Franklin J. Schaffner made his feature directing debut with The Stripper, a drearily depressing melodrama about a struggling, aging actress-turned-stripper, played by Joanne Woodward.
Grade: C+ (** out of *****)
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Theatrical release poster
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It is based on the play “A Loss of Roses” by William Inge, who had won an Oscar for his script for Kazan’s 1961 melodrama, Splendor in the Grass.
The film co-starred Claire Trevor, Carol Lynley, Robert Webber, and Richard Beymer.
Also appearing as Madame Olga was the real-life stripper Gypsy Rose Lee.
It was the first Schaffner film to feature a score by the prolific composer Jerry Goldsmith, who would later work with Schaffner on his best films, Planet of the Apes, Patton, Papillon, and The Boys from Brazil.
My Oscar Book:
Oscar Context:
William Travilla was nominated for the Best Costume Design Oscar, Black-and-White.
The film was intended to be a vehicle for two Fox contract stars, Marilyn Monroe and Pat Boone, but Monroe died in 1962 and Boone refused the role on moral grounds.
Wo0odward plays Lila Green, a femme dreaming of career in the movies, though she has has found little success.
She joins a group of traveling entertainers and is abandoned near her Kansas hometown by her manager and boyfriend, Ricky Powers.
Old friend Helen Baird (Claire Trevor) then takes her into her home, where her young son Kenny (Richard Beymer) becomes infatuated with Lila. Delusional, she at first sees a future for their relationship, but later on, she is coming to her senses.
Ricky returns and offers Lila a job doing a striptease. In need of money, she accepts. Kenny witnesses her show and finally realizes that she is not the dream girl he thought he loved.
Cast
Joanne Woodward as Lila Green
Richard Beymer as Kenny Baird
Claire Trevor as Helen Baird
Carol Lynley as Miriam Caswell
Robert Webber as Ricky Powers
Louis Nye as Ronnie Cavendish
Gypsy Rose Lee as Madame Olga
Michael J. Pollard as Jelly
Sondra Kerr as Edwina
Susan Brown as Mrs. Mulvaney
Marlene De Lamater as Sandra Mulvaney
Ralph Lee as Sonny
Gary Pagett as Dizzy
Bing Russell as Mr. Mulvaney
Credits:
Directed by Franklin J. Schaffner
Screenplay by Meade Roberts, based on A Loss of Roses (1959 play) by William Inge
Produced by Jerry Wald
Cinematography Ellsworth Fredericks
Edited by Robert L. Simpson
Music by Jerry Goldsmith
Production: Jerry Wald Productions
Distributed by 20th Century-Fox
Release date: June 19, 1963 (NYC)
Running time: 95 minutes
Budget: $2.5 million
Box office: $1,500,000 (US/ Canada)
