Darling (1965 film): Difference between revisions

Darling
Darling
	Theatrical release poster
Directed by	John Schlesinger
Screenplay by	Frederic Raphael
Story by	Frederic Raphael; John Schlesinger; Joseph Janni;
Produced by	Joseph Janni
Starring	Dirk Bogarde; Laurence Harvey; Julie Christie;
Cinematography	Kenneth Higgins
Edited by	James Clark
Music by	John Dankworth
Production; companies	Joseph Janni Production; Vic Films Productions; Appia Films;
Distributed by	Anglo-Amalgamated
Release dates	15 July 1965 (Moscow); 16 September 1965 (United Kingdom);
Running time	127 minutes
Country	United Kingdom
Language	English
Budget	£392,446 or $1.1 million
Box office	$4.5 million

Browse history interactively

← Previous edit

Content deleted Content added

VisualWikitext

Inline

Latest revision as of 20:00, 21 December 2024

Darling is a 1965 British romantic drama film directed by John Schlesinger from a screenplay written by Frederic Raphael.^[5] It stars Julie Christie as Diana Scott, a young successful model and actress in Swinging London, toying with the affections of two older men, played by Dirk Bogarde and Laurence Harvey. The film was shot on location in London, Paris and Rome and at Shepperton Studios by cinematographer Kenneth Higgins, with a musical score composed by Sir John Dankworth.

The film premiered at the 4th Moscow International Film Festival on 16 July 1965, and was released in cinemas in the United Kingdom on 16 September by Anglo-Amalgamated. It became a critical and commercial success, grossing $4.5 million, and received five nominations at the 38th Academy Awards, including Best Picture, and won in three categories: Best Actress (for Christie), Best Original Screenplay, and Best Costume Design. It also won four BAFTA Awards: Best British Actor (Bogarde), Best British Actress (Christie), Best British Screenplay and Best Art Direction (Black-and-White).

Plot

Diana Scott is a bored young model married to Tony Bridges. One day Diana meets Robert Gold, a literary interviewer/director for television arts programmes, by chance when she is spotted on the street by his roving film crew and interviewed by him about young people's views on convention. Diana is invited to watch the final edit in the TV studio, and it is there that their relationship starts. After liaisons in hotel rooms, they leave their spouses (and, in Robert's case, children) and move into an apartment.

As a couple they become part of the fashionable London media/arts set. Initially, Diana is jealous when Robert sees his wife while visiting his children, but she quickly loses this attachment when she mixes with the males of the media, arts and advertising scene, particularly Miles Brand, a powerful advertising executive for the Glass Corporation, who gets her a part in a trashy thriller after she has sex with him. The bookish Robert prefers the quiet life; it is he who now becomes jealous but increasingly detached, depressed and lonely.

Diana attends a high-class charity draw for world hunger for which she is the face. The event, adorned by giant images of African famine victims, is juxtaposed with wealthy guests gorging themselves with food. Diana later becomes pregnant and decides to have an abortion to sustain her career.

She flies to Paris with Miles for more jet-set sophistication. There she finds the wild party, beat music, strip dance mind game and cross-dressing repellent but slowly adjusts and holds her own, gaining the respect of the crowd when she taunts Miles during the game. On her return to London, Robert calls her a whore upon discovering her affair with Miles and leaves her. Miles then casts her as "The Happiness Girl" in the Glass Corporation's advertising campaign for a chocolate firm.

Diana finds comfort in the company of gay photographer Malcolm, who has created her new famous look. They go shopping, where she randomly decides to shoplift several items. On location at a palazzo near Rome, Diana smiles in her medieval/Renaissance costume and completes "The Happiness Girl" shoot. She is taken with the beauty of the building and the landscape, getting on well with the prince, Cesare, who owns the palazzo. With the friendly Malcolm, Diana decides to stay in Italy. They stay in a simple house by a small harbor in Capri, where Diana flirts half-heartedly with Catholicism. They are visited by Cesare, who arrives in a huge launch, invites them on board and proposes to Diana. She politely declines his proposal, but Cesare leaves the offer open.

Diana returns to London, still living in the flat she shared with Robert, where she has a party with Miles and other assorted media characters. Robert comes by to visit Diana but sees that she is with Miles and departs. Becoming disillusioned with Miles and the vacuous London jet set, Diana flirts with the Catholic church again. Impulsively, she flies to Italy and marries the prince, which proves to be ill-fated. Though waited on hand and foot by the servants, she is almost immediately abandoned in the vast palazzo by Cesare, who visits Rome frequently.

