THE GROUP/ FILM
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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| The Group | |
|---|---|
| Film poster | |
| Directed by | Sidney Lumet |
| Written by | Sidney Buchman |
| Based on | The Group 1963 novel by Mary McCarthy |
| Produced by | Sidney Buchman |
| Starring | Candice BergenJoan HackettElizabeth HartmanShirley KnightJoanna PettetMary-Robin ReddJessica WalterKathleen WiddoesJames BroderickJames CongdonLarry HagmanHal HolbrookRichard MulliganRobert EmhardtCarrie Nye |
| Cinematography | Boris Kaufman |
| Edited by | Ralph Rosenblum |
| Music by | Charles Gross |
| Production company | Famartists Productions S.A. |
| Distributed by | United Artists |
| Release date | March 4, 1966 |
| Running time | 150 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $2.4 million[1] |
| Box office | $6 million[2] |
The Group is a 1966 American ensemble drama film directed by Sidney Lumet based on the 1963 novel of the same name by Mary McCarthy about the lives of a group of eight female graduates from Vassar from 1933 to 1940.
The cast of this social satire includes Candice Bergen, Joan Hackett, Elizabeth Hartman, Shirley Knight, Jessica Walter, Kathleen Widdoes, and Joanna Pettet.[3] The film also features small roles for Hal Holbrook, Carrie Nye, James Broderick, Larry Hagman and Richard Mulligan.[3] The film touched on controversial topics for its time: free love, contraception, abortion, lesbianism, and mental illness.
Plot
After their days at a prestigious Eastern university, eight devoted women friends go their separate ways. Wealthy and very beautiful Lakey, always regarded as their leader, leaves for Europe to begin a new life on her own.
The domestic lives of the others go mainly awry. Priss marries an overbearing, controlling doctor and has two miscarriages before she gives birth to a son. Kay, who was Lakey’s pet and was always less sophisticated and wealthy than the other members of the group, marries an abusive playwright who cheats on her. After an unhappy affair with a cold, sarcastic painter, Dottie gives up a flamboyant lifestyle in Greenwich Village to marry a dull Arizona businessman. Pokey has her hands full with two sets of twins. Helena travels the world, but is unable to find happiness at home, while catty and ambitious Libby becomes successful in the literary world despite lacking depth. Polly has an affair with a married man, but later finds real happiness with a kind doctor.
With the outbreak of war in Europe in 1939, Lakey then returns home. When the others discover that the woman with her is more than just a traveling companion, they realize that she is a lesbian. After a tragedy that results in the death of Kay in 1940, Lakey joins them at the funeral for one last time together as the group.
Cast
Main
- Candice Bergen as Elinor “Lakey” Eastlake
- Joan Hackett as Dottie Renfrew Latham
- Elizabeth Hartman as Priss Hartshorn Crockett
- Shirley Knight as Polly Andrews Ridgeley
- Joanna Pettet as Kay Strong Peterson
- Mary-Robin Redd as Mary “Pokey” Prothero Beauchamp
- Jessica Walter as Libby MacAusland
- Kathleen Widdoes as Helena Davison
- James Broderick as Dr. James “Jim” Ridgeley
- James Congdon as Sloan Crockett
- Larry Hagman as Harald Peterson
- Hal Holbrook as Gus Leroy
- Richard Mulligan as Dick Brown
- Robert Emhardt as Henry Andrews
- Carrie Nye as Norine Blake
Supporting
- Philippa Bevans as Mrs. Hartshorn
- Leta Bonynge as Mrs. Prothero
- Marion Brash as Radio Man’s Wife
- Sarah Burton as Mrs. Davison
- Flora Campbell as Mrs. MacAusland
- Bruno Di Cosmi as Nils
- Leora Dana as Mrs. Renfrew
- Bill Fletcher as Bill, the Actor
- George Gaynes as Brook Latham
- Martha Greenhouse as Mrs. Bergler
- Russell Hardie as Mr. Davison
- Vince Harding as Mr. Eastlake
- Doreen Lang as Nurse Swenson
- Chet London as Radio Man
- Baruch Lumet as Mr. Schneider
- John O’Leary as Put Blake
- Hildy Parks as Nurse Catherine
- Lidia Prochnicka as The Baroness
- Polly Rowles as Mrs. Andrews
- Douglas Rutherford as Mr. Prothero
- Truman Smith as Mr. Bergler
- Loretta White as Mrs. Eastlake
Cameo appearance/Uncredited
- Arthur Anderson as Pokey’s husband John Beauchamp
- Ron Charles as Dr. Jones
- Richard Graham as Rev. Garland
- Edward Holmes as Mr. MacAusland
- Brian Sands as Steven Crockett (aged 4)
Music
Songs used:
- Landlord, Fill the Flowing Bowl, traditional.
