1965 film adaptation from a 1962 play by Herb Gardner
A Thousand Clowns
is a 1965 American
comedy-drama film
directed by
Fred Coe
and starring
Jason Robards
,
Barbara Harris
,
Martin Balsam
, and
Barry Gordon
. An adaptation of a 1962 play by
Herb Gardner
, it tells the story of an eccentric comedy writer who is forced to conform to society to retain legal custody of his nephew.
Jason Robards
starred in both the original
Broadway
version and in the film.
Martin Balsam
won the
Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor
for his performance in the movie.
Plot
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]
Unemployed television writer Murray Burns (
Jason Robards
) lives in a cluttered
New York City
studio apartment with his 12-year-old nephew, Nick (
Barry Gordon
). Murray has been unemployed for five months after quitting his previous job writing jokes for a children's television show called
Chuckles the Chipmunk
. Nick, the son of Murray's unwed sister, was left with Murray seven years earlier.
When Nick writes a school essay on the benefits of
unemployment insurance
, his school requests that New York State send
social workers
to investigate his living conditions. Investigators for the Child Welfare Board Sandra Markowitz (
Barbara Harris
) and her superior and boyfriend, Albert Amundson (
William Daniels
), threaten Murray with removal of the child from his custody unless he can prove he is a capable guardian.
Charmed by Nick and Murray, Sandra argues with Albert, who goes off without her to their next case. Sandra spends the night with Murray. She urges Murray to find a job so that he can keep his nephew, and Murray agrees to look. But he walks out of his job interviews, treating them as a joke, because he feels that work would make him conventional and conformist and make every day the same. He apologizes to Sandra, but she is so disappointed in him that she walks out. Yet he knows that if he wishes to keep his nephew, he must swallow his pride and go back to work.
Murray also feels that he cannot let go of Nick until the boy shows some "backbone". In a confrontation with his brother and agent Arnold (
Martin Balsam
), Murray expounds his nonconformist worldview: that a person must fight at all costs to retain a sense of identity and aliveness and avoid being absorbed by the homogeneous masses. Arnold retorts that by conforming to the dictates of society, he has become "the best possible Arnold Burns".
Murray agrees to meet with his former employer, the detested
Chuckles
host Leo Herman (
Gene Saks
). When Nick does not laugh at Leo's pathetic display of comedy, Leo insults Nick, who quietly but firmly puts Leo in his place. Nick becomes upset with Murray for tolerating Leo's insults, and Murray sees the boy has finally grown a backbone. Realizing that Nick has come of age, Murray resigns himself to going back to his old job, Sandra returns, and the next morning Murray joins the crowds of people heading off to work.
Cast
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Awards and nominations
[
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]
Music
[
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]
Music in the film ranges from rudimentary
drum cadences
to
Dixieland
arrangements of "
The Stars and Stripes Forever
". The song "
Yes Sir, That's My Baby
" is used in several places.
Judy Holliday
wrote the lyrics for the theme song "A Thousand Clowns". This was her last film credit, as the film was released after her death on June 7, 1965.
Stage
[
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]
A Thousand Clowns
premiered on the
Broadway
stage at the
Eugene O'Neill Theatre
on April 4, 1962 in previews, officially on April 5, 1962, and closed on
April 13, 1963, after 428 performances. Directed by Fred Coe, the cast featured Jason Robards, Jr. (Murray Burns),
Sandy Dennis
(Sandra Markowitz), Gene Saks (Leo Herman), Barry Gordon (Nick Burns),
William Daniels
(Albert Amundson), and
Larry Haines
(Arnold Burns). Sets and lighting were by George Jenkins, and costumes were by
Ruth Morley
.
Walter Kerr
, in his review for the
New York Herald Tribune
, wrote of Sandy Dennis: "Let me tell you about Sandy Dennis. There should be one in every home."
[9]
After touring stops in
Durham
,
Chicago
, and
Boston
,
A Thousand Clowns
returned to Broadway at the
Longacre Theatre
on July 4, 2001 in previews, officially on July 11, 2001, and closed on September 23, 2001 after 83 performances. The
revival
starred
Tom Selleck
as Murray Burns,
Barbara Garrick
as Sandra Markowitz,
Mark Blum
as Leo Herman, Nicolas King as Nick Burns,
Bradford Cover
as Albert Amundson, and
Robert LuPone
as Arnold Burns.
[10]
Awards and nominations
[
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]
See also
[
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]
References
[
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]
- ^
"
A THOUSAND WORDS
(U)"
.
United Artists
.
British Board of Film Classification
. October 13, 1966
. Retrieved
October 1,
2013
.
- ^
KOOK'S TOUR OF 'A THOUSAND CLOWNS' WITH MISS HARRIS By EUGENE ARCHER. New York Times 14 June 1964: X9.
- ^
"Big Rental Pictures of 1966",
Variety
, 4 January 1967 p 8
- ^
"The 38th Academy Awards (1966) Nominees and Winners"
.
oscars.org
. Retrieved
September 4,
2011
.
- ^
"A Thousand Clowns ? Golden Globes"
.
HFPA
. Retrieved
July 5,
2021
.
- ^
"Laurel Awards 1966"
(PDF)
. elkesommeronline.com.
Archived
(PDF)
from the original on December 12, 2021
. Retrieved
August 3,
2012
.
- ^
"1965 Award Winners"
.
National Board of Review
. Retrieved
July 5,
2021
.
- ^
"Awards Winners"
.
Writers Guild of America
. Archived from
the original
on December 5, 2012
. Retrieved
June 6,
2010
.
- ^
Shelley, Peter.
"1961"
Sandy Dennis: The Life and Films
, McFarland, 2013,
ISBN
1476605890
(no page number)
- ^
"A Thousand Clowns and Tom Selleck Crowd Broadway; Gardner Comedy Opens July 11"
playbill.com. Retrieved March 2, 2020.
- ^
"1963 Tony Awards"
.
Tony Awards
. Retrieved
December 12,
2021
.
Further reading
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]
External links
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]