Rachel, Rachel (1968)

Director:

Paul Newman

Writers:

Margaret Laurence (novel)
Stewart Stern (writer)

Release Date:

26 August 1968 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Romance

Tagline:

Who was she? Sometimes she was a child skipping rope. Sometimes she was a woman with a passionate hunger. And one day the woman and the child came together...

Plot:

Rachel is a 35 year old school teacher who has no man in her life and lives with her mother. When a man from the big city returns and asks her out...

Plot Keywords:

Teacher | School | Understanding | Feminist | Male Female Relationship

Awards:

Nominated for 4 Oscars. Another 7 wins & 3 nominations

Cast

Joanne Woodward	...	Rachel Cameron
James Olson	...	Nick Kazlik
Kate Harrington	...	Mrs. Cameron
Estelle Parsons	...	Calla Mackie
Donald Moffat	...	Niall Cameron
Terry Kiser	...	Preacher
Frank Corsaro	...	Hector Jonas
Bernard Barrow	...	Leighton Siddley
Geraldine Fitzgerald	...	Rev. Wood
Nell Potts	...	Rachel as a child
Shawn Campbell	...	James
Violet Dunn	...	Verla
Beatrice Pons
Dortha Duckworth		(as Dorothea Duckworth)
Simm Landres

Also Known As:

A Jest of God (USA) (working title)

Runtime:

101 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Canada:PG (Ontario) | UK:X (original rating) | Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15 | USA:Approved | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Bethel, Connecticut, USA

Company:

Kayos Productions

Trivia:

Based on the 1966 novel "A Jest of God" by Margaret Laurence.

Quotes:

Nurse: The operation was a success. You're out of danger.
Rachel Cameron: How can I be out of danger if I'm not dead?

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Stella (1990)

One of the best American films of the 60's.

This small, naturalistic film is one of the more honest films to come out of Hollywood. Its portrait of unexceptional lives strikes chords most movies never hear. Woodward and Harrington as mother and daughter are superb. Paul Newman has done a first rate job of directing. Sharply edited by Dedee Allen,the film uses photographed thought effectively. The scene at the revival is ,perhaps, overdone but, the rest of the film feels true to life. The film's integrity is in its refusal to romanticize or provide dramatic climaxes. There are no heroes or villains. Nothing remarkable happens here, yet the film is holding and affecting. This film should have been on the AFI's list of The 100 Greatest American Films. Though it deservedly received Oscar nods for best picture and actress,director Newman was not nominated. Both the New York Film Critics and the Hollywood Foreign Press (Golden Globes) awarded Newman and Woodward. A gem!