Two Weeks in Another Town
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''Two Weeks in Another Town'' is a 1962 American
drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. The drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular ...
directed by
Vincente Minnelli Vincente Minnelli (; born Lester Anthony Minnelli; February 28, 1903 – July 25, 1986) was an American Theatre director, stage director and film director. From a career spanning over half a century, he is best known for his sophisticated innovat ...
and starring
Kirk Douglas Kirk Douglas (born Issur Danielovitch; December 9, 1916 – February 5, 2020) was an American actor and filmmaker. After an impoverished childhood, he made his film debut in '' The Strange Love of Martha Ivers'' (1946) with Barbara Stanwyck. ...
and Edward G. Robinson. The supporting players include Cyd Charisse, Claire Trevor, Daliah Lavi, George Hamilton, and Rosanna Schiaffino. The film was based on a 1960 novel by
Irwin Shaw Irwin Shaw (February 27, 1913 – May 16, 1984) was an American playwright, screenwriter, novelist, and short-story author whose written works have sold more than 14 million copies. He is best known for two of his novels: '' The Young Lions'' (1 ...
and depicts the shooting of a romantic costume drama in Rome by a team of decadent Hollywood stars during the Hollywood on the Tiber era. The picture contains several references to '' The Bad and the Beautiful,'' a previous successful
MGM Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. (also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures, commonly shortened to MGM or MGM Studios) is an American Film production, film and television production and film distribution, distribution company headquartered ...
movie directed by Minnelli and produced by
John Houseman John Houseman (born Jacques Haussmann; September 22, 1902 – October 31, 1988) was a Romanians, Romanian-born British Americans, British-American theatre and film producer, actor, director, and teacher. He became known for his highly publ ...
a decade earlier, also with a screenplay by Charles Schnee, music by David Raksin, and starring Kirk Douglas as the lead character. The story was seen by some as a depiction of the relationships among
Tyrone Power Tyrone Edmund Power III (May 5, 1914 – November 15, 1958) was an American actor. From the 1930s to the 1950s, Power appeared in dozens of films, often in swashbuckler roles or romantic leads. His better-known films include ''Jesse James (193 ...
, Linda Christian and Darryl Zanuck. At the time of its release, the film was perceived as a box-office failure, with overall losses totaling approximately $3 million.


Plot

Once an established movie star, Jack Andrus has hit rock bottom. An alcoholic, he has been divorced by wife Carlotta, barely survived a car crash, and spent three years in a sanitarium recovering from a nervous breakdown. Maurice Kruger, a film director who was something of a mentor to Andrus, is a has-been. However, he has landed a job in Italy, directing a movie that stars Davie Drew, a handsome, up-and-coming young actor. Andrus is offered a chance to come to Rome and play a role in Kruger's new film. He is crestfallen upon arriving when told that the part is no longer available to him. Kruger's mean-spirited wife Clara doesn't pity him a bit, but Andrus is invited to take a lesser job assisting at Cinecittà Studio with the dubbing of the actors' lines. While working, he socializes with the beautiful Veronica, but she actually is in love with Drew. The actor is having a great deal of difficulty with his part, and the movie is over budget and behind schedule. Kruger's stress is increased by the constant harping of Clara, resulting in a heart attack that sends the director to the hospital. Andrus is asked to take over the director's chair and complete the film. Glad to do this favor for Kruger, he takes charge and gets the film back on schedule. The actors respond to him so much that Drew's representatives tell Andrus the actor will insist on his directing Drew's next film. Proud of what he has done, Andrus goes to Kruger in the hospital, delighted to report the progress he's made, only to be attacked by Clara for trying to undermine Kruger and steal his movie from him. Andrus is shocked when Kruger sides with her. An all-night descent into an alcohol-fueled rage follows. Carlotta goes along as a drunken Andrus gets behind the wheel of a car and races through the streets of Rome, nearly killing both of them. At the last minute, Andrus comes to his senses. He vows to return home, continue his sobriety and get his life back on track.


