The Whole Wide World (1996)

Director:

Dan Ireland

Writers:

Novalyne Price Ellis (memoir One Who Walked Alone)
Michael Scott Myers (screenplay)

Release Date:

20 December 1996 (USA)

Genre:

Biography | Drama | Romance

Tagline:

A true story about the true love of the greatest pulp fiction writer of all time.

Plot:

In Texas in the 1930s, young schoolteacher Novalyne Price meets a handsome, eccentric, interesting young man named Robert Howard...

Plot Keywords:

1930s | Friendship | Writer | Texas | Courtship

Awards:

6 wins & 4 nominations

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

Vincent D'Onofrio	...	Robert E. 'Bob' Howard
Renée Zellweger	...	Novalyne Price
Ann Wedgeworth	...	Mrs. Howard
Harve Presnell	...	Dr. Howard
Benjamin Mouton	...	Clyde Smith
Michael Corbett	...	Mayor Booth Adams
Helen Cates	...	Enid
Marion Eaton	...	Woman on Bus
Chris Shearer	...	Truett Vinson
Leslie Berger	...	Ethel
Libby Villari	...	Etna Reed Price
Sandy Walper	...	Mammy
Dell Aldrich	...	Mrs. Hemphill (as Dell F. Aldrich)
Elizabeth D'Onofrio	...	Mrs. Smith
Antonia Bogdanovich	...	Teacher

MPAA:

Rated PG for a substantial amount of mild language and mature thematic elements.

Runtime:

111 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Singapore:PG | Iceland:L | Australia:M | Sweden:11 | USA:PG

Filming Locations:

Austin, Texas, USA

Company:

Cineville

Trivia:

The budget for this movie was set at $1.3 million. Due to their shortened time frame and lack of money, actor 'Vincent D'Onofrio (I)' had to convince the Bond companies to let them shoot certain scenes.

Goofs:

Factual errors: Early in the film, Mrs. Howard tells Bob that his publisher, Mr. Wright, called from New York. Weird Tales, edited by Farnsworth Wright, was actually published in Chicago.

Quotes:

Novalyne Price: Well, yeah, that's right, thanks indeed, thank God! If it wasn't for teachers like me, there would be more individuals like you, socially inept, hatin the world, prattlin off pompous ideas that no one wants to hear in the first place. Bob Howard, if you do not take some initiative you are going to end up a miserable old man...

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Welcome to Hollywood (1998)

Soundtrack:

The Girl with the Pink Rose

A wonderful love story

Usually I treat "love stories" with a thinly veiled contempt. Call me cynical, but most are contrived, sappy, and predictable. The Whole Wide World is anything but, and like most stories that break your heart, it's a true one - not something created by the overactive imagination of a Hollywood exec.

The basic story: based on the memoirs of Novalyne Price, The Whole Wide World is her recollection of the relationship she had with Conan creator and pulp fiction writer, Robert E. Howard, before his tragic suicide. The time period is 1930's and the place is small town Texas. Novalyne is a school teacher who wishes to be a published writer, and Howard is already established as a pulp fiction maverick. Both are in their late 20's.

The performances in this film are outstanding. Vincent D'Onofrio practically leaps off of the screen. His character is infuriating, heartbreaking, yet so fragile. Renee Zellweger filmed this movie just before she got the call to appear in Jerry Macguire, and she shines as Novalyne Price. Price was a smart, witty, and stubborn lady - in a time when such things were not considered very ladylike. Novalyne and Robert were introduced by a mutual acquaintance, and thus began their disjointed and devoted friendship.

There was obviously so much love between them, but circumstances, Howard's mental illness, and his unreasonable devotion to his mother prevented the ir relationship from ever reaching it's potential. The film shows their ups and downs and the connection they had between them. It's a tragic, very real human story and more than worth two hours of your time. Just make sure you have a tissue ready because it is a tear jerker. It never lowers itself to petty sentimentality though. The Whole Wide World will touch you via pure emotional story telling - kudos to the writer who adapted Price's novel.

It's criminal that the DVD and video are not available in the United States! Various cable channels are playing it regularly, and the DVD is available in Canada. Try to catch it if you can!