Cleveronix A different way of telling a story

Glucedee It's hard to see any effort in the film. There's no comedy to speak of, no real drama and, worst of all.

Fatma Suarez The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful

Logan By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

MARIO GAUCI This is yet another film I ought to have watched or, at least, acquired well before now; given its subject matter of a blind young man (a debuting Edward Albert) falling for a free-spirited girl (Goldie Hawn) and meeting opposition from his possessive mother (Oscar winner Eileen Heckart), I expected melodrama of the worst kind – but the approach, which veered more towards character-driven romantic comedy, proved far less oppressive than it certainly could have been! On his first film, too, was director Katselas – who had a rather brief career, following this with 40 CARATS (1973; which, again, I own but have yet to check out), which reunited him with Albert and screenwriter Leonard Gershe.Though the "Leslie Halliwell Film Guide" gives it no stars at all, which probably had more to do with my overlooking the movie all this time than anything else, it has received a number of accolades: apart from two other Oscar nominations for Best Cinematography and Sound (a vital element in view of the physical impairment concerned), it was also up for a number of major awards – albeit in the Musical/Comedy slot – at the Golden Globes (but, surprisingly, Heckart did not even make the Supporting Actress shortlist this time around!): film, actor, actress and the song "Carry Me", while Albert did emerge the winner in the "Most Promising Newcomer" category; Gershe, then, was a WGA nominee for adapting his own play to the screen. Interestingly, the male lead being the son of veteran character actor Eddie Albert, it should be noted that the latter was himself Oscar and Golden Globe-nominated that same year for THE HEARTBREAK KID (1972; which also lies in my "To Watch" pile)! Another odd coincidence between father and son is the fact that, when the 99 year-old old man was going through his final illness, the younger one – who, by then, was caring for his parent on a full-time basis – learnt of his own terminal ailment and would pass away only a year later (at age 55!)! Anyway, the central triumvirate of characters virtually duplicate those of the recently-viewed A PATCH OF BLUE (1965), only here the blind person is male; we also have pretty much the same lack of sentimentality in dealing with such a sensitive subject – with the afflicted party longing for both independence (which he gets by surprisingly famously unless objects are displaced from the way he left them!) and love (though already disillusioned when we first meet him). Hawn is typically kooky (upon noticing Albert looking at her half-dressed, but without being aware of his predicament, she takes a leaf out of Luis Bunuel's TRISTANA {1970} and angrily flashes him!) and, at least initially, superficial – since she, an aspiring stage actress, has no qualms about moving out of the condominium and in with her director, played by Paul Michael Glaser (of "Starsky & Hutch"), after having led the blind man on! Perhaps allowing for the fact that Albert's character cannot see her, she spends a good deal of her time in his adjoining flat in her underwear; in fact, when Heckart turns up unexpectedly, the young couple had just spent their first night together (he eventually suggests – at Hawn's implication – that she change her morose expression, lest others take her for a lesbian)! Albert has managed to learn to play the guitar to accompany his lyric writing and adequate singing voice (at one point, he covers John Denver's popular "Take Me Home, Country Roads"!); this artistic bent (which also explains the myriad literate references throughout, the title – also utilized in a song – deriving from Dickens) was inherited from his mother: to alleviate her son's loneliness growing up, used to write children's books in which the protagonist was a blind superhero named Donnie Dark!! The confined setting (only briefly opening up for Albert's change of clothing under Hawn's guidance and, then, her tete-a'-tete with Heckart – which inevitably ends in a row), considerable length (109 minutes) and talky nature do not necessarily work against the film, thanks to the characterizations being so finely-tuned to their social background (conventionally-bred Heckart's apprehension about Hawn's lack of commitment – who, at 19, is already a divorcée' – is proved right, at least for a short while) and liberated era (Albert's apartment had served as a hippie commune, while Hawn's all-important theatrical engagement involves copious nudity).

greenheart I bumped into this movie, a Goldie Hawn feature that I hadn't heard of. It turned out to bit of a gem. Clearly, written for the stage rather than the big stage, it did translate into a watchable couple of hours although I still consider that the stage is probably the most suitable home for this piece. The acting was terrific. Hawn was quirky, charming, frustrating, not to mention sexy. Such a confused and immature character, yet you couldn't help but like her. You wanted to sympathise with Edward Albert as the blind neighbour and yet, he didn't want people to sympathise with him. He displayed admirable courage and yet a fragility that could break at any second despite his noble. independence. Eileen Heckart won an Oscar for the mother. She was frustrating to start with and then her love and determination to look after her son shone through and you ended up being so full of admiration for her. Lots of talking and yet you get drawn in from an early stage so that you really, genuinely care. Don't let this butterfly pass you by.

fedor8 The first half is really tedious, full of fluffy dialog. Once the blind guy's mother walks in things liven up, and from then on things are more interesting, though at the price of being decidedly soap-operatic. Much of the dialog of conflict reminds of soap-operas; it's the same old lines and attitudes that we've heard and seen a million times before. The guy playing the bondman is okay but somewhat bland, and not really a match for a young, spunky Goldie Hawn. She is cute and charming, and does her best, but there is a limit to what she can do with her stereotypical character; she plays one of those free-spirited, cheerful, young hippie girls with a good heart - a moronic cliché in the movies of that era. There is also little that Hawn can do with the mediocre script; instead of creating a script that exploits the comedic possibilities by creating humorous exchanges between characters, the writer has opted for a safe and easier way: schmaltzy melodrama, with the dialog occasionally being somewhat witty, but never funny. The ultra-dated and annoying hippie-era clichés that creep in on a regular basis don't help, either; it's clear that this was written by some left-wing Hollywood bozo.

jalapenoman This is an incredible movie. It has everything: great acting, an Oscar winning performance (Heckart as the mother), believable characters, and a young, hot Goldie running around for thirty minutes in her undies.The acting of the three principles deserved three Oscar nods, but only one was given (for the top performance). Mother Bird goes from being overprotective to having to push her son from the nest. The different emotions portrayed by the character are wonderful and we can all see ourselves as overprotective parents in her role.Edward Albert's performance makes us wonder why he never became an A list actor.With Goldies performance in this film, along with her other early performance and Oscar in Cactus Flower, I wonder why she lowered herself to the stupid comedies she made the next several years (Protocol, etc.). The ditsy, dumb blonde was and is a better actress, as is evidenced by her work here.Why does Paul Michael Glaser seem to show up in bit parts in all the great 60's and 70's films? He was also in Fiddler on the Roof! This is one of the great romantic comedies of all time.