Dear Brigitte (1965)

User Rating:

5.9/10   

Director:

Henry Koster

Writers:

John Haase (novel)
Hal Kanter (writer)
(more)

Release Date:

8 January 1965 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy

Plot:

Professor Leaf, an absent-minded poet with a prejudice against the sciences, is forced to face the fact...

Plot Keywords:

Professor | Young Boy | Boy | Chamber Music | San Francisco California

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

James Stewart	...	Prof. Robert Leaf
Fabian	...	Kenneth 'Kenny' Taylor
Glynis Johns	...	Vina Leaf
Cindy Carol	...	Pandora 'Panny' Leaf
Bill Mumy	...	Erasmus 'Ras' Leaf
John Williams	...	Peregrine Upjohn
Jack Kruschen	...	Doctor Volker
Charles Robinson	...	George
Howard Freeman	...	Dean Sawyer
Jane Wald	...	Terry, George's Wife
Alice Pearce	...	Unemployment Office Clerk
Jesse White	...	Cliff Argyle the Bookie
Gene O'Donnell	...	Police Lt. Rink
Orville Sherman	...	Von Schlogg
Maida Severn	...	Miss Eva, Ras' Teacher
Pitt Herbert	...	Bank Manager
Adair Jameson	...	Dress Shop Sales Lady
Marcel De la Brosse	...	Paris Taxi Driver
Ed Wynn	...	The Captain
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Brigitte Bardot	...	Herself, Cameo Appearance (uncredited)
Robert Biheller	...	Orville (uncredited)
James Brolin	...	Student at Leaf Rally (uncredited)
Harry Carter	...	Reporter (uncredited)
Gloria Clark	...	Professor Burns (uncredited)
Clive Clerk	...	Student (uncredited)
Susanne Cramer	...	Blonde Doll (Upjohn's Girl) (uncredited)
Jack Daly	...	Racetrack Ticket Seller (uncredited)
Lyn Edgington	...	Student (uncredited)
William Fawcett	...	Elderly Pedestrian on Campus (uncredited)
Robert Fitzpatrick	...	Student (uncredited)
Harry Fleer	...	T-Man (uncredited)
Percy Helton	...	Kraft, Man at Computer Lab (uncredited)
William Henry	...	Racetrack Cashier (uncredited)
Joe Hoover	...	Reporter (uncredited)
Sid Kane	...	Nunnally (uncredited)
Sherwood Keith	...	Operator (uncredited)
Louise Lane	...	Saleslady (uncredited)
Paula Lane	...	Blonde (uncredited)
Richard Lane	...	Racetrack Announcer (uncredited)
Ted Mapes	...	Mr. Rudy the Mailman (uncredited)
Marissa Mathes	...	Brunette (uncredited)
Harry Rose	...	Bartender (uncredited)
John Stevens	...	Bartender (uncredited)
Arthur Tovey	...	Bit Part (uncredited)

Directed by
Henry Koster

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
John Haase		novel "Erasmus With Freckles"
Nunnally Johnson		uncredited
Hal Kanter		writer

Produced by
Fred Kohlmar	....	producer
Henry Koster	....	producer

Original Music by
George Duning

Cinematography by
Lucien Ballard

Film Editing by
Marjorie Fowler

Art Direction by
Malcolm Brown
Jack Martin Smith

Set Decoration by
Steven Potter		(as Steve Potter)
Walter M. Scott

Costume Design by
Moss Mabry

Makeup Department
Margaret Donovan	....	hair stylist
Ben Nye	....	makeup artist

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Fred R. Simpson	....	assistant director

Art Department
Dennis J. Parrish	....	assistant property master (uncredited)

Sound Department
Alfred Bruzlin	....	sound
Elmer Raguse	....	sound

Special Effects by
L.B. Abbott	....	special photographic effects
Emil Kosa Jr.	....	special photographic effects

Music Department
Arthur Morton	....	orchestrator

Production Companies

• Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation

Distributors

• Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation (1965) (USA) (theatrical)
• American Broadcasting Company (ABC) (1967) (USA) (TV) (original airing)
• Warner Bros. Domestic Television Distribution (1968-1979) (USA) (TV) (as Seven Arts Distribution Corporation; original syndication release)
• 20th Century Fox Television (1979-) (USA) (all media)

Also Known As:

Dear Brigitte... (USA) (alternative spelling)

Runtime:

100 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System) | Stereo

Certification:

Finland:S | Sweden:Btl | USA:Not Rated

Filming Locations:

Paris, France

Company:

Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation

Trivia:

This movie was going to be called ERASMUS WITH FRECKLES, after the book on which it was based. But Brigitte Bardot only agreed to appear on the condition that her name did not appear in the credits or any of the promotional materials. The only way the producers could capitalize on Americans' fascination with Bardot was by changing the title to alert the audience that she was in the movie.

Movie Connections:

References Tom Jones (1963)

Training for Will Robinson

I'm sure that the folks who were casting Lost in Space must have seen Dear Brigitte and said to themselves, young Billy Mumy would be perfect casting as the precocious Will Robinson.

Dear Brigitte is a film about a professor of literature who lives on a converted old Mississippi riverboat with his family and the former captain of the steamship, Ed Wynn. An almost hippie like existence for the very Republican James Stewart and his wife Glynis Johns and children Cindy Carol and Billy Mumy.

Stewart has an obsession about the sciences just taking over colleges, including his own and this fuels an additional obsession into finding a talent that must be hidden in his son. Young Mr. Mumy turns out to be both color blind and tone deaf, so art and music are out.

He turns out to be a mathematical genius though and Billy has an additional obsession himself, he wants to meet Brigitte Bardot. Now that's something the males in the audience can empathize with.

I think Dear Brigitte came out just a tad to early. A couple of years later with the flower power movement in full bloom, this thing would have really been big box office. Audiences might have really identified with an eccentric professor with his family living on a riverboat.

Fabian is also along for the ride as daughter Cindy Carol's boyfriend. He was nearing the end of the line as a teenage heart throb. But I'm sure his presence in the film brought more than a few dollars in.

John Williams and Jesse White who play a couple of con men do a nice job and of course we cannot forget the presence of Brigitte Bardot playing herself.

It's a pleasant innocuous little family comedy helped by a very good cast.