Diana flees to London to visit Robert, and the two have sex, making her believe they are ready for a stable, long-term relationship. However, in the morning he tells her that he is leaving her and that he fooled her only as an act of revenge. He reserves a flight to Rome, packs her into his car and takes her to Heathrow airport to send her back to her life as Princess Della Romita. At the airport Diana is hounded by the press, who address her as Princess. She boards the plane to leave.

Cast

Julie Christie as Diana Scott
Laurence Harvey as Miles Brand
Dirk Bogarde as Robert Gold
José Luis de Vilallonga as Prince Cesare della Romita
Roland Curram as Malcolm
Basil Henson as Alec Prosser-Jones
Helen Lindsay as Felicity Prosser-Jones
Alex Scott as Sean Martin
Ernest Walder as Kurt
Brian Wilde as Willett
Pauline Yates as Estelle Gold
Peter Bayliss as Lord Grant
T.B. Bowen as Tony Bridges
Carlo Palmucci as Curzio della Romita
Dante Posani as Gino
Umberto Raho as Palucci
Marika Rivera as Woman
Richard Bidlake as Rupert Crabtree
Annette Carell as Billie Castiglione
Jean Claudio as Raoul Maxim
Georgina Cookson as Carlotta Hale
James Cossins as Basildon
Jane Downs as Julie
Tyler Butterworth as William Prosser-Jones
Hugo Dyson as Walter Southgate
Ann Firbank as Sybil Martin
Angus MacKay as Ivor Dawlish
Lucille Soong as Allie
Silvia Dionisio as Sandra della Romita
Ray Lovelock as Paolo della Romita
John Steiner as Garrett
Vernon Dobtcheff as Art Critic
Zakes Mokae as Man at Party
John Woodvine as Customs Officer
John Schlesinger as Theatre Director

Production

According to Richard Gregson, agent for John Schlesinger, the budget was around £300,000 and was entirely provided by Nat Cohen at Anglo-Amalgamated.^[2]

Shirley MacLaine originally was cast as Diana,^[6] but was replaced by Christie. Production on Darling commenced on 12 August 1964 ^[7] and wrapped in December.^[8] It was filmed on location in London, Paris, and Rome.^[9] The Romita palazzo was portrayed by the Medici villa. The final scene was shot at Heathrow Airport in London.^[9]^[10]

In 1971, New York magazine wrote of mod fashion and its wearers: "This new, déclassé English girl was epitomized by Julie Christie in Darling—amoral, rootless, emotionally immature, and apparently irresistible."^[11] John Schlesinger admitted Julie Christie didn't want to do her nude scene.^[12]

Reception

Despite receiving many awards at the time of release, the film later developed a mixed reputation. In his New Biographical Dictionary of Film entry on Schlesinger, David Thomson writes that the film "deserves a place in every archive to show how rapidly modishness withers. Beauty is central to the cinema and Schlesinger seems an unreliable judge of it, over-rating Christie and rarely getting close enough to the action to make a fruitful stylistic bond with it".^[13] Leonard Maltin's Movie Guide described it as a "trendy, influential '60s film – in flashy form and cynical content".^[14] Tony Rayns though, in the Time Out Film Guide, is as damning as Thomson. For him, the film is a "leaden rehash of ideas from Godard, Antonioni and Bergman", although with nods to the "Royal Court school", which "now looks grotesquely pretentious and out of touch with the realities of the life-styles that it purports to represent."^[15]

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, Darling holds an approval rating of 67% from 18 reviews, with an average rating of 7.1/10.^[16]

Box office

The film was a commercial success, grossing $12 million at the worldwide box office against a budget of only £400,000. It earned $4 million in theatrical rentals.^[17]

According to Richard Gregson, the film only earned £250,000 in the United Kingdom, but Nat Cohen sold the U.S. rights to Joe E. Levine for $900,000 and made a profit – and the film was more successful in the U.S.^[2]

