Goodbye Charlie (20th Century Fox) (1964)

Tony Curtis, Debbie Reynolds, Pat Boone Star in New Comedy, “Goodbye Charlie’ The reincarnation of a rogue-ish male into a beautiful young woman is the subject of the new 20th Century-Fox CinemaScope and DeLuxe Color comedy, “Goodbye Charlie,” which opens ....at the.... Theatre. Tony Curtis, Debbie Reynolds and Pat Boone are starred with Walter Mattha Set and filmed in Hollywood, “Goodbye Charlie” is the story of a dashing young scriptwriter who is shot by a jealous husband and reincarnated as a young woman, played by Debbie Reynolds. Tony Curtis, who plays the closest friend of the late scriptwriter, is the first to find out that Charlie has become a woman, and a ravishing one at that. The plot recounts Charlie’s adventures as a woman, and the plight of Tony Curtis, who finds himself falling in love with her. Tony Curtis, who is looking more and more like the Cary Grant type of comedy performer, comes to “Goodbye Charlie” after receiving accolades for his performance in “Captain Newman, M.D.” Right now, Curtis is interested in developing his talents as a comedian, and his next five pictures are all scheduled and are all comedies. His first big comedy role was in “Some Like It Hot,” which he enjoyed making and which won him considerable critical acclaim. Now the celebrated Curtis flair for comedy is offered an ideal showcase in “Goodbye Charlie.” Lovely Debbie Reynolds completely changed her “Tammy” image with her outstanding performance in “The Unsinkable Molly Brown,” and now follows up that tour de force with her role as a_ sophisticated but naughty young woman in “Goodbye Charlie.” She called her assignment the toughest of her career because she had only one scene in which she must convince Tony Curtis and the audience that she is the incarnation of Charlie Sorel, one of Hollywood’s most notorious woman chasers. Pat Boone plays Bruce Minton, a wealthy young man who falls in love with the female Charlie not knowing that she was once a man, and a devilish one at that. The famous character actor Walter Matthau plays Sir Leopold Sartori, a flamboyant film producer who shoots the first Charlie, and then unwittingly falls in love with the second. Laura Devon, an alumnus of the Richard Boone TV Repertory Theatre, has the role of Sir Leopold’s wife, whose amatory adventures with the male Charlie causes him to be shot. Another of Charlie’s girl friends is played by Joanna Barnes, former Phi Beta Kappa at Smith College who has had considerable experience in movies and TV. “Goodbye Charlie” was directed by Vincente Minnelli, the famous director of such hit films as “An American in Paris,” “Brigadoon,” “Meet Me in St. Louis” and “Kismet.” David Weisbart is the producer and Harry Kurnitz wrote the screenplay which is based on a play by George Axelrod. u, Joanna Barnes and Laura Devon. “WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?” asks Tony Curtis of Debbie Reynolds in this scene from the 20th Century-Fox comedy in CinemaScope and De Luxe Color, “Goodbye Charlie” which opens... .at the .... Theatre, Pat Boone has just fished Debbie out of the Pacific Ocean and brought her to the nearest home, which happens to belong to Tony Curtis. The cast of “Goodbye Charlie” also includes Walter Matthau, Laura Devon and Joanna Barnes, Vincente Minnelli directed from a script by Harry Kurnitz. Mat 2B Walter Matthau Held Many Jobs Before Success Came in Acting Cyrano de Bergerac blamed his big nose for all his troubles, but neither Jimmy Durante nor Danny Kaye found king-sized noses to be handicaps, and once Walter Matthau got his oversized nose past the doors of some Broadway producers, he too became a success story. Currently he is appearing with Tony Curtis, Debbie Reynolds and Pat Boone in the 20th Century-Fox CinemaScope and DeLuxe Color comedy, “Goodby Charlie,” which opens....atthe.... Theatre. “T had a tough time at first,” he says, “‘because I didn’t fit into the standard pattern. I was 27 then and just out of the Army. Agents would look at me and say, ‘What is he? Not a lead because his nose is too big. Not a character actor because he’s too young.’ I had no college background and none of the jobs I’d done had helped prepare me for an acting career. I’d been a boxing instructor, a factory worker, a shipping clerk and an errand boy among’ other things.” When Matthau finally got a job in the theater it was as understudy to eight men in “Anne of the Thousand Days,” which starred Rex Harrison on Broad A PROPOSAL OF MARRIAGE is offered by Pat Boone to Debbie Reynolds in this scene from the 20th Century-Fox comedy in CinemaScope and De Luxe Color, “Goodbye Charlie” which opens .,.. at the ...Theatre. Debbie, who plays the reincarnation of a recently-shot male scoundrel, is understandably shocked. Also starring in “Goodbye Charlie” is Tony, Curtis, who plays the best friend of the late scoundrel. Co-starring are Walter Matthau, Laura Devon