Oh Dad, Poor Dad, Mamma's Hung You in the Closet and I'm Feelin' So Sad (Paramount Pictures) (1967)

“Oh Dad” St Recalls Wisd Rosalind Russell, who to a legacy from her fath with her starring role i Dad, Poor Dad, Mammz Feelin’ So Sad,” a Seven tures release in Technicc Theatre. Miss Russell recalled whil ing the Technicolor prod which also stars Robert Mors« bara Harris, Hugh Griffit] Jonathan Winters, a partic wise clause in her father’s y stated there would be no 3 forthcoming to any of his ch until they had worked or gc _ school for three years. The talented lady, then a college senior with never a thought of working, naively chose to become an actress because she thought it paid well. As everyone knows, for Roz, the rest is a stunning success story. However, though her work has made the family name famous, she is seen at work cutting parental cunning into bits and pieces in the bizarre, uproariously funny motion. picture based on Arthur Kopit’s hit play, which is also an irreverent and shattering indictment of mother love. Miss Russell’s mamma is a fiendish woman who holds her only son in a strangle-grip and has an abhorrence of men and sex. The actress, in explaining anvener side of the difficult role, has said, “She’s outrageous and funny, but the laughter she generates is the kind that comes from an under BEDDIE-BYE TIME GBR fo Still #20026/76 and Jonathan Winters. “ONCE UPON A TIME ...” There’s Rosalind Russell, portraying the strange domineering mother, as she bids good-night to her son, Robert Morse, who is displayed in buster-brown pajamas in “Oh Dad, Poor Dad, Mamma’s Hung You In The Closet And I’m Feelin’ So Sad.” The Seven Arts presentation for Paramount Pictures, which opens ........ is a zany story of a mother’s efforts to keep her 25-year-old infant son pure while attempting to better her own lot in this cruel world. Produced by Ray Stark and Stanley Rubin, and directed by Richard Quine, it also stars Barbara Harris, Hugh Griffith pi RU CEMO Sia o-toueliss sats Theatre, John Galanos. The glamorous actress sweeps through the farce an apparition in everything from a black metallic flying suit to a leopard negligee trimed in ostrich feathers. These and other startling numbers are topped off by six wigs ranging in color from aquamarine to shocking pink. And all this for a woman whose personal wardrobe has kept her on the “Best Dressed Women” lists for years. “Oh Dad, Poor Dad... ,’’ produced by Stark and directed by Quine, presents the honored actress in a portrait that any devoted, reallife parent would find difficult to cherish. Moviegoers, however, will long cherish the unique triumph of the lady whose work in films and the theatre continues to defy limitations. % beted a fo. fo fe % Mat 2A x Still #20026/Spec]5 Mat 3A A MERRY-GO-ROUND OF WEIRD AND WILD ANTICS characterizes the very strange and hilarious new Seven Arts comedy, “Oh Dad, Poor Dad, Mamma’s Hung You In The Closet And I’m Feelin’ So Sad,” which opens .......... ere Theatre. Produced by Ray Stark and Stanley Rubin, and directed by Richard Quine for Paramount Pictures, the film stars Rosalind Russell, Robert Morse, Barbara Harris, Hugh Griffith and Jonathan Winters. “ODPDMHYITCAIFSS”: Hilarious Definition For Outest Way To Be “In!” “Oh Dad, Poor Dad, Mamma’s Hung You In The Closet And I’m Feelin’ So Sad,” the Richard Quine production in Technicolor opening. ....................c.c0000 at the up the Oedipus theme for all time with flourishes of farce and blasts of the bizarre in a film that defies the laws of comic gravity. The Seven Arts presentation for Paramount Pictures release stars Rosalind Russell, Robert Morse, Barbara Harris, Hugh Griffith and Jonathan Winters in a way-out and wild assortment of roles which would hang up less inspired artists in a closet of timidity. The madcap comedy was a perfect challenge for a producer with the acknowledged courage and daring of Stark. He and director Quine enlarged and humanized the story from the hit play by Arthur Kopit which deals with an extravagantly wealthy widow, who is abnormally possessive about her son and grotesquely cynical about men in general. In her travels, she carries with her an ornate casket containing her preserved dead husband. The outlandish mamma, who also woos a wealthy yachtsman and competes with a sexy young babysitter for her son’s love, is the final word in twisted mother love. The obvious and gigantic problems involved in blending the riotous comedy with dramatic elements of the story which move within close range of tragedy have been beautifully managed. The humor strikes rapid-fire and unexpectedly in a zany, incongruous world where the human confusion is sensitively examined, yet treated with a marvelously irreverent and _ satiric touch. Superb performances heighten the hilarious characters that range in quality from the Marx brothers to Franz Kafka. Mamma is “Madame Rosepettle” played by Miss Russell—“Madame is my name... not my profession!” Her son Jona than—* Mother says everyone should have a vocation in life. ..I’ma Venus Flytrap feeder’”—is created by Morse. Griffith is seen as mamma’s amour, The Commodore—‘Is it love I feel? . . . I thought it was gas.” The babysitter, Rosalie, is recreated from her stage role by Miss Harris —“Anytime you feel like getting a little ... tainted ... give me a holler.” And ‘Dad’—of whom Madame remarks: “I wouldn’t have stuffed him if he was alive. That would be cruel!”—is another winner from Winters. Of these characters and their antics, Quine has revealed, ““We’ve gone beyond the limits of the play without obscuring the meaning. In Ian Bernard’s screenplay relationships have been clarified so that there can be no doubt who is doing what to whom and why.” Long hours of hard work by Quine and writer Ian Bernard were spent in expanding the screenplay, which the director has described as “A funny nightmare. It’s off-beat, about three feet off the ground.” Underlying the comedy, however, is a savage indictment of momism. It was the monumental task of creating a farcical treatment of the deadly serious subject of smothering mothering which brought the men so close to their assignment. Stark chose the lush island of Jamaica for location sequences and searched out a luxurious hotel in the Montego Bay area for a perfect setting. “Oh; Dad, Poor Dad’. . 2’ isa unique and sensational screen experience. MatiaA Still #20026/6 OH BROTHER! IT’S MAMMA, portrayed by Rosalind Russell, in the Richard Quine production of “Oh Dad, Poor Dad, Mamma’s Hung You In The Closet And I’m _ Feelin’ So Sad.”’ which opens .’. [2.55.0 RESUME. occnteeve copes Theatre. The Paramount Picture stars Robert Morse, Barbara Harris, Hugh Griffith and Jonathan Winters. Theatre, wraps