Cast

*
Kirk Douglas Kirk Douglas (born Issur Danielovitch; December 9, 1916 – February 5, 2020) was an American actor and filmmaker. After an impoverished childhood, he made his film debut in '' The Strange Love of Martha Ivers'' (1946) with Barbara Stanwyck. ...
as Jack Andrus * Edward G. Robinson as Maurice Kruger * Cyd Charisse as Carlotta * Claire Trevor as Clara Kruger * Daliah Lavi as Veronica * George Hamilton as Davie Drew * Rosanna Schiaffino as Barzelli * James Gregory as Tom Byrd * Mino Doro as film producer Tucino


Production

''Two Weeks in Another Town'' was created by the same team that worked on '' The Bad and the Beautiful'': director (Vincente Minnelli), producer (John Houseman), screenwriter (Charles Schnee), composer (David Raksin), male star (Kirk Douglas), and studio (MGM). Both movies feature performances of the song " Don't Blame Me": by
Leslie Uggams Leslie Marian Uggams (; born May 25, 1943) is an American actress and singer. After beginning her career as a child in the early 1950s, she garnered acclaim for her role in the Broadway theatre, Broadway musical ''Hallelujah, Baby!'', winning a T ...
in ''Two Weeks in Another Town'' and by Peggy King in ''The Bad and the Beautiful''. In one scene of the former, the cast watches clips from ''The Bad and the Beautiful'' in a screening room, presented as a movie in which Douglas's character, Jack Andrus, had starred. ''Two Weeks in Another Town'' is not a sequel, however; the characters in the two stories are unrelated. George Hamilton was cast as "a troubled, funky
James Dean James Byron Dean (February 8, 1931September 30, 1955) was an American actor. He became one of the most influential figures in Hollywood in the 1950s, despite a career that lasted only five years. His impact on cinema and popular culture was p ...
-type actor, for which I couldn't have been less appropriate" as he later admitted.George Hamilton & William Stadiem, ''Don't Mind If I Do'', Simon & Schuster 2008 p 157 In the scene where Jack Andrus searches for David Drew in nightclubs in Rome, the song is "O' Pellirossa" featuring the Italian singer and drummer Gegè Di Giacomo. The adult subject matter ran into problems with the MPAA and the conservative studio executives at MGM. Joseph Vogel, the new studio head, wanted to transform the project into a "family film" and had it re-edited without Minnelli's input, reducing the total running time by 15 minutes. Both Minnelli and Houseman protested but to no avail. An orgy-party scene inspired by
Federico Fellini Federico Fellini (; 20 January 1920 – 31 October 1993) was an Italian film director and screenwriter. He is known for his distinctive style, which blends fantasy and baroque images with earthiness. He is recognized as one of the greatest and ...
's ''
La Dolce Vita ''La Dolce Vita'' (; Italian for 'the sweet life' or 'the good life'Kezich, 203) is a 1960 satirical comedy-drama film directed by Federico Fellini and written by Fellini, Ennio Flaiano, Tullio Pinelli, and Brunello Rondi. The film stars M ...
'' was deleted as well as a melancholy monologue by Cyd Charisse that was supposed to humanize her character. Kirk Douglas later wrote in his 1988 autobiography that "this was such an injustice to Vincente Minnelli, who'd done such a wonderful job with the film. And an injustice to the paying public, who could have had the experience of watching a very dramatic, meaningful film. They released it that way, emasculated." The
Maserati Maserati S.p.A. () is an Italian luxury vehicle manufacturer. Established on 1 December 1914 in Bologna, Italy, the company's headquarters are now in Modena, and its emblem is a trident. The company has been owned by Stellantis since 2021. Ma ...
Kirk Douglas drives is a 3500 GT Spyder.


Reception


Box office

According to MGM records, the film earned $1 million in the U.S. and Canada and $1.5 million elsewhere, resulting in an overall loss of $2,969,000. ''Variety'' reported it earned over $1 million in distributor rentals in the U.S. and Canada.