and Joanna Barnes. Vincente Minnelli directed from a script by Harry Kurnitz, which was adapted from the Broadway stageplay by George Axelrod. Mat 2C way. He says he was pretty awful, but it wasn’t easy to find a man to understudy eight actors. He got to read his first lines when an 82-year-old actor retired. But today his name is a challenge to every member of a cast which he is in. He stole the show in “Once More with Feeling,” won the Drama Critics Award and he came away with the Tony Award for a 28-minute comedy scene from “A Shot in the Dark.” After “A Shot in the Dark,” Matthau was on his way. Elia Kazan brought him to Hollywood for “A Face in the Crowd” and other motion picture roles followed. “Goodbye Charlie” marks his 18th motion picture and he is rapidly becoming the most sought-after character actor in Hollywood. In fact, he is one of the few character actors who is a star. Matthau feels actors have a right to their opinions in all matters, including those of a political nature. “It’s all right for actors to go in for it if they want to,” he says. “I don’t think an actor should be regarded as a privileged person because of his profession, or be robbed of privilege for the same reason. He’s entitled to opinions on politics just as much as if you ask his opinions on food, or sports. If he wants to stick his neck out, he has a right to.” So says Walter Matthau, who has stuck his neck and nose into stardom, as a character actor. Outstanding Cast Due In “Goodbye Charlie” Tony Curtis, Debbie Reynolds and Pat Boone star in “Goodbye Charlie,” 20th Century-Fox comedy in CinemaScope and DeLuxe Color opening»... at the... . Theatre. Included in the cast are Walter Matthau, Laura Devon and Joanna Barnes. “Goodbye Charlie” is the story of a young male Hollywood scriptwriter who chases one girl too many, gets shot, and is reincarnated as a beautiful woman who takes up right where her male counterpart left off. Played by Debbie Reynolds, she first wraps Pat Boone around her little finger, and then sets her cap for Tony Curtis. Vincente Minnelli directed “Goodbye Charlie” from a script by Harry Kurnitz. It is based upon the play by George Axelrod which was presented on the stage by Leland Hayward. David Weisbart produced for 20th Century-Fox release. As Usual the Unusual From Debbie Reynolds Debbie Reynolds is usually most successful with the roles nobody could imagine her playing, and the same is true of her latest role in the 20th CenturyFox CinemaScope and DeLuxe Color comedy, “Goodbye Charlie” WHICH ONCNS= aL ebne= ss Theatre. This role was a particular challenge to Debbie, because Lauren Bacall had done it in the theater, and who could possibly be more unlike Lauren than Debbie? “Goodbye Charlie” is a _ sophisticated comedy in which a woman-chasing rogue named Charlie is shot by an irate husband and reincarnated as a beautiful young woman. This young woman, played by Debbie Reynolds, inherits Charlie’s mind, his knowledge, and his sneaky tricks. During filming she astounded Director Vincente Minnelli, the cast and crew with her grasp of the role and her ability to stand up with such comedy experts as Tony Curtis and Walter Matthau. Now that the picture is being readied for release, it’s tacitly admitted that the former “Tammy” has moved up into that small exclusive group of stars who can take on a wide variety of parts and be convincing in all of them. Her fight to play Molly Brown is well known in Hollywood, where she had to battle numerous top executives who could not see her as the noisy, flamboyant Molly Brown. To prove her point, she worked up a night club act and took it to Las Vegas where she proved she could stand up and perform with the best of them. “T got the part the hard way,” she says, “but if I hadn’t done that I never would have won out. The strikes were all against me atest: She admits that she worried for awhile about these drastic changes in her screen personality. About this she says, “I’ve often wondered how my fans, preconditioned to think of me as ‘Tammy,’ would accept me in my new image. Now that they’ve accepted Molly, I no longer worry about Charlie. I think they un | derstand and realize as I do that IT am no longer 18 and can’t play those ingenue roles any more. “You grow up in life,” she continues, “as well as in your profession, and while comedy seems to be my talent, in order to play comedy you must be able to play drama too. Nobody can stand still. Either you develop in your work and advance in your profession, or you become jaded and the public will get tired of seeing you.” At the rate Debbie Reynolds is going now, it’s doubtful if her fans will get tired with her. They will be too busy trying to keep up with her as her career is rocketing even higher into stardom. DEBBIE REYNOLDS stars in “Goodbye Charlie,” 20th CenturyFox comedy in CinemaScope and De Luxe Color opening .... at the ae, eo neatre: Mat1A NICE DOGGY — Tony Curtis tries to cope with Debbie Reynolds’ overly friendly dog in this scene from the 20th Century-Fox comedy in CinemaScope and De Luxe Color, “Goodbye Charlie” which opens ..