- The Cannibal King, traditional.
- Liebeslieder-Walzer (Wie des Abends schöne Röte, Vögelein durchrauscht die Luft), Johannes Brahms
- Come, Ye Sons of Art!, Henry Purcell
Release
The film grossed $6 million at the box office,[2] earning $3 million in US theatrical rentals.[4] It was the 25th highest-grossing film of 1966.
Home media
The Group was released to DVD by MGM Home Video on January 15, 2011, via the MGM Choice Collection as a Region 1 manufacture-on-demand DVD.[5]
Reception
On review aggregate website Rotten Tomatoes, The Group has an average rating of 75% based on 8 reviews.[6]
Critic Moira Finnie of FilmStruck wrote:
The crowd of highly educated, privileged characters on the screen in The Group approached their postgraduate life in the Great Depression as though it was a midterm exam to be aced and filed away, with each milestone treated like a fast course in typing or dancing, another skill acquired, to be trotted out at the next luncheon with the other girls in the group. Full of ideas about a woman’s role in the society, but with little real life experience other than in school, the movie chronicles their continued education in the real world.[7]
Bosley Crowther of The New York Times panned it as “a rambling account of the thoroughly banal domestic doings of these eight girl graduates,” “so atrociously staged” and “so awkwardly and mawkishly played that it sems [sic] not only a travesty of the nineteen-thirties but an insult to a generation of human beings.”[8] Variety wrote that the film is faithful to the novel but retains too much detail.[9]
Awards
Joan Hackett was nominated for the BAFTA Award for Best Foreign Actress.[10] The film was nominated for the Golden Bear at the 16th Berlin International Film Festival in 1966.[11] Candice Bergen was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Most Promising Newcomer.[12]
See also
References
- Weiler, A. H. (June 13, 1965). “Happy ‘Group’ Portrait”. The New York Times. p. X13.
- “Box Office Information for The Group“. The Numbers. Retrieved June 6, 2013.
- “The Group”. TCM Movie Database. Turner Classic Movies. Archived from the original on September 25, 2011. Retrieved February 20, 2016.
- “Big Rental Pictures of 1966”. Variety. January 4, 1967. p. 8.
- Saito, Stephen (April 14, 2011). “Five of Sidney Lumet’s Lesser-Known Films Worth Seeking Out”. IFC. Archived from the original on June 15, 2013. Retrieved June 10, 2015.
- “The Group (1966)”. Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved April 28, 2025.
- Finnie, Moira. “In the Loop with The Group (1966)”. Streamline : The FilmStruck Blog. Archived from the original on September 15, 2018. Retrieved September 16, 2009.
- Crowther, Bosley (March 17, 1966). “3 Theaters Show ‘The Group’: Story of Vassar Girls’ Lives Lacks Drama, Post-Depression Years Ineptly Presented”. The New York Times. Retrieved November 24, 2024.
- “Review: ‘The Group'”. Variety. December 31, 1965. Retrieved June 10, 2015.
- “Film in 1967”. BAFTA Awards. Archived from the original on August 8, 2014. Retrieved April 28, 2025.
- “50 Films From 35 Countries in Berlin Film Festival”. The Film Daily. Vol. 128. June 21, 1966. p. 5. Retrieved April 28, 2025.
- “The Group”. Golden Globe Awards. Retrieved April 28, 2025.
External links
- The Group at IMDb
- The Group at the TCM Movie Database (archived version)
- The Group at the AFI Catalog of Feature Films
- The Group at Rotten Tomatoes
- 1966 films
- 1966 drama films
- American drama films
- Films about abortion in the United States
- Films based on American novels
- Films directed by Sidney Lumet
- Films set in the 1930s
- Films set in the 1940s
- Films set in Arizona
- Films set in Massachusetts
- Films set in New York City
- Films set in Ohio
- Films set in 1933
- Films set in 1934
- Films set in 1935
- Films set in 1936
- Films set in 1937
- Films set in 1938
- Films set in 1939
- Films set in 1940
- Films with screenplays by Sidney Buchman
- United Artists films
- American feminist films
- Lesbian-related films
- 1966 LGBTQ-related films
- 1960s feminist films
- 1960s female buddy films
- 1966 English-language films
- 1966 American films
- American LGBTQ-related films
- English-language buddy films
- English-language drama films
- Films scored by Charles Gross