Two for the Road

Two for the Road
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Stanley Donen
Produced by	Stanley Donen
Written by	Frederic Raphael
Starring	Albert Finney Audrey Hepburn William Daniels Eleanor Bron
Music by	Henry Mancini
Cinematography	Christopher Challis
Editing by	Madeleine Gug Richard Marden
Distributed by	20th Century Fox
Release date(s)	1967 (1967)
Running time	111 minutes
Country	United Kingdom
Language	English
Budget	$4 million[1]
Box office	$12,000,000[1] $3,500,000 (rentals)

Two for the Road is a 1967 British comedy drama film directed by Stanley Donen and starring Albert Finney and Audrey Hepburn. Written by Frederic Raphael, the film is about an architect and his wife who examine their twelve-year relationship while on a road trip to Southern France. The film was considered somewhat experimental for its time because the story is told in a non-linear fashion, with scenes from the latter stages of the relationship juxtaposed with those from its beginning, often leaving the viewer to interpolate what has intervened, which is sometimes revealed in later scenes. Several locations are used in different segments, to show continuity throughout the twelve-year period.

Frederic Raphael received an Academy Award nomination for Best Writing, Audrey Hepburn received a Golden Globe nomination for Best Motion Picture Actress, and Henry Mancini received a Golden Globe nomination for Best Original Score. The film's theme song, "Two for the Road", was composed by Mancini who wrote many notable theme songs for films, including Moon River for Breakfast at Tiffany's; he considered "Two for the Road" his favorite song. Cars featured in the film being driven by the couple include a white Mercedes-Benz 230SL roadster, an MG TD, a Triumph Herald, a VW Microbus, and a Ford Country Squire. The film was ranked #57 on the American Film Institute's 100 Years... 100 Passions list.

Plot

Now a successful and wealthy architect, Mark Wallace (Albert Finney) and his wife Joanna (Jo) Wallace (Audrey Hepburn) fly their white Mercedes 230SL roadster to Northern France, in order to continue driving to Saint-Tropez to celebrate the completion of a building project for a client, Maurice. Tensions between the couple are evident, and as they journey south they both remember and discuss several past journeys along the same road.

The earliest memory involves how they first met on a ferry crossing when Mark was travelling alone and Joanna was part of a girl's choir. They meet again when Joanna's choirbus goes off the road and Mark helps get them back on the road. When the other girls get chickenpox, Joanna and Mark unexpectedly wind up hitchhiking south together.

The next story tells how the two newlyweds are travelling with Mark's ex-girlfriend Cathy Manchester (Eleanor Bron), husband (William Daniels) and daughter Ruth 'Ruthie' (Gabrielle Middleton) from the USA. Ruthie is not given any limits, and her behaviour frustrates Mark and Jo. Eventually Ruthie reveals the unkind descriptions of Joanna her parents have made in private. At this point Mark and Joanna decide to travel alone.

Next the pair drive a new MG which begins to have exhaust troubles, finally catching on fire. On this journey Joanna announces that she is pregnant. They also meet the wealthy Maurice Dalbret (Claude Dauphin) and his wife Françoise (Nadia Gray). Maurice becomes a generous but demanding client for Mark.

The next story shows them travelling with their young daughter Caroline (Kathy Chelimsky).

Another time shows Mark travelling alone and having a fling with another motorist, but which is shown to be fleeting and unserious in nature. Later Joanna has an affair with Françoise's brother David (Georges Descrières), which is portrayed as much more serious than Mark's and threatens to end the marriage; however, while Joanna dines with David and they witness a couple eating together without saying a word, David asks, offhandedly, "What kind of people can eat an entire meal together and not talk?" Joanna replies, enthusiastically, "Married people!" and, realizing she misses Mark despite their faded passion, runs back to him.

At the end of the film, the Wallaces manage to end their long-term relationship to Maurice and find a new client in Rome. They honestly analyse their fears and insecurities which have plagued them throughout the film. Finally, they cross the border from France into Italy. This is new ground for them as well as for the audience, signalling a move beyond the old issues into a more mature future.

