had all the craftsmanship of the best Pinero farce - plus the charm and elegance of something by Lonsdale or Maugham."<ref>Logan p 384</ref> |
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Logan offered the female lead to [[Joan Crawford]] who read the first two acts on stage just to see if she would do it but did not want to commit to a state play. Charles Boyer agreed to play the male lead and Mary Martin the female lead. Logan struggled with mental health issues during rehearsals.<ref>Logan p 360-385</ref> |
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It ran for 166 performances.<ref>[http://www.playbillvault.com/Show/Detail/918/Kind-Sir ''Kind Sir''] at Playbill</ref> Logan said although the play had a million dollar advance, the largest ever for a nonmusical play, reviews were poor. "My great idea of pairing Mary martin and Charles Boyer in a light romantic comedy had backfired," Logan wrote. "The public came to see a combination of ''South Pacific'', ''Algiers'' and ''Mayerling''. With their appetites set for a juicy steak dinner they had been served fish. Exquisitely prepared fish but nevertheless not steak. And the shock to the taste butds caused not only disappointment but anger."<ref>Logan p 384</ref> |
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===Original cast=== |
===Original cast=== |
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==Production== |
==Production== |
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No movie company offered for the film rights so the producers of the play - Logan, Martin, Boyer and Krasna - agreed to Krasna's offer to buy them himself for $10,000. Krasna did not tell his fellow producers he had lined up Cary Grant and Ingrid Bergman to star in a movie.<ref>Logan p 384</ref> |
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| ⚫ | It was originally announced that the film would be made with either [[Marilyn Monroe]] or [[Jayne Mansfield]], and with [[Clark Gable]] as the male star.<ref>Louella Parsons: Mary Martin Role Tailored for Monroe, The Washington Post and Times Herald |
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| ⚫ | |||
==Box Office== |
==Box Office== |
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The film was one of the most popular at the British box office in 1958.<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://archive.org/details/Screen_Volume_32_Issue_3/page/n17|magazine=Screen|page=259|volume=32|issue=3|title=The popular cash and culture in the postwar British cinema industry|first=Janet|last=Thumim}}</ref> |
The film was one of the most popular at the British box office in 1958.<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://archive.org/details/Screen_Volume_32_Issue_3/page/n17|magazine=Screen|page=259|volume=32|issue=3|title=The popular cash and culture in the postwar British cinema industry|first=Janet|last=Thumim}}</ref> |
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It was popular and well reviewed. Logan saw the movie expecting to find it different from the play and was surprised to find it "ver batim" like ''Kind Sir''. "Krasna's writing and my taste were more than vindicated," said Logan. "Had I been well [directing the play] it would have been another story."<ref>Logan p 384</ref> |
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==Awards and honors== |
==Awards and honors== |
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==References== |
==References== |
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{{reflist}} |
{{reflist}} |
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==Notes== |
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*{{cite book|first=Joshua|last=Logan|title=Josh, my up and down, in and out life|year=1976 |publisher=Delacorte Press }} |
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== External links == |
== External links == |
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Revision as of 07:54, 15 October 2019
| Indiscreet | |
|---|---|
 Cinema poster | |
| Directed by | Stanley Donen |
| Written by | Norman Krasna |
| Produced by | Stanley Donen |
| Starring | Cary Grant Ingrid Bergman |
| Cinematography | Freddie Young |
| Edited by | Jack Harris |
| Music by | Richard Bennett |
| Distributed by | Warner Brothers |
Release date | 26 June 1958 |
Running time | 100 min. |
| Language | English |
| Box office | $8 million (US)[1] |
Indiscreet is a 1958 Technicolor British romantic comedy film directed by Stanley Donen and starring Cary Grant and Ingrid Bergman.
The film is based on the play Kind Sir by Norman Krasna. This was Grant's and Bergman's second film together, after Alfred Hitchcock's Notorious (1946), and was one of the first films to popularise artistic use of the technique of split screens. The film was remade for television in 1988 starring Robert Wagner and Lesley-Anne Down.
Synopsis
Anna Kalman (Ingrid Bergman) is an accomplished London-based theatre actress who has given up her hopes of finding the man of her dreams. Through her brother-in-law, Alfred Munson (Cecil Parker), she meets a handsome economist, Philip Adams (Cary Grant). She is instantly captivated by him and expresses visible interest in him.
At the end of their first meeting, she makes a pass at him to go on a date sometimes later to which he politely states that he is married. He further adds that he is separated and unable to get a divorce from his wife. Anna is seemingly unperturbed by the fact and still asks him out whereupon he agrees.
They hit it off on their first date and continue seeing each other frequently. Soon after they fall in love. Anna is then cautioned by her sister Margaret (Phyllis Calvert) about the affair but she rebuffs her approach.
As their romance continues to blossom, Philip receives a temporary transfer notice to New York for his work at NATO which greatly distresses Anna as it will keep them apart for possibly five months.
On the day before Philip's scheduled sail, Alfred tells Philip that he knows Philip is a bachelor from Scotland Yard investigations and asks him the reason for this secret. Philip reveals that he is unenthusiastic about the idea of marriage but can't give up on women which led him to develop this white lie. However, he assures Alfred that he sincerely loves Anna. He also tells that he plans to surprise Anna on her birthday the next day by delaying his departure by a few days and visiting her at midnight.
