Funny Lady

Funny Lady

Theatrical poster
Directed by Herbert Ross
Produced by Ray Stark
Written by Jay Presson Allen
Arnold Schulman
Starring Barbra Streisand
James Caan
Omar Sharif
Roddy McDowall
Ben Vereen
Music by Fred Ebb
John Kander
Peter Matz
Cinematography James Wong Howe
Edited by Marion Rothman
Maury Winetrobe
Production
company
Distributed by Columbia Pictures
Release dates
  • March 15, 1975 (1975-03-15)
Running time
 136 minutes
Country United States
Language English
Box office $40,055,897[1]

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

A sequel to the 1968 film Funny Girl, it is a highly fictionalized account of the later life and career of comedian Fanny Brice and her marriage to songwriter and impresario 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. It was directed by Herbert Ross.

Cast

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. She told Stark "that it would take litigation to make her do a sequel." However, Streisand liked the script, which showed Fanny to be "...tougher, more acerbic, more mature...", and she agreed to do the film.[2][3]

The first actor to read for the role of Billy Rose was Robert Blake. Other actors were mentioned, including Al Pacino and Robert De Niro, but ultimately James Caan was chosen. Streisand explained: "It comes down to whom the audience wants me to kiss. Robert Blake, no. James Caan, yes."[3]

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, and it earned him an Academy Award nomination.[4]

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.[5]

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 nominations, as did Kander and Ebb and the film itself, but it was shut out of any wins in both competitions.[6]

Box office

The film grossed $40,055,897 at the U.S. box office, making it the seventh highest grossing picture of 1975.

James Caan thought there were "too many cooks messing around" the film, although he liked his performance.[7]

Awards

The film was nominated for five Academy Awards:[8]

It was also nominated for six Golden Globe awards including Best Picture Musical/Comedy, Best Actress for Barbra Streisand, and Best Actor for James Caan.

Soundtrack

The soundtrack peaked on the Billboard Album Chart at number 6 and was certified gold.[9]

The original 1975 Arista soundtrack, with all songs by Kander and Ebb, unless otherwise noted:[10]

Side 1

Side 2

The CD versions in print since 1998 are slightly different, relisted to match the order in the film, and with a couple of alternate versions and a bonus track:[11]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Funny Lady, Box Office Information". The Numbers. Retrieved January 22, 2012.
  2. ↑ Waldman, p.120-121
  3. 1 2 Funny Lady history tcm.com, accessed March 4, 2009
  4. ↑ Nickens and Swenson, pp.124-125
  5. ↑ Nickens and Swenson, p. 129
  6. ↑ Internet Movie Database listing, "Funny Lady" awards imdb.com, accessed March 3, 2009
  7. ↑ James Caan's career hitting tough times Siskel, Gene. Chicago Tribune (1963-Current file) [Chicago, Ill] 27 Nov 1977: e6.
  8. ↑ "The 48th Academy Awards (1976) Nominees and Winners". oscars.org. Retrieved 2011-10-02.
  9. ↑ http://barbra-archives.com/record/albums/funny_lady.html#billboard
  10. ↑ http://barbra-archives.com/record/albums/funny_lady.html#tracks1
  11. ↑ http://barbra-archives.com/record/albums/funny_lady.html#tracks3
  12. ↑ http://barbra-archives.com/record/albums/funny_lady.html#great

Bibliography

External links

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