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Critic's Choice (1963 film)
Encyclopedia
Critic's Choice is a 1963 film comedy directed by Don Weis. Based on the 1960 Broadway play of the same name
by Ira Levin
, the movie starred Bob Hope
and Lucille Ball
and included Rip Torn
, Marilyn Maxwell
, Jim Backus
, Marie Windsor
and Jerome Cowan
in the cast.
This was the last of four films that Hope and Ball made together.
. His wife Angela is feeling useless and restless, so she writes a play about her mother and sisters.
Angela doesn't believe Parker should review her work, since he will look prejudiced if he does so favorably and it will hurt her feelings if he knocks it. Parker has read it and isn't impressed. A major producer, however, decides to back it.
Handsome Dion Kapakos directs the play and tries to strike up a romantic interest in the playwright. Angela continues to resist, but she's getting more fed up with Parker's negativity by the hour.
Before the play's first out-of-town tryout in Boston, the conflicted Parker goes to see his ex-wife, Ivy, and gets a little tipsy. He decides to go to the opening, then writes a negative review. The trouble gets worse when he gets home.
Critic's Choice (play)
Critic's Choice is a play written by Ira Levin.It opened at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre on December 14, 1960 and ran for 189 performances, closing on May 27, 1961. Levin's inspiration was then-New York Herald Tribune drama critic Walter Kerr and his playwright wife Jean. Otto Preminger directed...
by Ira Levin
Ira Levin
Ira Levin was an American author, dramatist and songwriter.-Professional life:Levin attended Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa...
, the movie starred Bob Hope
Bob Hope
Bob Hope, KBE, KCSG, KSS was a British-born American comedian and actor who appeared in vaudeville, on Broadway, and in radio, television and movies. He was also noted for his work with the US Armed Forces and his numerous USO shows entertaining American military personnel...
and Lucille Ball
Lucille Ball
Lucille Désirée Ball was an American comedian, film, television, stage and radio actress, model, film and television executive, and star of the sitcoms I Love Lucy, The Lucy–Desi Comedy Hour, The Lucy Show, Here's Lucy and Life With Lucy...
and included Rip Torn
Rip Torn
Elmore Rual "Rip" Torn, Jr. , is an American actor of stage, screen and television.Torn received an Academy Award nomination as Best Supporting Actor for his role in the 1983 film Cross Creek. His work includes the role of Artie, the producer, on The Larry Sanders Show, for which he was nominated...
, Marilyn Maxwell
Marilyn Maxwell
Marilyn Maxwell , born Marvel Marilyn Maxwell, was an American actress and entertainer.Noted for her blonde hair and sexually alluring persona, she appeared in several films and radio programs, and entertained the troops during World War II and the Korean War on USO tours with Bob Hope.-Career:She...
, Jim Backus
Jim Backus
James Gilmore "Jim" Backus was a radio, television, film, and voice actor. Among his most famous roles are the voice of Mr...
, Marie Windsor
Marie Windsor
Marie Windsor . Born as Emily Marie Bertelson in Marysvale, Piute County, Utah, Windsor was an actress known as "The Queen of the Bs" because she appeared in so many film noirs and B-movies like Cat-Women of the Moon...
and Jerome Cowan
Jerome Cowan
Jerome Palmer Cowan was an American film and television actor. At eighteen he joined a travelling stock company, shortly afterwards enlisting in the navy in World War I. After the war he returned to the stage and became a vaudeville headliner, then gained success on the New York stage...
in the cast.
This was the last of four films that Hope and Ball made together.
Plot summary
Parker Ballantine is a theatrical critic, busily praising or disparaging the shows of BroadwayBroadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
. His wife Angela is feeling useless and restless, so she writes a play about her mother and sisters.
Angela doesn't believe Parker should review her work, since he will look prejudiced if he does so favorably and it will hurt her feelings if he knocks it. Parker has read it and isn't impressed. A major producer, however, decides to back it.
Handsome Dion Kapakos directs the play and tries to strike up a romantic interest in the playwright. Angela continues to resist, but she's getting more fed up with Parker's negativity by the hour.
Before the play's first out-of-town tryout in Boston, the conflicted Parker goes to see his ex-wife, Ivy, and gets a little tipsy. He decides to go to the opening, then writes a negative review. The trouble gets worse when he gets home.
