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Georgy Girl

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For other usages, see Georgy Girl (disambiguation).

Georgy Girl
Promotional film poster
Directed bySilvio Narizzano
Written byMargaret Forster
Peter Nichols
Produced byRobert A. Goldston
Otto Plaschkes
George Pitcher (assoc. producer)
StarringLynn Redgrave
James Mason
Alan Bates
Charlotte Rampling
CinematographyKenneth Higgins
Edited byJohn Bloom
Music byTom Springfield
Alexander Faris
Distributed byColumbia Pictures
Release date
  • 17 October 1966 (1966-10-17)
(USA)
Running time
99 minutes
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish
Budget$400,000[1]
Box office$16,873,162[2]

Georgy Girl is a 1966 British film based on a novel by Margaret Forster. The film was directed by Silvio Narizzano and starred Lynn Redgrave as Georgy, Charlotte Rampling, Alan Bates, and James Mason. The movie also features the well known title song performed by The Seekers.

The plot follows the story of a virginal woman in 1960s Swinging London who is faced with a dilemma when pursued by both her father's older employer and the young lover of her promiscuous and pregnant flatmate.

Plot

Georgina Parkin (Lynn Redgrave) is a 22-year-old Londoner who has considerable musical talent, is well educated, and has an engaging if shameless manner. On the other hand, she believes herself to be plain, slightly overweight, dresses haphazardly, and is incredibly naïve on the subjects of love and flirtation; she has never had a boyfriend. She has an inventive imagination and loves children.

Her parents are the live-in employees of successful businessman James Leamington (James Mason). Leamington is 49 and has a loveless, childless marriage with Ellen (Rachel Kempson, Lynn Redgrave's real life mother). He has watched with affection as "Georgy" grew up, and has treated her as if he were her second father: he provided for her education, and for a studio in his own home in which she teaches dance to children. As Georgy has become a young woman, however, his feelings for her have become more than fatherly: James offers Georgy a legal contract, proposing to supply her with the luxuries of life in return for her becoming his mistress. Georgy sidesteps his proposal by never giving him a direct response; Leamington's business-like language and manner (and awkward inability to express any affection for her) leave her cold.

Georgy's flatmate is the beautiful Meredith (Charlotte Rampling), who works as a violinist in an orchestra, but is otherwise a shallow woman who lives for her own hedonistic pleasures. She treats the meekly compliant Georgy like an unpaid servant.

When Meredith discovers that she is pregnant by her boyfriend Jos Jones (Alan Bates), they get married. She tells him bluntly that she has already aborted two of his children, but she wants to marry because she's "bored." Jos moves in with the two young women. He becomes disillusioned with Meredith and begins to find himself attracted to Georgy, who convinces Leamington to buy several expensive items for the baby's care. While in the midst of an argument with Meredith over her cavalier attitude to her pregnancy, Jos suddenly kisses Georgy and tells her that he loves her. Georgy flees the apartment onto the streets of London, where Jos follows her, screaming over and over again that he loves her as he pursues her. The two return to the flat, where they consummate their new found love, after which there is a knock at the flat door by a friend of Meredith who tells them that Meredith has gone to the hospital to give birth. Jos and Georgy go to the hospital, where Georgy tries to comfort Meredith while she is in labour. Jos and Georgy's [secret] love affair continues.

Meredith gives birth to a daughter whom they name Sara. Since she has no interest in the baby, and is tired of Jos, she announces that she plans to put the child up for adoption and divorce her husband.

Georgy and Jos set up home together in the flat, caring for the baby and living as a married couple. It soon becomes clear that Georgy cares more for the baby than having an adult relationship with Jos, though he had already confessed to being pleased he had a daughter, believing boys need more from their fathers. The relationship ends when Jos realises he is of no real importance to Georgy and has tired of a father's responsibilities. Now that Georgy is the sole caregiver of a baby to whom she has no blood ties, Social Services wish to remove baby Sara from her care.

In the meantime, Leamington's wife has died. Leamington, who was unable to express his true feelings for Georgy while his wife lived, now finds himself free to express his love for her and proposes marriage. Georgy accepts because this will allow her to keep Sara. The two marry despite the difference in their backgrounds and ages and officially adopt Sara making Georgy a mother. Exultant, joyful and singing (the film's title song, "Georgy Girl"), Georgy proclaims that all is well now: "who needs a perfect lover when you're a mother at heart...better try to tell yourself that you've got your way...now you've got a future planned for you...at least he's a millionaire...you're rich, Georgy Girl."

In the car as they leave the wedding, neither bride nor groom says a word. Georgy does not look at or pay attention to her new husband, focusing only on Sara.

Cast

Reception

The film was successful at the box office. By 1971 it had earned an estimated $7 million in the United States and $6 million in other countries.[3] By the end of 1967 it had earned $7,330,000 in rentals in North America according to rentals accruing to the distributors.[4]

Title song

The title song, "Georgy Girl", written by Tom Springfield and Jim Dale, was recorded by Australian band The Seekers. A single release of the song (with somewhat different lyrics) topped the singles chart in Australia, and was a top-ten hit in both the UK and the US (#2 for two weeks). It was the 56th biggest British hit of 1967,[5] and the 57th biggest American hit of 1967.[6] It became a gold record, and was also nominated for an Academy Award in the Best Original Song from a Motion Picture category.

Academy Awards

Nominations[7]

Adaptation

The film was the basis for an unsuccessful musical stage adaptation called simply Georgy.

It was adapted for BBC Radio 4 in 2013 by Rhiannon Tise.[8]

References

  1. ^ Box Office Information for Georgy Girl. IMDb. Retrieved 16 April 2012.
  2. ^ "Georgy Girl, Box Office Information". The Numbers. Retrieved 16 April 2012.
  3. ^ Alexander Walker Hollywood, England, Stein and Day, 1974 p.310
  4. ^ "Big Rental Films of 1967", Variety, 3 January 1968 p 25
  5. ^ http://www.uk-charts.top-source.info/top-100-1967.shtml
  6. ^ http://www.musicoutfitters.com/topsongs/1967.htm
  7. ^ "Georgy Girl". Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Retrieved 10 February 2014.
  8. ^ "Georgy Girl Episode 1 of 5". Retrieved 29 August 2013.
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