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The Sandpiper is a 1965 film
1965 in film

The year 1965 in film involved some significant events....
 starring Richard Burton
Richard Burton

Richard Burton, Order of the British Empire was a multi award-winning Wales actor. He was at one time the highest-paid actor in Hollywood....
 and Elizabeth Taylor
Elizabeth Taylor

Dame Elizabeth Rosemond Taylor, Order of the British Empire , also known as Liz Taylor, is an England-born American actress.Known for her acting skills and beauty, as well as her Cinema of the United States lifestyle, including many marriages, Taylor is considered one of the great actresses of Hollywood's golden years, as well as a la...
, directed by Vincente Minnelli
Vincente Minnelli

Vincente Minnelli was a Hollywood film director and Theatre director. His skilled integration of story, music, lighting, and design elements in a film made him the most critically respected crafter of musical film....
.

Synopsis
Laura Reynolds (Taylor) is a free-spirited, unwed single mother living with her young son Danny (Morgan Mason
Morgan Mason

Alexander Morgan Mason is an politician, film producer and actor. He was born in Beverly Hills, California and is the son of the late Academy Awards-nominated United Kingdom actor James Mason and his wife Pamela Mason, actress and commentator....
) in an isolated California beach house. She makes a modest living as an artist and home-schools her son out of concern that he will be compelled to follow conventional social norms in a regular school.






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Encyclopedia


The Sandpiper is a 1965 film
1965 in film

The year 1965 in film involved some significant events....
 starring Richard Burton
Richard Burton

Richard Burton, Order of the British Empire was a multi award-winning Wales actor. He was at one time the highest-paid actor in Hollywood....
 and Elizabeth Taylor
Elizabeth Taylor

Dame Elizabeth Rosemond Taylor, Order of the British Empire , also known as Liz Taylor, is an England-born American actress.Known for her acting skills and beauty, as well as her Cinema of the United States lifestyle, including many marriages, Taylor is considered one of the great actresses of Hollywood's golden years, as well as a la...
, directed by Vincente Minnelli
Vincente Minnelli

Vincente Minnelli was a Hollywood film director and Theatre director. His skilled integration of story, music, lighting, and design elements in a film made him the most critically respected crafter of musical film....
.

Synopsis


Laura Reynolds (Taylor) is a free-spirited, unwed single mother living with her young son Danny (Morgan Mason
Morgan Mason

Alexander Morgan Mason is an politician, film producer and actor. He was born in Beverly Hills, California and is the son of the late Academy Awards-nominated United Kingdom actor James Mason and his wife Pamela Mason, actress and commentator....
) in an isolated California beach house. She makes a modest living as an artist and home-schools her son out of concern that he will be compelled to follow conventional social norms in a regular school. Danny gets into trouble with the law, and a judge orders her to send the boy to an Episcopal boarding school
Boarding school

A boarding school is a school where some or all pupils not only study, but also live during term time, with their fellow students and possibly teachers....
 where Dr. Edward Hewitt (Burton) is headmaster, and his wife Claire (Eva Marie Saint
Eva Marie Saint

Eva Marie Saint is an Academy Awards-winning United States Actor. She has starred on Broadway, in films and on television beginning in the 1950s....
) teaches. Danny has trouble fitting in at school due to a lack of social skills, and because his mother's home-schooling taught very advanced subject matter for a boy of his age, while the standard course of instruction at Edward's school leaves him restless and bored. At Claire's suggestion, Edward visits Laura several times to learn more about Danny and his upbringing. Laura's unconventional morals initially horrify Edward, a straight-laced priest, but the two quickly begin a torrid extramarital affair. Meanwhile, Danny flourishes when Edward relaxes some of his school's strict rules and allows the boy to learn more advanced materials. Eventually, Edward confesses the affair to Claire; distraught, she packs her bags and leaves for an indefinite separation. Laura discovers that she has fallen in love with Edward and asks him to live with her. Edward refuses, leaving Laura alone with Danny again.

Production and cast details


The Sandpiper won the 1965 Best Original Song Academy Award for "The Shadow Of Your Smile
The Shadow of Your Smile

"The Shadow of Your Smile", also known as "Love Theme from The Sandpiper", is a popular music song. The music was written by Johnny Mandel, the lyrics by Paul Francis Webster....
".

The story specifically takes place in Big Sur
Big Sur

Big Sur is a sparsely populated region of the central California, United States, coast where the Santa Lucia Range rise abruptly from the Pacific Ocean....
; the film includes many location shots of Big Sur landmarks, including Pfeiffer Beach, Point Lobos State Reserve
Point Lobos State Reserve

Point Lobos is the common name for the area including Point Lobos State Reserve and two adjoining marine protected areas: Point Lobos State Marine Reserve and Point Lobos State Marine Conservation Area ....
, Bixby Bridge, the Coast Gallery (where Laura exhibits her artwork), and a pivotal scene shot on a soundstage built to resemble the restaurant Nepenthe
Nepenthe

Nepenthe is a drug of forgetfulness mentioned in Greek mythology, depicted as originating in Egypt.The word "Nepenthe" first appears in the fourth book of the Odyssey of Homer....
. The German singer Nico
Nico

Christa P?ffgen was a German musician, Model , actress, and Warhol Superstar who is best known by her stage name Nico. She is renowned for both her tenure in The Velvet Underground and for her work as a solo artist....
 was an extra in the Nepenthe scene. The film also features an early performance by Charles Bronson
Charles Bronson

Charles Bronson was an United Statesn actor best known for "tough guy" image, who starred in such classic films as Once Upon a Time in the West, The Magnificent Seven, The Dirty Dozen, The Great Escape , The Evil That Men Do and the popular Death Wish series....
 as a beatnik
Beatnik

Beatniks were part of a sociocultural movement in the 1950s and early 1960s that subscribed to an anti-materialistic lifestyle in the wake of WWII....
 sculptor.

The DVD, released in 2006, includes a short film about Big Sur that the filmakers shot at the same time, featuring narration by Burton.

External links