Cast
- Bob HopeBob HopeBob Hope, KBE, KCSG, KSS was a British-born American comedian and actor who appeared in vaudeville, on Broadway, and in radio, television and movies. He was also noted for his work with the US Armed Forces and his numerous USO shows entertaining American military personnel...
as Parker Ballantine - Lucille BallLucille BallLucille Désirée Ball was an American comedian, film, television, stage and radio actress, model, film and television executive, and star of the sitcoms I Love Lucy, The Lucy–Desi Comedy Hour, The Lucy Show, Here's Lucy and Life With Lucy...
as Angela Ballantine - Marilyn MaxwellMarilyn MaxwellMarilyn Maxwell , born Marvel Marilyn Maxwell, was an American actress and entertainer.Noted for her blonde hair and sexually alluring persona, she appeared in several films and radio programs, and entertained the troops during World War II and the Korean War on USO tours with Bob Hope.-Career:She...
as Ivy London - Rip TornRip TornElmore Rual "Rip" Torn, Jr. , is an American actor of stage, screen and television.Torn received an Academy Award nomination as Best Supporting Actor for his role in the 1983 film Cross Creek. His work includes the role of Artie, the producer, on The Larry Sanders Show, for which he was nominated...
as Dion Kapakos - Jessie Royce LandisJessie Royce LandisJessie Royce Landis was an American actress.-Career:She was born Jessie Royce Medbury in Chicago, Illinois. Landis was a stage actress for much of her career...
as Charlotte Orr aka Charlie - John DehnerJohn DehnerJohn Dehner was an American actor in radio, television, and films, playing countless roles, often as a droll villain. Between 1941 and 1988, he appeared in over 260 films and television programs. Prior to acting, Dehner had worked as an animator at Walt Disney Studios, and later became a radio...
as S.P. Champlain - Jim BackusJim BackusJames Gilmore "Jim" Backus was a radio, television, film, and voice actor. Among his most famous roles are the voice of Mr...
as Dr. William Von Hagedorn - Ricky Kelman as John Ballantine
- Dorothy Green as Mrs. Margaret Champlain
- Marie WindsorMarie WindsorMarie Windsor . Born as Emily Marie Bertelson in Marysvale, Piute County, Utah, Windsor was an actress known as "The Queen of the Bs" because she appeared in so many film noirs and B-movies like Cat-Women of the Moon...
as Sally Orr - Joseph GallisonJoseph GallisonJoseph Gallison is an American actor who worked steadily in television soap operas for twenty-seven years. He is probably best known for his role as Dr. Neil Curtis on Days of our Lives ....
as Philip 'Phil' Yardley (as Evan McCord) - Joan ShawleeJoan ShawleeJoan Shawlee , also credited as Joan Fulton, was an American film and television actress.Her most notable roles were small roles in Jack Lemmon and Billy Wilder films. Her most famous role was as Sweet Sue in the 1959 comedy classic, Some Like It Hot, starring Marilyn Monroe, Tony Curtis, and Jack...
as Marge Orr - Richard DeaconRichard Deacon (actor)Richard Deacon , born in Philadelphia, was an American television and motion picture actor.-Career:The bald and usually bespectacled character actor often portrayed pompous or imperious figures. He made appearances on The Jack Benny Show as a salesman and a barber, and on NBC's Happy as a hotel...
as Harvey Rittenhouse - Jerome CowanJerome CowanJerome Palmer Cowan was an American film and television actor. At eighteen he joined a travelling stock company, shortly afterwards enlisting in the navy in World War I. After the war he returned to the stage and became a vaudeville headliner, then gained success on the New York stage...
as Joe Rosenfield - Donald LosbyDonald LosbyDonald Losby, born Donald A. Losby Jr. on May 26, 1951 in San Francisco, CA, is an American actor, known primarily for his many character-type roles in popular television throughout the '50's and '60's in programs such as, The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet, The Andy Griffith Show, The Twilight...
as Godfrey Von Hagedorn - Soupy SalesSoupy SalesSoupy Sales was an American comedian, actor, radio-TV personality and host, and jazz aficionado. He was best known for his local and network children's television show, Lunch with Soupy Sales; a series of comedy sketches frequently ending with Sales receiving a pie in the face, which became his...
as Boston Desk Clerk