Goodbye, Columbus (1969) - Young stars glimmer in Peerce's good Roth adaptation

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'Every father's daughter is a virgin' the diminutive tagline reads on the sensual image of  Ali McGraw with a rose on the cusp of blooming on this poster for Larry Peerce's Goodbye, Columbus

A young military veteran, who works at the local library and carries on his life with a comfortably loose hand, falls in love with the beautiful Brenda, who comes from a well-to-do Jewish family...

 

Goodbye, Columbus is written by Arnold Schulman (A Hole in the Head (1959)), adapting Philip Roth's (Everyman (2006)) same-titled 1959 novella, and directed by Larry Peerce (One Potato, Two Potato (1964)).

It is a zeitgeist type youth romance-drama with lots of skin; from the early pool scene to the later love scenes, some are natural and sexy, too. It today offers an interesting snapshot of its times, but it also has good performances from Richard Benjamin (Scavenger Hunt (1979)) and Ali McGraw (Players (1979)), as well as a refined sensibility, which may come from Roth's basis work.

SPOILER In the end the relationship, which is especially trialed by her bourgeois family, breaks - because she has forgotten her diaphragm! An authentic and painful fight becomes their end.

Watch a trailer for the film here

 

Cost: 1.5 mil. $

Box office: 22.9 mil. $ (North America alone)

= Mega-hit (returned 15.26 times its cost in North America alone)

[Goodbye, Columbus was released 3 April (USA) and runs 102 minutes. Shooting took place in July 1968 - ? in New York and Massachusetts. The film's 10.5 mil. $ in rentals made it the #10 top-grossing title in North America of the year; the gross is reported at 22.9 mil. $ and foreign grosses are unreported online, regrettably. The film was nominated for the Best Adapted Screenplay Oscar, lost to Waldo Salt for Midnight Cowboy. It won 1/3 Golden Globe nominations and was nominated for 3 BAFTAs among other honors. Peerce returned with The Sporting Club (1971). Benjamin returned in Catch-22 (1970); McGraw in Love Story (1970). Goodbye, Columbus is fresh at 92 % with a 7.10/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of Goodbye, Columbus?

The Getaway (1972) - McQueen/Peckinpah hit the bank with unrefined thriller

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A hilarious poster for Sam Peckinpah's The Getaway, which signals two immortal qualities above all else: Sex and violence

Our anti-hero robber "Doc" McCoy is let out of the can for good behavior after a stint for armed robbery. On the outside he and his lady immediately begin plotting a new robbery. - Which goes completely awry...!

 

The Getaway is written by Walter Hill (The Warriors (1979)), adapting Jim Thompson's (The Kill-Off (1957)) same-titled 1958 novel, and directed by great Californian filmmaker Sam Peckinpah (The Deadly Companions (1961)).

Steve McQueen (The Reivers (1969)) kills at random and beats love interest Ali McGraw (Players (1979)), yet this is still a classic for many people. His character isn't very charismatic or exciting, although he does have a certain sex appeal, which is probably the reason for the celebration. Besides this Peckinpah utilizes his usual stylistic effects; slow-motion shoot-ups and focus on form over substance.

The car chase in The Getaway is surprisingly short. The film is a bit overlong and disappointing.

 

Related posts:

Sam Peckinpah: The Ballad of Cable Hogue (1970) - A manly respite with Robards and Peckinpah  

The Deadly Companions (1961) - Peckinpah's debut is a tough, great, suspense-filled western 

Watch a 3-minute clip from the film here

 

Cost: 3.3 mil. $

Box office: 18.9 mil. $ (North America alone)

= Huge hit (returned 5.72 times its cost domestically alone)

[The Getaway was released 16 December (Italy) and runs 122 minutes. Peter Bogdanovich was hired to direct the film, but McQueen fired him upon learning that he was more interested in comedy What's Up, Doc? (1972). Peckinpah was instead hired, fresh from his flop with McQueen, Junior Bonner (1972), as well as Paramount boss Robert Evans' wife, model-turned-actress McGraw. McQueen worked for 10 % of the gross, which accumulated to at least 1.8 mil. $. Shooting took place in Texas and Arizona from February - April 1972. McGraw and McQueen had an affair on the production, which led to McGraw leaving husband Evans and marrying McQueen. She later said she "hated" her performance in the film. Of McQueen's final-cut privilege, Peckinpah said that he was "playing it safe with these pretty-boy shots." McQueen was unhappy with Peckinpah's regular composer Jerry Fielding and instead got Quincy Jones hired to make a jazzy score, angering Peckinpah further. Sources say the film earned rentals of 18 mil. $ in North America and a 18.9 mil. $ gross domestically, becoming the year's 8th highest-grossing film in North America. The-Numbers have an unsupported claim that it made 36.7 mil. $ domestically. The film was nominated for a Golden Globe. Roger Ebert gave it a 2/4 star review, equal in rating to this one. A flop remake was made with same title by Roger Donaldson in 1994 starring Alec Baldwin and Kim Bassinger. Peckinpah returned with Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid (1973). McQueen returned in Papillon (1973); MacGraw in Convoy (1978). The Getaway is fresh at 86 % with a 6.90/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of The Getaway?