Critical reaction

Bosley Crowther Francis Bosley Crowther Jr. (July 13, 1905 – March 7, 1981) was an American journalist, writer, and film critic for ''The New York Times'' for 27 years. His work helped shape the careers of many actors, directors and screenwriters, though some ...
of ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'' wrote: "The whole thing is a lot of glib trade patter, ridiculous and unconvincing snarls and a weird professional clash between the actor and director that is like something out of a Hollywood cartoon. Mr. Schnee's script is as aimless and arbitary in its development of a plot as the script for one of those crowded Cinecitta spear-and-sandals spectacles, and the character it sets up for Mr. Douglas is no more intelligible or convincing than Steve Reeves' Hercules." Larry Tubelle of '' Variety'' felt the film was "not an achievement about which any of these creative people are apt to boast" as he complained "the characters are despicable as they are complex" and the photography was "evident but overshadowed by the overall dramatic mediocrity." '' Harrison's Reports'' was critical of the script, writing "it failed in its fashioning into a powerful film yarn with all its emotional impact, plot-structural smoothness and dramatic tightness. It does not come through as a highly entertaining release." The ''
Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is an American daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Founded in 1847, it was formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper", a slogan from which its once integrated WGN (AM), WGN radio and ...
'' criticized the characters, publishing: "The scenery has a certain amount of charm, but the same can hardly be said for the people. They're a scheming, quarrelsome lot constantly trying to knife each other, both literally and figuratively ..The acting is capable enough, but I found it hard to care very much about any of the characters." ''
Time Time is the continuous progression of existence that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, and into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequ ...
'' magazine questioned: "Why is everybody so nasty? The script does not say. It simply leaves the customers to assume that Hollywood, no matter where you find it, is hell, and the people who run it are devils. It may be so, but this movie won't make anybody believe it or even care." John Russell Taylor of ''
Sight and Sound ''Sight and Sound'' (formerly written ''Sight & Sound'') is a monthly film magazine published by the British Film Institute (BFI). Since 1952, it has conducted the well-known decennial ''Sight and Sound'' Poll of the Greatest Films of All Time. ...
'' criticized Minnelli's direction, writing "the early sequences are handled rather stolidly and sluggishly" and felt the frenzied car ride "comes dangerously close to self-parody." Philip K. Scheuer of the ''
Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...
'' felt "Minnelli has erred in staging it as heavy melodrama (which contrarily, I felt did suit the milieu of his previous 'Four Horsemen') and in allowing it if encouraging several of his players to exaggerate their theatrics to the verge of burlesque." The film's reputation has greatly improved over time. Richard Brody of ''
The New Yorker ''The New Yorker'' is an American magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. It was founded on February 21, 1925, by Harold Ross and his wife Jane Grant, a reporter for ''The New York T ...
'' called ''Two Weeks in Another Town'' "one of the sharpest and most perceptive movies about the film industry." David Thomson called it "underrated," writing in '' The New Biographical Dictionary of Film'' that the film was "invested with such intense psychological detail that the narrative faults vanish."
Jonathan Rosenbaum Jonathan Rosenbaum (born February 27, 1943) is an American film critic and author. Rosenbaum was the head film critic for '' The Chicago Reader'' from 1987 to 2008. He has published and edited numerous books about cinema and has contributed to ...
wrote that it was "one of innellis last great pictures...The costumes, decor, and 'Scope compositions show Minnelli at his most expressive, and the gaudy intensity—as well as the inside detail about the movie business—makes this compulsively watchable."


See also

* List of American films of 1962


References


External links

* * * {{Authority control 1962 films 1962 drama films American drama films Films directed by Vincente Minnelli Films scored by David Raksin Films about filmmaking Films about Hollywood, Los Angeles Films based on American novels Films set in Rome Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer films CinemaScope films 1960s English-language films 1960s American films