Funny Lady
| Funny Lady | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical poster |
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| Directed by | Herbert Ross |
| Produced by | Ray Stark |
| Written by | Jay Presson Allen Arnold Schulman |
| Starring | Barbra Streisand James Caan Omar Sharif Roddy McDowall Ben Vereen |
| Music by | Fred Ebb John Kander Peter Matz |
| Cinematography | James Wong Howe |
| Editing by | Marion Rothman Maury Winetrobe |
| Distributed by | Columbia Pictures |
| Release date(s) | March 15, 1975 |
| Running time | 136 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Box office | $40,055,897[1] |
Funny Lady is a 1975 film starring Barbra Streisand, James Caan, Omar Sharif, Roddy McDowall, and Ben Vereen.
A sequel to the 1968 film Funny Girl, it is a highly fictionalized account of the later life and career of comedienne Fanny Brice and her marriage to songwriter and empresario Billy Rose. The screenplay was by Jay Presson Allen and Arnold Schulman, based on a story by Schulman. The primary score was by John Kander and Fred Ebb, whose first success as a team had been the song "My Coloring Book," which had been written for Kaye Ballard, but was recorded by Streisand in 1962, who popularized it. It was directed by Herbert Ross.
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[edit] Cast
- Barbra Streisand as Fanny Brice
- James Caan as Billy Rose
- Omar Sharif as Nick Arnstein
- Roddy McDowall as Bobby Moore
- Ben Vereen as Bert Robbins
[edit] Production
Although she was contractually bound to make one more film for producer Ray Stark (Fanny Brice's one-time son-in-law), Streisand balked at doing the project. She told Stark "that it would take litigation to make her do a sequel." However, Streisand liked the script, which showed Fanny to be "...tougher, more acerbic, more mature...", and she agreed to do the film.[2][3]
The first actor to read for the role of Billy Rose was Robert Blake. Other actors were mentioned, including Al Pacino and Robert De Niro, but ultimately James Caan was chosen. Streisand explained: "It comes down to whom the audience wants me to kiss. Robert Blake, no. James Caan, yes."[3]
Stark, unhappy with the scenes shot by the original cinematographer, lured an ailing James Wong Howe out of retirement to complete the film. It proved to be his final project, and it earned him an Academy Award nomination.[4]
Studio heads forced Ross to trim the film to a manageable 136 minutes prior to its release. Much of Vereen's performance ended up on the cutting room floor, together with a recreation of Brice's "Baby Snooks" radio show and dramatic scenes involving her and her daughter.[5]
In addition to Howe, Oscar nominations went to Ray Aghayan and Bob Mackie for Best Costume Design, John Kander and Fred Ebb for Best Original Song ("How Lucky Can You Get?"), Peter Matz for Best Scoring of an Original Song Score and/or Adaptation, and the sound crew. Streisand, Caan, and Vereen all received Golden Globe Award nominations, as did Kander and Ebb and the film itself, but it was shut out of any wins in both competitions.[6]
[edit] Box office
The film grossed $40,055,897 at the U.S. box office, making it the eighth highest grossing picture of 1975. It also earned $19,313,000 in rentals giving a gross of $59,368,897. However, the film received mixed reviews and was only a moderate commercial success.
[edit] Awards
The film was nominated for five Academy Awards:[7]
- Academy Award for Cinematography
- Academy Award for Costume Design
- Academy Award for Music (Scoring: Original Song Score and Adaptation)
- Academy Award for Music (Original Song)
- Academy Award for Best Sound (Richard Portman, Don MacDougall, Curly Thirlwell, Jack Solomon)
It was also nominated for six Golden Globe awards including Best Picture Musical/Comedy, Best Actress for Barbra Streisand, and Best Actor for James Caan.
[edit] Soundtrack
The soundtrack entered the Billboard Album Chart at number 6 and was certified gold.[8]
All songs by Kander and Ebb, unless otherwise noted
- "How Lucky Can You Get?"
- "So Long, Honey Lamb"
- "Isn't This Better?"
- "I Got a Code in my Doze"
- "Blind Date"
- "Let's Hear it For Me"
- "I Found a Million Dollar Baby" (Harry Warren, Billy Rose, Mort Dixon)
- "If I Love Again" (Ben Oakland, J. P. Murray)
- "Great Day" (Vincent Youmans, Edward Eliscu)
- "Am I Blue?" (Harry Akst, Grant Clarke, Clare Hanlon, Don Redman, Sam H. Stept)
- "It's Only a Paper Moon" (Harold Arlen, E.Y. "Yip" Harburg, Billy Rose)
- "More Than You Know" (Vincent Youmans, Edward Eliscu, Billy Rose)
- "Clap hands, Here Comes Charlie" (Ballard Macdonald, Joseph Meyer, Billy Rose)
[edit] References
- ^ "Funny Lady, Box Office Information". The Numbers. http://www.the-numbers.com/movies/1975/0FLDY.php. Retrieved January 22, 2012.
- ^ Waldman, p.120-121
- ^ a b Funny Lady history tcm.com, accessed March 4, 2009
- ^ Nickens and Swenson, pp.124-125
- ^ Nickens and Swenson, p. 129
- ^ Internet Movie Database listing, "Funny Lady" awards imdb.com, accessed March 3, 2009
- ^ "The 48th Academy Awards (1976) Nominees and Winners". oscars.org. http://www.oscars.org/awards/academyawards/legacy/ceremony/48th-winners.html. Retrieved 2011-10-02.
- ^ http://barbra-archives.com/record/albums/funny_lady.html#billboard
[edit] Bibliography
- Waldman, Allison J. (2001). The Barbra Streisand Scrapbook, Citadel Press, ISBN 0-8065-2218-6
- Nickens, Christopher and Swenson, Karen (2001). The Films of Barbra Streisand, Citadel Press, ISBN 0-8065-1954-1
[edit] External links
- Funny Lady at the Internet Movie Database
- Funny Lady at AllRovi
- Barbra Archives Page on Funny Lady film, including cut scenes
- Barbra Archives: "Funny Lady" Soundtrack page
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