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The Owl and the Pussycat
A surprisingly sophisticated screenplay and energetic performances from the leads make 1970's The Owl and the Pussycat worth a look.
George Segal plays Felix Sherman, a bookstore clerk and aspiring writer who rats out his downstairs neighbor, Doris (Barbra Streisand) when he realizes she is turning tricks in her apartment. Unfortunately, Felix's move backfires on him and gets both him and Doris evicted but also launches an off and on relationship between the two that both fight and deny until the final reel.
This piece was originally a two-character play by Bill Manhoff that hit the boards in 1964 with the late Diana Sands playing Doris and Alan Alda playing Felix, which ran for over 400 performances. I suspect that the less than impressive Broadway run might had something to do with the interracial cast of two, which probably caused some whispering during the turbulent 1960's during a Broadway season where most New York theatergoers were buying tickets to Hello Dolly! or Funny Girl. Ironically, Streisand was packing houses as Fanny Brice at the time and would later star in the film version of Hello Dolly.
Be that as it may, as I watched this film, I couldn't help but think that a lot of the appeal of the original stage play had to do with the fact that Doris was black and Felix was white. I'm pretty sure back in 1970, movie audiences weren't really ready for an interracial romantic comedy, not to mention the fact that Sands was a theatrical actress with no box office clout behind her, so Barbra Streisand, pretty much the biggest star in Hollywood at the time after appearing in three huge musicals, was awarded the role.
Streisand really sinks her teeth into the role and gets a lot of help from Buck Henry's intelligent screenplay that provides a pair of three dimensional characters involved in a story that is a little on the risque side (for 1970).Aided by director Herbert Ross and Henry, the two character play which I suspect took place in a single setting is nicely opened up, utilizing on location filming in Manhattan that almost keeps the movie from looking like a photographed play. Streisand proved her skill as a comic actress here as this was the first film she did in which she didn't sing. George Segal is quite charming as Felix, the nerdy bookstore clerk with the sexy side, a precursor to the character Ryan O'Neal would perfect in Barbra's next film What's Up, Doc?. The story does make some moves that don't really make sense but Streisand and Segal make an engaging screen team who will hold your interest.
A surprisingly sophisticated screenplay and energetic performances from the leads make 1970's The Owl and the Pussycat worth a look.
George Segal plays Felix Sherman, a bookstore clerk and aspiring writer who rats out his downstairs neighbor, Doris (Barbra Streisand) when he realizes she is turning tricks in her apartment. Unfortunately, Felix's move backfires on him and gets both him and Doris evicted but also launches an off and on relationship between the two that both fight and deny until the final reel.
This piece was originally a two-character play by Bill Manhoff that hit the boards in 1964 with the late Diana Sands playing Doris and Alan Alda playing Felix, which ran for over 400 performances. I suspect that the less than impressive Broadway run might had something to do with the interracial cast of two, which probably caused some whispering during the turbulent 1960's during a Broadway season where most New York theatergoers were buying tickets to Hello Dolly! or Funny Girl. Ironically, Streisand was packing houses as Fanny Brice at the time and would later star in the film version of Hello Dolly.
Be that as it may, as I watched this film, I couldn't help but think that a lot of the appeal of the original stage play had to do with the fact that Doris was black and Felix was white. I'm pretty sure back in 1970, movie audiences weren't really ready for an interracial romantic comedy, not to mention the fact that Sands was a theatrical actress with no box office clout behind her, so Barbra Streisand, pretty much the biggest star in Hollywood at the time after appearing in three huge musicals, was awarded the role.
Streisand really sinks her teeth into the role and gets a lot of help from Buck Henry's intelligent screenplay that provides a pair of three dimensional characters involved in a story that is a little on the risque side (for 1970).Aided by director Herbert Ross and Henry, the two character play which I suspect took place in a single setting is nicely opened up, utilizing on location filming in Manhattan that almost keeps the movie from looking like a photographed play. Streisand proved her skill as a comic actress here as this was the first film she did in which she didn't sing. George Segal is quite charming as Felix, the nerdy bookstore clerk with the sexy side, a precursor to the character Ryan O'Neal would perfect in Barbra's next film What's Up, Doc?. The story does make some moves that don't really make sense but Streisand and Segal make an engaging screen team who will hold your interest.