Themes: Self-Destructive Romance, Love Triangles, Mothers and Sons
Main Cast: Elizabeth Taylor, Richard Burton, Eva Marie Saint, Charles Bronson, Robert Webber
Release Year: 1965
Country: US/UK
Run Time: 117 minutes
Plot
Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton -- then Hollywood's most bankable couple -- appeared onscreen together for the third time in this romantic drama shot on beautiful locations along the Big Sur region of the California coastline. Laura Edwards (Elizabeth Taylor) is a free-thinking artist and Bohemian who is raising a her teenage son, Danny (Morgan Mason), conceived out of wedlock, on her own. Laura has issues with conventional teaching methods, and prefers to educate Danny about both intellectual and ethical matters on her own. However, Danny has become something of a problem, and child welfare authorities demand that Danny either be sent to school or become a ward of the state. Rather than send Danny to public school, Laura arranges for him to attend a private academy run by Dr. Edward Hewitt (Richard Burton), an Episcopalian minister. Edward is at first shocked by Laura's embrace of free love and rejection of conventional moral codes, but as he gets to know her better, he finds himself increasingly attracted to her, despite the fact he has a wife, Claire (Eva Marie Saint), and two children. Before long, Edward's desire overpowers his scruples and he begins an affair with Laura. Wracked with guilt over his infidelity, Edward confesses his indiscretion to Claire, which proves to have severe and unexpected consequences. While saddled with poor reviews upon its initial release, The Sandpiper did win an Academy Award for Johnny Mandel's theme song, "The Shadow of Your Smile." ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
Review
Despite the participation of Elizabeth Taylor, Richard Burton, Vincente Minnelli and Dalton Trumbo (not to mention Eva Marie Saint and Charles Bronson), there's precious little to like in the tawdry bit of fluff called The Sandpiper. In fact, the movie is chiefly notable for its Oscar-winning theme song, "The Shadow of Your Smile," which while not a truly great song still managed to make a much more lasting impression than did the film itself. While "borrowed" from Somerset Maugham's Rain, Sandpiper takes that dated-but-effective classic and turns it into a pretentious, actively annoying wallow, filled to the brim with at-the-time-trendy buzzwords and shallow attitudes. It's amazing that Trumbo, along with a trio of other screenwriters, came up with such a trashy yet dull and boring screenplay. Minnelli doesn't know where to begin to make this mess work, so he mostly concentrates on physical detail, atmosphere and some beautiful location work (and shots of his beautiful leads, of course). Burton and Taylor smolder a lot, but it's all affected and a put-on. Saint and Bronson manage to come off slightly better, but the best performance arguably comes from young Morgan Mason as the troubled child who sets the plot in motion. True fans of the stars, the director or overwrought soaps with empty intellectual pretensions may enjoy, but most viewers will find it not worth the trouble. ~ Craig Butler, All Movie Guide
James Edwards - Larry Brant; Torin Thatcher - Judge Thompson; Tom Drake - Walter Robinson; Morgan Mason - Danny Reynolds; Jan Arvan - 1st Trustee; Mary Benoit - Trustee's Wife; Shirley Bonne - Celebrant; Colin Drake - Administrator; Mel Gallagher; Paul Genge - Architect; Douglas Henderson - Paul Sutcliff; Rex Holman; April Hyde - Administrator's Wife; Pamela Mason - Ellie; Jimmy Murphy; Peter O'Toole; Douglas Read; Diane Sayer; Eric Sinclair - Beatnik; Olga Valery - Administrator's Wife; Ron Whelan; John Hart - Trooper; Joan Connors; Kelton Garwood; Barbara Somers - Dancer at the Party; Karl Studer - Harold; Jeff Davis - Administrator; Fred Fisher - Administrator; Tom White - Beatnik
Credit
George W. Davis - Art Director, Urie McCleary - Art Director, Irene Sharaff - Costume Designer, William McGarry - First Assistant Director, Vincente Minnelli - Director, David Bretherton - Editor, Ben Kadish - Executive Producer, Johnny Mandel - Composer (Music Score), Johnny Mandel - Songwriter, Paul Francis Webster - Songwriter, William J. Tuttle - Makeup, Milton Krasner - Cinematographer, Martin Ransohoff - Producer, Keogh Gleason - Set Designer, Henry W. Grace - Set Designer, Dalton Trumbo - Screenwriter, Michael Wilson - Screenwriter, Irene Kamp - Screenwriter, Louis Kamp - Screenwriter
Laura Reynolds (Taylor) is a free-spirited, unwed single mother living with her young son Danny (Morgan Mason) in an isolated California beach house. She makes a modest living as an artist and home-schools her son out of concern that he will be compelled to follow conventional social norms in a regular school. Danny gets into trouble with the law, and a judge orders her to send the boy to an Episcopalboarding school where Dr. Edward Hewitt (Burton) is headmaster, and his wife Claire (Eva Marie Saint) teaches. Danny has trouble fitting in at school due to a lack of social skills, and because his mother's home-schooling taught very advanced subject matter for a boy of his age, while the standard course of instruction at Edward's school leaves him restless and bored. At Claire's suggestion, Edward visits Laura several times to learn more about Danny and his upbringing. Laura's unconventional morals initially horrify Edward, a straight-laced priest, but the two quickly begin a torrid extramarital affair. Meanwhile, Danny flourishes when Edward relaxes some of his school's strict rules and allows the boy to learn more advanced materials. Eventually, Edward confesses the affair to Claire; distraught, she packs her bags and leaves for an indefinite separation. Laura discovers that she has fallen in love with Edward and asks him to live with her. Edward refuses, leaving Laura alone with Danny again.
The story specifically takes place in Big Sur; the film includes many location shots of Big Sur landmarks, including Pfeiffer Beach, Point Lobos State Reserve, Bixby Bridge, the Coast Gallery (where Laura exhibits her artwork), and a pivotal scene shot on a soundstage built to resemble the restaurant Nepenthe. The German singer Nico was an extra in the Nepenthe scene. The film also features an early performance by Charles Bronson as a beatnik sculptor.
The DVD, released in 2006, includes a short film about Big Sur that the filmakers shot at the same time, featuring narration by Burton.
