Lovin' Molly
Encyclopedia
Lovin' Molly is a 1974 drama film directed by Sidney Lumet
and starring Anthony Perkins
, Beau Bridges
, Blythe Danner
in the title role, Ed Binns
, and Susan Sarandon
. The film is based on one of Larry McMurtry
's first novels, Leaving Cheyenne. Prior to release, the film was also known as Molly, Gid, and Johnny and The Wild and The Sweet.
In an interview with another of the actors in the film, Paul Partain
(better known for his role in The Texas Chain Saw Massacre
) described the origins of the film:
The movie was filmed in Bastrop, Texas
; the filming was witnessed by a Texan journalist who later wrote a 1974 Texas Monthly
article about the film. The lengthly article (over 4000 words) was published in advance of its release, and noted the following:
Sidney Lumet
Sidney Lumet was an American director, producer and screenwriter with over 50 films to his credit. He was nominated for the Academy Award as Best Director for 12 Angry Men , Dog Day Afternoon , Network and The Verdict...
and starring Anthony Perkins
Anthony Perkins
Anthony Perkins was an American actor, best known for his Oscar-nominated role in Friendly Persuasion and as Norman Bates in Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho , and its three sequels.-Early life:...
, Beau Bridges
Beau Bridges
Lloyd Vernet "Beau" Bridges III is an American actor and director.- Early life :Bridges was born in Los Angeles, the son of actor Lloyd Bridges and his college sweetheart, Dorothy Bridges . He was nicknamed "Beau" by his mother and father after Ashley Wilkes's son in Gone with the Wind, the book...
, Blythe Danner
Blythe Danner
Blythe Katherine Danner is an American actress. She is the mother of actress Gwyneth Paltrow and director Jake Paltrow.-Early life:...
in the title role, Ed Binns
Ed Binns
Edward Binns was a stage, film, and television actor.Binns was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. After appearing in a number of Broadway plays, Binns began appearing in films in the early 1950s...
, and Susan Sarandon
Susan Sarandon
Susan Sarandon is an American actress. She has worked in films and television since 1969, and won an Academy Award for Best Actress for her performance in the 1995 film Dead Man Walking. She had also been nominated for the award for four films before that and has received other recognition for her...
. The film is based on one of Larry McMurtry
Larry McMurtry
Larry Jeff McMurtry is an American novelist, essayist, bookseller and screenwriter whose work is predominantly set in either the old West or in contemporary Texas...
's first novels, Leaving Cheyenne. Prior to release, the film was also known as Molly, Gid, and Johnny and The Wild and The Sweet.
In an interview with another of the actors in the film, Paul Partain
Paul A. Partain
Paul A. Partain was an American actor, perhaps best known for his role in The Texas Chain Saw Massacre as the "annoying" handicapped Franklin Hardesty.Partain was born in Austin, Texas...
(better known for his role in The Texas Chain Saw Massacre
The Texas Chain Saw Massacre
The Texas Chain Saw Massacre is a 1974 American independent horror film directed and produced by Tobe Hooper, who cowrote it with Kim Henkel. It stars Marilyn Burns, Paul A. Partain, Edwin Neal, Jim Siedow, and Gunnar Hansen, who respectively portray Sally Hardesty, Franklin Hardesty, the...
) described the origins of the film:
- When Sidney [Lumet] and [producer] Stephen [Friedman] got into town, they came with what they hoped would be the perfect formula for success. It had worked on The Last Picture ShowThe Last Picture ShowThe Last Picture Show is a 1971 American drama film directed by Peter Bogdanovich, adapted from a semi-autobiographical 1966 novel of the same name by Larry McMurtry....
, and they knew it would work here. It was this: get a Larry McMurtry novel, hire your three lead actors from Hollywood, get a great director, pick up all the rest of the actors and the crew from the local pool and you were set. Great plan, and it almost worked...
The movie was filmed in Bastrop, Texas
Bastrop, Texas
-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there are 5340 people in Bastrop, organized into 2034 households and 1336 families. The population density is 734.8 people per square mile . There are 2,239 housing units at an average density of 308.1 per square mile...