-.at the.... Theatre. In the film, Miss Reynolds plays the female reincarnation of a male scoundrel. and Walter Matthau, Included in the cast are Pat Boone Mat 2E Tony Curtis, Debbie Reynolds in New Comedy, Goodbye Charlie” With comedy reigning as king on the screen today, the subject matter for these cinematic attacks on the public’s funny-bone follows no tried and true course. For example, “Goodbye Charlie,” an ultra-modern comedy, uses the far-out premise that an unscrupulous, lecherous screenwriter, after being shot by an irate husband, is reincarnated as a beautiful girl. “She” comes equipped with a feminine body, but retains the man’s mind and guile. Two of Hollywood’s brightest names — Tony Curtis and Debbie Reynolds—play the leading roles in “Goodbye Charlie,’ which opens....atthe.... Theatre. Curtis is the dead man’s best friend who becomes involved with his lovely reincarnation, Miss Reynolds. The latter, Hollywood’s erstwhile symbol of the proper heroine, is turned loose in a series of dazzling costumes and adult situations which could carve out a whole new career for her. Gone is the innocent ingenue and in its place is the glamour girl. Another case of turnabout is Pat Boone, who foregoes his sheet music to play a naive bachelor who falls in love with Miss Reynolds. The fourth major role is essayed by Walter Matthau, certainly one of show business’ most versatile actors. He plays the grandiose film producer who shoots Charlie and who later also falls under the spell of Charlie’s newly-acquired better half. Vincente Minnelli, one of Hollywood’s most stylish directors (he guided “An American in Paris’ and “Gigi”, among others), was borrowed by 20th Century-Fox from his home studio, MGM, for this assignment. “Goodbye Charlie,” in fact, is the only picture he has not directed for Leo the Lion. The madcap comedy was filmed in CinemaScope and DeLuxe Color, considered the perfect medium for the $250,000 wardrobe created for Miss Reynolds by Academy Award-winning designer Helen Rose. The latter’s creations range from a provocative two-piece blue-checked bikini to a breathtaking evening gown. Working closely with Miss Rose was hair stylist Sydney Guilaroff, who shaped Miss Reynolds’ blonde tresses to match each particular piece in the wardrobe. In fact, when the star is having her hair done in one scene, it is actually Guilaroff who portrays the hair stylist. In the picture, bachelor Curtis lives in a Malibu house which was furnished in the style every unattached male wishes he could afford. The set, which was constructed on a 20th Century-Fox soundstage, includes a split-level living room, foyer, bedroom, bathroom, kitchen and terrace. The interior decoration features paintings by contemporary artists, zebra skin rugs, off-white plaster walls, planed ebony floors and a remote-controlled stereo system. The exterior of the beach house was actually erected on the oceanfront at Malibu. Other sets created for the Hollywood-located story include a sumptuous hillside mansion owned by the Matthau character, a replica of the Saks Fifth Avenue beauty salon and a turn-of the-century Santa Barbara mansion. A couple of new songs were written for the picture by composer conductor -arranger -pianist-Oscar winner Andre Previn and his wife, Dory Langdon. In addition to the title tune, there’s a ditty called “Seven at Once.” Previn also wrote the background score for the film. “Goodbye Charlie,’? which David Weisbart produced, is based on the Broadway hit by George Axelrod, who also wrote “The Seven Year Itch” and the screen version of “Breakfast at Tiffany’s.” Harry Kurnitz transferred the characters to film. TONY CURTIS stars in “Goodbye Charlie,” 20th Century-Fox comedy in CinemaScope and De .. at the Mat 1B Luxe Color opening , . --.Lheatre. Debbie's Reel Hairdo By Real Hairdresser In a scene for ‘Goodbye Charlie,” 20th Century-Fox comedy in CinemaScope and DeLuxe Color opening ....atthe.... Theatre — Debbie Reynolds is seated in a swank beauty salon, and if the person playing her hairdresser seems to know what he’s doing, there’s a very good reason. Debbie’s blonde tresses are being shaped by the nimble fingers of one of Hollywood’s top hair stylists, Sydney Guilaroff, who actually does Debbie’s hair both for pictures and for real. “TI was on the lot anyway,” he says, “doing Debbie’s hair for ‘Goodbye Charlie’ and Shirley MacLaine’s for ‘John Goldfarb, Please Come Home’ when Vincente Minnelli asked if I would play myself in the scene. “Actually, I spent so much time getting Debbie’s hair just right for the scene that this gave me a good chance to insure it would look perfect for the camera.” Sydney says he doesn’t plan to make a career out of acting. “Too busy making the girls look pretty for the camera,” he stated.