Julian Berniers and his bride Lily leave Chicago to visit his two spinster sisters, Carrie and Anna, in New Orleans but Lily's jealousy combined with Carrie's possessiveness of Julian threat... Read allJulian Berniers and his bride Lily leave Chicago to visit his two spinster sisters, Carrie and Anna, in New Orleans but Lily's jealousy combined with Carrie's possessiveness of Julian threaten to destroy the whole family.Julian Berniers and his bride Lily leave Chicago to visit his two spinster sisters, Carrie and Anna, in New Orleans but Lily's jealousy combined with Carrie's possessiveness of Julian threaten to destroy the whole family.
- Nominated for 1 Oscar
- 3 nominations total
- Bar Patron
- (uncredited)
- Bar Patron
- (uncredited)
- Bar Patron
- (uncredited)
- Hood
- (uncredited)
- Police Officer
- (uncredited)
- Man at Bar
- (uncredited)
- Hood
- (uncredited)
- Bar Patron
- (uncredited)
- Warkins' Secretary
- (uncredited)
- Gus
- (uncredited)
- Charlotte Warkins
- (uncredited)
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Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaIt was widely felt in 1963 that Dean Martin had been cast purely for box-office reasons, and some critics were condescending about his performance. However, the two very eminent stage actresses who played his sisters, Geraldine Page and Wendy Hiller, both let it be known that they had been most impressed with both his work and his professionalism.
- Quotes
Anna Berniers: How is the shoe factory?
Julian Berniers: What shoe factory?
Anna Berniers: The shoe factory that you bought in Chicago.
Julian Berniers: Oh, that shoe factory. It's gone.
Anna Berniers: Don't be flip with me, Julian.
Carrie Berniers: He's not. He's just trying to explain.
Julian Berniers: No, I'm not. I'm trying to explain anything. I was being flip. I forget. You worry about the money I lose.
- ConnectionsFeatured in Hollywood: The Great Stars (1963)
His child-like and overly animated conversation with Lily's mother is a key indicator here. He is still very much a little boy at this point in the story, yet you can see his irresistible personal charm and attractiveness is also working on his own mother-in-law.
These are qualities that were intrinsic to Dean Martin's real life and his professional persona. And the film camera being as unforgiving as it is in revealing a certain "biology is destiny" truth about a person's look, manner and aura, I don't believe Jason Robards Jr., who created the role on stage and was a fine actor on both stage and screen, would have been able to pull it off in the movie. Yes, Paul Newman could have pulled it off. But so could Dean Martin. His performance is one of the things I enjoy most about watching this as I do every few years on my old TCM DVD-R copy of it (we really need an official DVD/Blu-ray release of this soon). His final scenes with Page and Hiller are standouts. It is thrilling to see Julian's growth into manhood for the first time in his life under these brutal circumstances as Dean Martin portrays him.
This is a dramatic performance that, IMO, surpasses his previous impressive dramatic performances in The Young Lions, Career, Some Came Running and Rio Bravo.
And on the issue of questions about the family resemblance (or lack there of) among the three siblings, I'm not sure that is such a critical oversight of the filmmakers considering the musical chairs heritage elements found elsewhere in the story. Questionable lineage/parentage is an openly discussed factor for at least two other characters. It wouldn't be a stretch to consider the possibility that the three siblings in this old New Orleans family might have been the product of two or more fathers. The two "old maid" sisters are overly conservative and averse to outsiders to an almost neurotic level. Was this the result of a mother who instilled this fear in her daughters in order to atone for her own wild youth? Possible. I just think the question of whether Dean Martin, Wendy Hiller and Geraldine Page look enough alike to be taken for siblings is not much of a distraction and, in its own way under the circumstances of this story, might even add something of value to consider.
- flasho
- Mar 16, 2013
Details
Box office
- Budget
- $2,100,000 (estimated)
- Runtime1 hour 30 minutes
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 2.35 : 1