Accolades

Institution	Year	Category	Nominee(s)	Result	Ref.
Academy Awards	1965	Best Picture	Joseph Janni	Nominated	^[18]
		Best Director	John Schlesinger	Nominated
		Best Actress	Julie Christie	Won
		Best Story and Screenplay – Written Directly for the Screen	Frederic Raphael	Won
		Best Costume Design – Black-and-White	Julie Harris	Won
British Academy Film Awards	1965	Best British Film	John Schlesinger	Nominated	^[19]
		Best British Actor	Dirk Bogarde	Won
		Best British Actress	Julie Christie	Won
		Best British Screenplay	Frederic Raphael	Won
		Best British Art Direction – Black-and-White	Ray Simm	Won
		Best British Cinematography – Black-and-White	Kenneth Higgins	Nominated
Directors Guild of America Awards	1965	Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Motion Pictures	John Schlesinger	Nominated	^[20]
Golden Globe Awards	1965	Best English-Language Foreign Film		Won	^[21]
		Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama	Julie Christie	Nominated
		Best Director – Motion Picture	John Schlesinger	Nominated
Laurel Awards	1965	Top Female Dramatic Performance	Julie Christie	Won
Mexican Cinema Journalists	1967	Best Foreign Actress	Julie Christie	Won
Moscow International Film Festival	1965	Grand Prix	John Schlesinger	Nominated
National Board of Review Awards	1965	Top Ten Films		6th Place	^[22]
		Best Director	John Schlesinger	Won
		Best Actress	Julie Christie	Won
New York Film Critics Circle Awards	1965	Best Film		Won	^[23]
		Best Director	John Schlesinger	Won
		Best Actress	Julie Christie	Won
Writers' Guild of Great Britain Awards	1965	Best British Comedy Screenplay	Frederic Raphael	Won	^[24]
Writers' Guild of Great Britain Awards	1965	Outstanding British Original Screenplay	Frederic Raphael	Won	^[24]

References

^ Chapman, J. (2022). The Money Behind the Screen: A History of British Film Finance, 1945-1985. Edinburgh University Press p 360
^ ^a ^b ^c McFarlane, Brian (1997). An Autobiography of British Cinema. London: Methuen. p. 248. ISBN 978-0-4137-0520-4.
^ Weiler, A. H. (24 April 1966). "...And Julie Christie's Next Activity: More About Movies". The New York Times. p. X9. ISSN 0362-4331.
^ Gardner, Paul (27 November 1973). "Laurence Harvey, Screen Actor, Is Dead at 45". The New York Times. p. 47. ISSN 0362-4331.
^ "Darling (1965)". British Film Institute. Archived from the original on 10 March 2016. Retrieved 1 October 2022.
^ "Julie Christie Biography at Yahoo! Movies".^{[permanent dead link‍]}
^ file:///C:/Users/PC/Downloads/GB%201456%20SCHLESINGER.pdf
^ Box office / business for Darling at the Internet Movie Database
^ ^a ^b Filming Locations for Darling at the Internet Movie Database
^ "Collection: Schlesinger, John" (PDF). pp. 5–11. Archived (PDF) from the original on 19 June 2012. Retrieved 23 December 2013.
^ Seebohm, Caroline (19 July 1971). "English Girls in New York: They Don't Go Home Again". New York. Vol. 4, no. 29. p. 34. ISSN 0028-7369.
^ Conversations with John Schlesinger , p. 85, at Google Books
^ Thomson, David (2002). The New Biographical Dictionary of Film (4th ed.). New York: Knopf. p. 783. ISBN 978-0-3754-1128-1.
^ Maltin, Leonard, ed. (2008). Leonard Maltin's 2009 Movie Guide. New York: Plume. p. 318. ISBN 978-0-4512-2468-2.
^ Pym, John, ed. (2008). Time Out Film Guide 2009 (17th ed.). London: Time Out. p. 242. ISBN 978-1-8467-0100-9.
^ "Darling (1965)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 24 October 2022.
^ "Big Rental Pictures of 1966". Variety. 4 January 1967. p. 8. ISSN 0042-2738.
^ "The 38th Academy Awards (1966) Nominees and Winners". oscars.org. Retrieved 4 September 2011.
^ "BAFTA Awards: Film in 1966". BAFTA. 1966. Retrieved 16 September 2016.
^ "18th DGA Awards". Directors Guild of America Awards. Retrieved 5 July 2021.
^ "Darling – Golden Globes". HFPA. Retrieved 5 July 2021.
^ "1965 Award Winners". National Board of Review. Retrieved 5 July 2021.
^ "1965 New York Film Critics Circle Awards". New York Film Critics Circle. Retrieved 5 July 2021.
^ "Writers' Guild Awards 1965". Writers' Guild of Great Britain. Retrieved 3 June 2021.

