- Mister Buddwing
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Mister Buddwing 
posterDirected by Delbert Mann Produced by Douglas Laurence
Delbert MannWritten by Evan Hunter (novel)
Dale Wasserman (screenplay)Starring James Garner
Jean Simmons
Suzanne Pleshette
Angela LansburyMusic by Kenyon Hopkins Cinematography Ellsworth Fredericks Editing by Fredric Steinkamp Studio Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Distributed by MGM Release date(s) 11 October 1966 (US) Running time 100 minutes Country United States Language English Mister Buddwing is a 1966 American film drama starring James Garner, directed by Delbert Mann.
It is the story of a well-dressed man who finds himself on a bench in Central Park with no idea of who he is. He proceeds to wander around Manhattan meeting women (Jean Simmons, Suzanne Pleshette, Katharine Ross, Angela Lansbury) as he desperately tries to figure out his own identity.
Based on the 1964 novel Buddwing by Evan Hunter, the evocatively shot black-and-white drama with a lively jazz musical score was written by Dale Wasserman.
Contents
Plot
Waking up on a New York park bench, a man's mind is a total blank. He has no identification on him, just a slip of paper in his pocket with a phone number on it.
The number leads him to a woman, Gloria, who doesn't recognize the man but gives him some money out of pity. For the purpose of identifying himself, he invents a name out of thin air, spotting a Budweiser beer truck go by just as a jet plane passes overhead.
On the street, Buddwing spots a woman he thinks he knows and calls out "Grace!" to her. Her name is Janet, but a flashback of a romance with her from college days goes through Buddwing's mind. He experiences similar flashbacks after meeting Fiddle Corwin, an actress. They share a romantic fling, but images of her contemplating suicide flash through his mind.
The Blonde, a socialite, is on a scavenger hunt, just for kicks. Buddwing accompanies her to Harlem, where her goal is to get into a dice game. While there, a passing remark jogs Buddwing's memory. He recovers from the shock of an incident involving his wife and a pregnancy, ultimately remembering who and where he was before his blackout.
Cast
- James Garner as Mr. Buddwing
- Jean Simmons as The Blonde
- Suzanne Pleshette as Fiddle Corwin
- Katharine Ross as Janet
- Angela Lansbury as Gloria
- Jack Gilford as Mr. Schwartz
- Billy Halop as the 2nd cab driver
Awards and honors
The film was nominated for two Academy Awards; for Best Costume Design (Helen Rose) and Best Art Direction (George Davis, Paul Groesse, Henry Grace, Hugh Hunt).[1]
Notes
- ^ "NY Times: Mister Buddwing". NY Times. http://movies.nytimes.com/movie/102589/Mister-Buddwing/awards. Retrieved 2008-12-26.
External links
- Mister Buddwing at the Internet Movie Database
- Mister Buddwing at AllRovi
- Mister Buddwing at the TCM Movie Database
- James Garner Interview on the Charlie Rose Show
- James Garner interview at Archive of American Television
Films directed by Delbert Mann 1950s 1960s The Dark at the Top of the Stairs • Lover Come Back • The Outsider • That Touch of Mink • A Gathering of Eagles • Quick, Before It Melts • Dear Heart • Mister Buddwing • Fitzwilly • The Pink Jungle1970s 1980s BrontëTelevision "Lights Out" (1949) • "The Philco Television Playhouse" (1949 - 1955) • "Goodyear Television Playhouse" (1951 - 1955) • "Producers' Showcase" (1955) • "Playwrights '56" (1955 - 1956) • "Ford Star Jubilee" (1956) • "Omnibus" (1956 - 1957) • "The DuPont Show of the Month" (1958) • "Playhouse 90" (1958 - 1959) • "NBC Sunday Showcase" (1959) • "Startime" (1960) • Heidi (1968) • "CBS Playhouse" (1968) • David Copperfield (1969) • Jane Eyre (1970) • She Waits (1972) • No Place to Run (1972) • The Man Without a Country (1973) • The First Woman President (1974) • The Legendary Curse of the Hope Diamond (1975) • A Girl Named Sooner (1975) • Francis Gary Powers: The True Story of the U-2 Spy Incident (1976) • Tell Me My Name (1977) • Breaking Up (1978) • Home to Stay (1978) • Tom and Joann (1978) • Thou Shalt Not Commit Adultery (1978) • Torn Between Two Lovers (1979) • All Quiet on the Western Front (1979) • To Find My Son (1980) • "Insight" (1981) • All the Way Home (1981) • The Member of the Wedding (1982) • The Gift of Love: A Christmas Story (1983) • Love Leads the Way: A True Story (1984) • A Death in California (1985) • The Last Days of Patton (1986) • The Ted Kennedy Jr. Story (1976) • Tell Me My Name (1977) • Breaking Up (1986) • April Morning (1988) • Ironclads (1991) • Against Her Will: An Incident in Baltimore (1992) • Incident in a Small Town (1994) • Lily in Winter (1994)Categories:- American films
- 1966 films
- American drama films
- English-language films
- Black-and-white films
- 1960s drama films
- Films based on novels
- Films directed by Delbert Mann
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