Anna informs Alfred and Margaret that she plans to go to New York to surprise Philip. To discourage her Alfred unwillingly discloses Philip's plan. Margaret further worsens the situation by stating that Philip is actually unmarried. Anna becomes furious upon learning this as she takes this as an insult to her dignity. She decides to go on as if nothing happened but secretly concocts a plan to get even with him.
She arranges an elaborate ruse where it will appear that she was having an affair with David, an old flame, when Philip comes to visit her at midnight on her birthday. But it does not go as planned when David meets an accident and she is informed that he can't come. She tries to solve it by making her elderly caretaker Carl (David Kossoff) play the part of David. Despite this, her plan goes haywire when Philip comes and actually proposes marriage to her and leaves when he mistakes Carl for David. She is absolutely distraught by this but luckily, Philip returns and she is able to clear up the confusion. She tells him that she is happy the way things are. But now Philip is adamant about getting married and tells her so. Hearing this, Anna becomes extremely happy and the film ends with the couples embracing each other.
Main cast
- Cary Grant - Philip Adams
- Ingrid Bergman - Anna Kalman
- Cecil Parker - Alfred Munson
- Phyllis Calvert - Margaret Munson
- David Kossoff - Carl Banks
- Megs Jenkins - Doris Banks
Original play
| Kind Sir | |
|---|---|
| Written by | Norman Krasna |
| Date premiered | 4 November 1953 |
| Place premiered | Alvin Theatre, New York |
| Original language | English |
| Subject | Comedy |
| Setting | The New York apartment of Miss Jane Kimball |
Kind Sir is a play that was originally directed by Joshua Logan, who had directed John Loves Mary for Krasna on Broadway.
Logan says Krasna wrote it with Alfred Lunt and Lynne Fontane in mind. Logan says after he read it "I was amazed again at the way Norman could take a small misunderstanding, a white lie, and turn it into a full-length, funny and even romantic play... It did not have the GI humor and lustiness of John loves Mary but it was brilliantly constructed and had the glamour and delightful aura of drawing room comedy that had been missing from the theatre for years."[2] Logan called it "a good play. It had all the craftsmanship of the best Pinero farce - plus the charm and elegance of something by Lonsdale or Maugham."[3]
Logan offered the female lead to Joan Crawford who read the first two acts on stage just to see if she would do it but did not want to commit to a state play. Charles Boyer agreed to play the male lead and Mary Martin the female lead. Logan struggled with mental health issues during rehearsals.[4]
It ran for 166 performances.[5] Logan said although the play had a million dollar advance, the largest ever for a nonmusical play, reviews were poor. "My great idea of pairing Mary martin and Charles Boyer in a light romantic comedy had backfired," Logan wrote. "The public came to see a combination of South Pacific, Algiers and Mayerling. With their appetites set for a juicy steak dinner they had been served fish. Exquisitely prepared fish but nevertheless not steak. And the shock to the taste butds caused not only disappointment but anger."[6]
Original cast
- Charles Boyer as Philip Clair
- Mary Martin as Jane Kimball
- Frank Conroy as Alfred Munson
- Margalo Gillmore as Anna Miller
- Robert Ross as Carl Miller [7]
- Dorothy Stickney as Margaret Munson
Background
Krasna had written the play by June 1950.[8]
Production
No movie company offered for the film rights so the producers of the play - Logan, Martin, Boyer and Krasna - agreed to Krasna's offer to buy them himself for $10,000. Krasna did not tell his fellow producers he had lined up Cary Grant and Ingrid Bergman to star in a movie.[9]
It was originally announced that the film would be made with either Marilyn Monroe or Jayne Mansfield, and with Clark Gable as the male star.[10]
Box Office
The film was one of the most popular at the British box office in 1958.[11]
It was popular and well reviewed. Logan saw the movie expecting to find it different from the play and was surprised to find it "ver batim" like Kind Sir. "Krasna's writing and my taste were more than vindicated," said Logan. "Had I been well [directing the play] it would have been another story."[12]
Awards and honors
Indiscreet was nominated for three Golden Globes, two BAFTAs and one Writers Guild of America award, but failed to win any of them.
The film is recognized by American Film Institute in these lists:
- 2002: AFI's 100 Years...100 Passions – Nominated[13]
References
- ^ "Indiscreet - Box Office Data". The Numbers. Retrieved 14 November 2011.
- ^ Logan p 348
- ^ Logan p 384
- ^ Logan p 360-385
- ^ Kind Sir at Playbill
- ^ Logan p 384
- ^ http://ibdb.com/production.php?id=2384
- ^ DALRYMPLE PLANS PRODUCTION IN FALL New York Times 15 June 1950: 40.
- ^ Logan p 384
- ^ Louella Parsons: Mary Martin Role Tailored for Monroe, The Washington Post and Times Herald 11 Oct 1956: 48.
- ^ Thumim, Janet. "The popular cash and culture in the postwar British cinema industry". Screen. Vol. 32, no. 3. p. 259.
- ^ Logan p 384
- ^ "AFI's 100 Years...100 Passions Nominees" (PDF). Retrieved 19 August 2016.
Notes
- Logan, Joshua (1976). Josh, my up and down, in and out life. Delacorte Press.
External links
- Kind Sir at the Internet Broadway Database
- Indiscreet at IMDb
- Indiscreet at the TCM Movie Database
- Indiscreet at AllMovie
- Indiscreet at the American Film Institute Catalog
- Review of Broadway production at Variety