; the filming was witnessed by a Texan journalist who later wrote a 1974 Texas Monthly
Texas Monthly
Texas Monthly is a monthly American magazine headquartered in Austin, Texas. Texas Monthly is published by Emmis Publishing, L.P. and was founded in 1973 by Michael R. Levy, Texas Monthly chronicles life in contemporary Texas, writing on politics, the environment, industry, and education...
article about the film. The lengthly article (over 4000 words) was published in advance of its release, and noted the following:
- Should you find more than a modicum of true Texas in the film — excluding John Henry FaulkJohn Henry FaulkJohn Henry Faulk from Austin, Texas was a storyteller and radio show host. His successful lawsuit against blacklisters of the entertainment industry helped to bring an end to the Hollywood blacklist.-Early life:...
's bit role — why, then, I'll buy you a two-dollar play purty. Lovin' Molly has no sense of Time or Place: a curious development, indeed, when you consider that Larry McMurtry's writing strength derives from evoking Time-and-Place about as well as you will find it done this side of FaulknerWilliam FaulknerWilliam Cuthbert Faulkner was an American writer from Oxford, Mississippi. Faulkner worked in a variety of media; he wrote novels, short stories, a play, poetry, essays and screenplays during his career...
. - Let us fade, now, into the recent past — back to AustinAustin, TexasAustin is the capital city of the U.S. state of :Texas and the seat of Travis County. Located in Central Texas on the eastern edge of the American Southwest, it is the fourth-largest city in Texas and the 14th most populous city in the United States. It was the third-fastest-growing large city in...
and Bastrop, in November and December, 1972 — to discover how professional film folks could have so botched and perverted McMurtry's Texas. - [McMurty's novel was] a yarn of cattleCattleCattle are the most common type of large domesticated ungulates. They are a prominent modern member of the subfamily Bovinae, are the most widespread species of the genus Bos, and are most commonly classified collectively as Bos primigenius...
country and of the last stubborn independent men in it; he well-clued the reader that his people wore coiled hats, boots, jeans, and retained a certain fierce saddleback pride. So director Sid Lumet trots everybody out in clod-hoppers and bib-overalls; they plant and reapFarmerA farmer is a person engaged in agriculture, who raises living organisms for food or raw materials, generally including livestock husbandry and growing crops, such as produce and grain...
as if in the best bottomlands of the rich Mississippi DeltaMississippi DeltaThe Mississippi Delta is the distinctive northwest section of the U.S. state of Mississippi that lies between the Mississippi and Yazoo Rivers. The region has been called "The Most Southern Place on Earth" because of its unique racial, cultural, and economic history...
.
Plot
Over a span of nearly 40 years, Gid and Johnny, a pair of Texas farm boys, compete for the affections of Molly Taylor, a free spirit who cares for both of them.Cast
- Anthony PerkinsAnthony PerkinsAnthony Perkins was an American actor, best known for his Oscar-nominated role in Friendly Persuasion and as Norman Bates in Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho , and its three sequels.-Early life:...
as Gid - Beau BridgesBeau BridgesLloyd Vernet "Beau" Bridges III is an American actor and director.- Early life :Bridges was born in Los Angeles, the son of actor Lloyd Bridges and his college sweetheart, Dorothy Bridges . He was nicknamed "Beau" by his mother and father after Ashley Wilkes's son in Gone with the Wind, the book...
as Johnny - Blythe DannerBlythe DannerBlythe Katherine Danner is an American actress. She is the mother of actress Gwyneth Paltrow and director Jake Paltrow.-Early life:...
as Molly - Susan SarandonSusan SarandonSusan Sarandon is an American actress. She has worked in films and television since 1969, and won an Academy Award for Best Actress for her performance in the 1995 film Dead Man Walking. She had also been nominated for the award for four films before that and has received other recognition for her...
as Sarah - Edward Binns as Fry
External links and references
- Leavin' McMurtry (registration required), a March 1974 article from Texas MonthlyTexas MonthlyTexas Monthly is a monthly American magazine headquartered in Austin, Texas. Texas Monthly is published by Emmis Publishing, L.P. and was founded in 1973 by Michael R. Levy, Texas Monthly chronicles life in contemporary Texas, writing on politics, the environment, industry, and education...
magazine - Interview with Paul Partain, commenting on the film