Main Cast: Candice Bergen, Joan Hackett, Elizabeth Hartman, Shirley Knight, Joanna Pettet, Hal Holbrook
Release Year: 1966
Country: US
Run Time: 150 minutes
Plot
Based on the novel by Mary McCarthy, The Group was one of the slickest, and most highly publicized, cinematic soap operas of the 1960s. Filmed largely in New York, the story charts the exploits of eight young women, all of whom graduate from an exclusive Vassar-ish college in the middle of the Depression. Among the talented young actresses making their screen debuts herein are Candice Bergen as Lakey, the group's resident Lesbian; Joan Hackett as Dottie, a repressed socialite who takes up with bohemian artist Dick Brown (Richard Mulligan); Joanna Pettet as Kay, who marries philandering playwright Harald Peterson (Larry Hagman); and Kathleen Widdoes as Helena, the wealthiest of the girls who insists upon proving her value in the workplace. The other girls are Pokey (Marin-Robin Redd), who seems happiest when pregnant; Jessica Walter as Libby, the group's viper-tongued gossip and the darling of the Manhattan literary set (some have suggested that McCarthy based this character on herself); Elizabeth Hartman as Priss, the requisite heart-on-sleeve liberal; and Shirley Knight as Polly, whose bumpy love life culminates in a very colorful engagement party. Hal Holbrook, likewise making his first screen appearance, plays Gus LeRoy. Sumptuously produced, The Group is a bit empty dramatically, though the sheer volume of continuing characters manages to sustain audience interest. (Incidentally, here's a note for "blooper" spotters: wasn't the Pan Am building constructed in the 1950s? ) ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Mary-Robin Redd - Pokey Prothero; Jessica Walter - Libby MacAusland; Kathleen Widdoes - Helena Davison; James Broderick - Dr. Ridgeley; James Congdon - Sloan Crockett; Larry Hagman - Harald Peterson; Richard Mulligan - Dick Brown; Robert Emhardt - Mr. Andrews; Carrie Nye - Norine; Philippa Bevans - Mrs. Hartshorn; Leta Bonynge - Mrs. Prothero; Marion Brash - Radio Man's Wife; Bill Fletcher - Bill, the Actor; George Gaynes - Brook Latham; Martha Greenhouse - Mrs. Bergler; Russell Hardie - Mr. Davison; Vincent Harding - Mr. Eastlake; Doreen Lang - Nurse Swenson; Baruch Lumet - Mr. Schneider; John O'Leary - Putnam Blake; Hildy Parks - Nurse Catherine; Polly Rowles - Mrs. Andrews; Douglas Rutherford - Mr. Prothero; Truman Smith - Mr. Bergler; Arthur Anderson - Pokey's Husband; Leora Dana - Mrs. Renfrew; Richard Graham - Rev. Garland; Ed Holmes - Mr. MacAusland
Credit
Vic Ramos - Casting, Anna Hill Johnstone - Costume Designer, Tony Belletier - First Assistant Director, Sidney Lumet - Director, Ralph Rosenblum - Editor, Charles K. Feldman - Executive Producer, Charles Gross - Composer (Music Score), Robert de Cormier - Musical Direction/Supervision, Irving Buchman - Makeup, Gene Callahan - Production Designer, Boris Kaufman - Cinematographer, Sidney Buchman - Producer, Jack Wright Jr. - Set Designer, Sidney Buchman - Screenwriter, Mary Therese McCarthy - Book Author