External links

Darling at IMDb
Darling at Rotten Tomatoes
Darling at the British Film Institute^{[better source needed]}
Darling at the TCM Movie Database

[money-1] Chapman, J. (2022). The Money Behind the Screen: A History of British Film Finance, 1945-1985. Edinburgh University Press p 360

[brian-2] McFarlane, Brian (1997). An Autobiography of British Cinema. London: Methuen. p. 248. ISBN 978-0-4137-0520-4.

[3] Weiler, A. H. (24 April 1966). "...And Julie Christie's Next Activity: More About Movies". The New York Times. p. X9. ISSN 0362-4331.

[new-4] Gardner, Paul (27 November 1973). "Laurence Harvey, Screen Actor, Is Dead at 45". The New York Times. p. 47. ISSN 0362-4331.

[5] "Darling (1965)". British Film Institute. Archived from the original on 10 March 2016. Retrieved 1 October 2022.

[Julie_Christie_Biography_at_Yahoo!_Movies-6] "Julie Christie Biography at Yahoo! Movies".^{[permanent dead link‍]}

[7] :///C:/Users/PC/Downloads/GB%201456%20SCHLESINGER.pdf

[Darling_(1965)_–_Box_office_/_business-8] Box office / business for Darling at the Internet Movie Database

[Darling_(1965)_–_Filming_locations-9] Filming Locations for Darling at the Internet Movie Database

[10] "Collection: Schlesinger, John" (PDF). pp. 5–11. Archived (PDF) from the original on 19 June 2012. Retrieved 23 December 2013.

[11] Seebohm, Caroline (19 July 1971). "English Girls in New York: They Don't Go Home Again". New York. Vol. 4, no. 29. p. 34. ISSN 0028-7369.

[12] Conversations with John Schlesinger , p. 85, at Google Books

[13] Thomson, David (2002). The New Biographical Dictionary of Film (4th ed.). New York: Knopf. p. 783. ISBN 978-0-3754-1128-1.

[14] Maltin, Leonard, ed. (2008). Leonard Maltin's 2009 Movie Guide. New York: Plume. p. 318. ISBN 978-0-4512-2468-2.

[15] Pym, John, ed. (2008). Time Out Film Guide 2009 (17th ed.). London: Time Out. p. 242. ISBN 978-1-8467-0100-9.

[16] "Darling (1965)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 24 October 2022.

[17] "Big Rental Pictures of 1966". Variety. 4 January 1967. p. 8. ISSN 0042-2738.

[18] "The 38th Academy Awards (1966) Nominees and Winners". oscars.org. Retrieved 4 September 2011.

[19] "BAFTA Awards: Film in 1966". BAFTA. 1966. Retrieved 16 September 2016.

[20] "18th DGA Awards". Directors Guild of America Awards. Retrieved 5 July 2021.

[21] "Darling – Golden Globes". HFPA. Retrieved 5 July 2021.

[22] "1965 Award Winners". National Board of Review. Retrieved 5 July 2021.

[23] "1965 New York Film Critics Circle Awards". New York Film Critics Circle. Retrieved 5 July 2021.

[24] "Writers' Guild Awards 1965". Writers' Guild of Great Britain. Retrieved 3 June 2021.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

[8]

[9]

[10]

[11]

[12]

[13]

[14]

[15]

[16]

[17]

[18]

[19]

[20]

[21]

[22]

[23]

[24]

v t e Films directed by John Schlesinger
Feature films	A Kind of Loving (1962) Billy Liar (1963) Darling (1965) Far from the Madding Crowd (1967) Midnight Cowboy (1969) Sunday Bloody Sunday (1971) The Day of the Locust (1975) Marathon Man (1976) Yanks (1979) Honky Tonk Freeway (1981) The Falcon and the Snowman (1985) The Believers (1987) Madame Sousatzka (1988) Pacific Heights (1990) The Innocent (1993) Eye for an Eye (1996) The Next Best Thing (2000)
Documentary	Terminus (1961) Israel: A Right to Live (1967) Visions of Eight (1973)
Television	An Englishman Abroad (1983) A Question of Attribution (1991) Cold Comfort Farm (1995) The Tale of Sweeney Todd (1997)