Funny Lady

Infobox Film
name = Funny Lady


caption = Theatrical poster
director = Herbert Ross
producer = Ray Stark
writer = Jay Presson Allen Arnold Schulman
narrator =
starring = Barbra Streisand James Caan Omar Sharif Roddy McDowall Ben Vereen
music = Fred Ebb John Kander Peter Matz
cinematography = James Wong Howe
editing = Marion Rothman Maury Winetrobe
distributor = Columbia Pictures
released = flagicon|United States March 15, 1975
runtime = 136 min.
country = US
language = English
budget =
preceded_by = "Funny Girl"
followed_by =
website =
amg_id = 1:18961
imdb_id = 0073026

"Funny Lady" is a 1975 film starring Barbra Streisand, James Caan, Omar Sharif, Roddy McDowall, and Ben Vereen.

A sequel to the 1964 Broadway musical and subsequent 1968 film version of "Funny Girl", it is a highly fictionalized account of the later life and career of comedienne Fanny Brice and her marriage to songwriter and empresario Billy Rose. The screenplay was by Jay Presson Allen and Arnold Schulman, based on a story by Schulman. The primary score was by John Kander and Fred Ebb, whose first success as a team had been the song "My Coloring Book," written for Streisand in 1962. It was directed by Herbert Ross.

Cast

*Barbra Streisand as Fanny Brice
*James Caan as Billy Rose
*Omar Sharif as Nick Arnstein
*Roddy McDowall as Bobby Moore
*Ben Vereen as Bert Robbins

Production

Although she was contractually bound to make one more film for producer Ray Stark (Fanny Brice's one-time son-in-law), Streisand balked at doing the project, and agreed only after she was threatened with a lawsuit.

Her first choice for the role of Rose was Robert Blake, who actually bore a closer resemblance to the character than Caan. He agreed to a read-through of the script at her home but, insulted he had been made to audition for the leading lady, turned down the part.

Stark, unhappy with the scenes shot by the original cinematographer, lured an ailing James Wong Howe out of retirement to complete the film. It proved to be his final project, which earned him an Academy Award nomination.

Studio heads forced Ross to trim the film to a manageable 136 minutes prior to its release. Much of Vereen's performance ended up on the cutting room floor, together with a recreation of Brice's "Baby Snooks" radio show and dramatic scenes involving her and her daughter.

In addition to Howe, Oscar nominations went to Ray Aghayan and Bob Mackie for Best Costume Design, John Kander and Fred Ebb for Best Original Song ("How Lucky Can You Get?"), Peter Matz for Best Scoring of an Original Song Score and/or Adaptation, and the sound crew. Streisand, Caan, and Vereen all received Golden Globe Award nods, as did Kander and Ebb and the film itself, but it was shut out of any wins in both competitions.

Reception

The film received mixed reviews and was only a moderate commercial success.

oundtrack

All songs by Kander and Ebb, unless otherwise noted
*"How Lucky Can You Get?"
*"So Long, Honey Lamb"
*"Isn't This Better?"
*"I Got a Code in my Doze"
*"Blind Date"
*"Let's Hear it For Me"
*"I Found a Million Dollar Baby" (Harry Warren, Billy Rose, Mort Dixon)
*"If I Love Again" (Ben Oakland, J. P. Murray)
*"Great Day" (Vincent Youmans, Edward Eliscu)
*"Am I Blue?" (Harry Akst, Grant Clarke, Clare Hanlon, Don Redman, Sam H. Stept)
*"It's Only a Paper Moon" (Harold Arlen, E.Y. "Yip" Harburg, Billy Rose)
*"More Than You Know" (Vincent Youmans, Edward Eliscu, Billy Rose)

External links

*imdb title|id=0073026|title=Funny Lady
*amg movie|id=1:18961|title=Funny Lady
* [http://www.saxonyrecordcompany.com/v-web/gallery/fanny-brice/ Gallery of images of Fanny Brice]
* [http://www.barbra-archives.com/Films/streisand_funnylady.html Barbra Archives Page on Funny Lady film, including cut scenes]
* [http://www.britannica.com/women/articles/Brice_Fanny.html "Fanny Brice" from "Women in American History by Encyclopædia Britannica"]