After leaving his wife, lawyer Jerry Ryan moves from Omaha, Nebraska to New York City to start a new life. While studying for the New York Bar Examination and working to finalize his divorce, Ryan meets dancer Gittel Mosca, and the two begin a cautious courtship. However, Ryan feels that he must come to terms with his failed marriage and overcome his lingering attachment to his ex-wife before he can redefine himself and embrace his budding romance.
Acting
MacLaine's live-wire energy against Mitchum's wounded stillness.
Production
Authentic Greenwich Village apartments, cramped and lived-in.
Director
Robert Wise
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
This was Robert Wise's return to intimate drama after massive spectacles like West Side Story; he specifically wanted to prove he could direct two people in a room.
The play was a massive 1960 Broadway hit with Henry Fonda and Anne Bancroft, but by 1962 the beatnik craze was already becoming commercialized — this film captures the moment right before it curdled into parody.
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