Cast

• Audrey Hepburn as Joanna 'Jo' Wallace
• Albert Finney as Mark Wallace
• Eleanor Bron as Cathy Maxwell-Manchester born Seligman
• William Daniels as Howard 'Howie' Maxwell-Manchester
• Gabrielle Middleton as Ruth 'Ruthie' Maxwell-Manchester
• Claude Dauphin as Maurice Dalbret
• Nadia Gray as Françoise Dalbret
• Georges Descrières as David
• Jacqueline Bisset as Jackie
• Judy Cornwell as Pat
• Irène Hilda as Yvonne de Florac
• Leo Penn as Morrie Goetz
• Dominique Joos as Sylvia Obino
• Olga Georges-Picot as Joanna's Touring Friend^[2]

Production

Filming locations

• Beauvallon, Drôme, France
• Cap Valéry, France
• Château de Chantilly, Chantilly, Oise, France
• French Riviera, Alpes-Maritimes, France
• Grimaud, Var, France
• La Colle-sur-Loup, Alpes-Maritimes, France
• Nice, Alpes-Maritimes, France
• Paris, France
• Port de Nice, Nice, Alpes-Maritimes, France (ferry disembarkment sequence)
• Ramatuelle, Var, France (Dalbret villa scenes)
• Restaurant Leï Mouscardins, Rue Portalet, Saint-Tropez, Var, France
• Saint-Tropez, Var, France
• Studios de la Victorine, 16 avenue Edoard Grinda, Nice, Alpes-Maritimes, France (studio)
• Étangs de Commelles, Coye-la-Forêt, Oise, France^[3]

Reception

Two for the Road has received mostly positive reviews from critics. It currently holds an 83% "Fresh" rating on the review aggregate website Rotten Tomatoes, with an average of 7.2 out of 10.^[4]

Awards and nominations

• 1968 Academy Award Nomination for Best Writing (Frederic Raphael)
• 1968 BAFTA Film Award Nomination for Best British Screenplay (Frederic Raphael)
• 1968 Cinema Writers Circle Award for Best Foreign Film (Mejor Película Extranjera) Won
• 1968 Directors Guild of America Award Nomination for Outstanding Directorial Achievement (Stanley Donen)
• 1968 Golden Globe Award Nomination for Best Motion Picture Actress (Audrey Hepburn)
• 1968 Golden Globe Award Nomination for Best Original Score (Henry Mancini)
• 1967 San Sebastián International Film Festival Golden Seashell (Stanley Donen) Won
• 1967 Writers' Guild of Great Britain Merit Scroll for Best British Comedy Screenplay (Frederic Raphael) Won
• 1967 Writers' Guild of Great Britain Merit Scroll for Best British Original Screenplay (Frederic Raphael) Won^[5]

Trivia

The film was parodied on a 2008 episode of The Simpsons entitled "Dangerous Curves", with Marge and Homer as Hepburn and Finney, Ned and Maude Flanders portraying the characters played by Daniels and Bron.^[6]

References

External links

• Two for the Road (1967 film) at the Internet Movie Database
• Two for the Road (1967 film) at the TCM Movie Database
• Two for the Road (1967 film) at AllRovi

v t e Cinema of the United Kingdom Culture of the United Kingdom World cinema Films by year (Films A–Z) Pre 1920 1920s 1930s 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 Production companies and studios Active Aardman Animations BBC Films British Lion Films Ealing Studios Elstree Studios Eon Productions Film4 Productions Goldcrest Films Hammer Film Productions HandMade Films London Films Palace Pictures The Pinewood Studios Group (Pinewood Studios Shepperton Studios) S4C Films Warner Bros. Studios, Leavesden Wimbledon Studios Working Title Films Former Amicus Productions Associated British Picture Corporation Bryanston Films Denham Film Studios Gainsborough Pictures Hemdale Film Corporation Ideal Rank Organisation Tigon British Film Productions Warwick Films Organisations BAFTA British Board of Film Classification British Film Institute BFI National Archive BFI Southbank British Society of Cinematographers Children's Film Foundation Cinema Exhibitors' Association National Film and Television School National Media Museum Northern Ireland Screen Scottish Screen UK Film Council People Actors and actresses Cinematographers Directors Editors Producers Production designers Score composers Screenwriters Other British Academy Film Awards British Independent Film Awards British New Wave Carry On Cinematograph Films Act 1927 Documentary Film Movement Eady Levy Ealing Comedies Free Cinema Gainsborough melodramas Harry Potter History of British film certificates Home Video Charts James Bond London Film Festival London in film Telecinema Category Commons