Tea and Sympathy (1956)

User Rating:

7.2/10   

Director:

Vincente Minnelli

Writers:

Robert Anderson (play)
Robert Anderson (screenplay)

Release Date:

20 May 1957 (Sweden)

Genre:

Drama

Tagline:

Where does a woman's sympathy leave off -- and her indiscretion begin?

Plot:

Tom Lee is a sensitive boy of 17 whose lack of interest in the "manly" pursuits of sports, mountain...

Plot Keywords:

College | School | Bittersweet | Prep School | Masculinity

Awards:

Nominated for BAFTA Film Award.

Cast

Deborah Kerr	...	Laura Reynolds
John Kerr	...	Tom Robinson Lee
Leif Erickson	...	Bill Reynolds
Edward Andrews	...	Herb Lee
Darryl Hickman	...	Al
Norma Crane	...	Ellie Martin
Dean Jones	...	Ollie, Tennis Partner
Jacqueline deWit	...	Lilly Sears, Laura's friend
Tom Laughlin	...	Ralph, 'Regular Guy'
Ralph Votrian	...	Steve, Ralph's side-kick
Steven Terrell	...	Phil
Kip King	...	Ted
Jimmy Hayes	...	Henry
Richard Tyler	...	Roger
Don Burnett	...	Vic

Runtime:

122 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.55 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (35 mm optical prints) | 4-Track Stereo (35 mm magnetic prints) (Westrex Recording System)

Certification:

USA:Approved (PCA #18176) | Australia:PG | Finland:K-12 | West Germany:16

Company:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Trivia:

This film was adapted from a Broadway play that originally starred Deborah Kerr, John Kerr and Leif Erickson, who recreate their stage roles in this film. Also in the Broadway cast in supporting roles were Alan Sues (who later appeared on TV's "Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In" (1967)) and Dick York (the first actor who played Darrin on TV's "Bewitched" (1964) starring Elizabeth Montgomery). Joan Fontaine and Anthony Perkins also later appeared in the stage version of "Tea and Sympathy" as cast replacements during its long run. The stage production opened on Sept. 30, 1953 at the Ethel Barrymoore Theatre and ran for 712 performances.

Goofs:

Continuity: A pair of china dogs are back to back in a master shot (overall wide view). But when the camera moves in for close-ups, the dogs are face-to-face.

Quotes:

Laura Reynolds: Years from now when you talk about this - and you will - be kind.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Thou Shalt Not: Sex, Sin and Censorship in Pre-Code Hollywood (2008) (TV)

Soundtrack:

The Joys of Love

The best way to walk.

The movie begins and ends with an old French folk song "plaisir d'amour" (English translation :"joys of love")which was reworked as "can't help falling in love" for Elvis Presley.Since the movie is actually a long flashback,the infinite nostalgia this old chestnut generates fits the movie like a glove.

"Tea and sympathy" might be the best of all Minnelli non-musicals in the fifties/sixties.We even forget that John Kerr (25 at the time) was much too old for this part of an adolescent in search of his sexual identity.John Kerr was the victim of "the cobweb" a couple of years before.His character in "tea and sympathy'" is a relative of the one I mention above as well as of the young hero of "home from the hill" (1960) "Tea and sympathy " was a courageous move for the fifties:it took a lot a nerve to show a boy at the university who refused "normality".What's normality anyway?Is it ,for a man ,swearing or climbing mountains? as luminous Deborah Kerr says.When you're not fond of sports,when you like the ladies' tea and sympathy,when you enjoy music and poetry ,then you are a "sister boy" and maybe even worse...You've got to pay attention to see what heavy things Minnelli was saying at a time it was not that much good to be DIFFERENT.Robert Anderson's play was years ahead and had (or should have had) a deep beneficial influence on mentalities.The scene where one of the "true" boys teaches his unfortunate pal the right way to walk had certainly a strong influence on French director Claude Miller 's "la meilleure façon de marcher"(1975).

But the play (and Minnelli's excellent movie) are often a ruthless portrayal of the "straights" :the young hero's father is a really dumb man -where is his wife by the way? Is she dead? or the perfect housewife?-,a narrow-minded crude character devoid of all the qualities of the heart.The fact that he asks the virile teacher to "make a man of his son" proves his stupidity.This teacher (D.Kerr's husband) ,under a he-man mask actually hides a vulnerability which his sensitive wife feels.He,too , is longing for tenderness,love and affection,but as it's not worthy of a true man,his life will be an unfulfilled one.

Deborah Kerr RULES.She wins over the audience with a mesmerizing performance .It's not only the "sister boy" who falls in love with her.Anyone who sees this wonderful film will too.