Bells Are Ringing (1960)

User Rating:

7.0/10   

Director:

Vincente Minnelli

Writers:

Betty Comden (play)
Betty Comden (screenplay)

Release Date:

23 June 1960 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Musical | Romance

Plot:

Ella Peterson is a Brooklyn telephone answering service operator who tries to improve the lives of her...

Plot Keywords:

Playwright | Blind Date | Dentist | Writer's Block | New York City

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 1 win & 4 nominations

Cast

Judy Holliday	...	Ella Peterson
Dean Martin	...	Jeffrey Moss
Fred Clark	...	Larry Hastings
Eddie Foy Jr.	...	J. Otto Prantz
Jean Stapleton	...	Sue
Ruth Storey	...	Gwynne
Dort Clark	...	Inspector Barnes
Frank Gorshin	...	Blake Barton
Ralph Roberts	...	Francis
Valerie Allen	...	Olga
Bernard West	...	Dr. Joe Kitchell, DDS (as Bernie West)
Steve Peck	...	Gangster (as Steven Peck)
Gerry Mulligan	...	Ella's blind date

Runtime:

127 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | French

Color:

Color (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

4-Track Stereo (Westrex Recording System)

Certification:

Australia:G | Finland:S | Sweden:Btl | UK:U

Filming Locations:

East Village, Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA

Company:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Trivia:

Judy Holliday won Broadway's 1957 Tony Award as Best Actress (Musical) for "Bells Are Ringing," a role she recreated in the film version.

Goofs:

Errors made by characters (possibly deliberate errors by the filmmakers): Ella tells Jeff that she used to procrastinate by sharpening her Ticonderoga pencil down to the T (or rather the "tuh"). However, Dixon Ticonderoga say that their pencils have always read from point to eraser, so the T would be the *first* letter to disappear.

Quotes:

Ella: I'm in love with a man - Plaza Oh- Double four- Double Three. What a perfect relationship - I can't see him, he can't see me!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "The Nanny: The Party's Over (#3.8)" (1995)

Soundtrack:

Hot and Cold

Great Actress' Swansong

Since the play, "Laurette," was never realized, the movie version of "Bells are Ringing" serves as Judy Holliday's "final" performance.

It's to her credit that she comes off as well as she does. The film is extremely stagey, and looks contrived and bloated, despite a most competent cast and director.

Yet Holliday is buoyant, full of fun, and energetic--all hallmarks of her theatrical persona.

I've read Holliday's complete bio, and am amazed she was able to overcome the tremendous obstacles she endured, from her sad childhood and family relationship through the communist "witch hunt" period--which left her saddled with protest pickets that followed her around--to failed marriages, lack of employment, and care giving responsibilities for her child and parent. All the while working wherever she could and keep smiling.

In many respects her career is quite similar to that of Montgomery Clift. Both apparently gave their best work on the stage, night after night before live audiences, rather than on film. Had both stayed in the theatre, their respective careers and lives might have remained more stable and healthy--and be alive today.

"Bells are Ringing" is a final tribute to a great talent, an Oscar-winning actress and comedienne who graced the stage and screen with a radiant presence and winning demeanor. Fortunately, as long as her films are shown, Judy Holliday will live and be rediscovered by future generations.