The Owl and the Pussycat **** (1970, Barbra Streisand, George Segal, Robert Klein, Allen Garfield, Buck Henry) – Classic Movie Review 2799

Barbra Streisand and George Segal are happily teamed and on their finest powerhouse comic form in director Herbert Ross’s hilarious 1970 comedy. Streisand stars as a New York hooker called Doris and Segal plays her new, bookseller neighbour, Felix. He’s owlish and she’s kittenish or maybe catty. They are an archetypal bickering Odd Couple, of course.

When Felix reports Doris’s sex-for-money-making activities (‘I may be a prostitute but I’m not promiscuous,’ she proudly declares) to the landlord, she is made homeless. So she decides to join him in his apartment.

Buck Henry’s funny, adult screenplay — based on Bill Manhoff’s two-hander stage play — is packed full of laughs, effortlessly delivered in the hands of the stars whose different styles of acting gel neatly.

As it is opened out, there are roles for other actors. Also in the cast are Robert Klein, Allen Garfield, Roz Kelly, Jacques Sandulescu, Jack Manning, Grace Carney, Barbara Ansôn, Kin Chan, Stan Gottlieb, Joe Madden, Fay Sappington, Marilyn Chambers (as Evelyn Lang), Tom Atkins and writer Buck Henry.

This is Streisand’s first non-singing role and her first cinema use of the F-word, though the four-letter words are cut out in the TV version.

The 1964 Broadway play was performed on stage by Alan Alda and Diana Sands.

Sick cinematographer Harry Stradling Sr was forced to quit three weeks before the end of filming and Andrew Laszlo took over.

Bill Manhoff was a writer on the 1970-75 TV series The Odd Couple, where the Tony Randall character is also called Felix.

Streisand played a call girl again in Nuts (1987).

© Derek Winnert 2015 Classic Movie Review 2799

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DEREK WINNERT is the author of The Virgin Encyclopedia of the Movies, The Film & Video Guide and Quote Unquote, a biography of Barbra Streisand.