Goodbye Charlie *** (1964, Tony Curtis, Debbie Reynolds, Pat Boone, Walter Matthau) – Classic Movie Review 6929

Director Vincente Minnelli’s 1964 fantasy romantic comedy Goodbye Charlie is an attractively cast and well-played version of George Axelrod’s 1959 Broadway play about a jealous husband (Walter Matthau) murdering a philanderer, a lecherous Hollywood writer named Charlie, who comes back to life as a lovely woman called Virginia (Debbie Reynolds), who moves in with a surprised old friend, George (Tony Curtis).

Goodbye Charlie is thin, contrived and bizarre, but the material with a screenplay by Harry Kurnitz, though not brilliant, is sometimes agreeably bright and funny, with Matthau predictably stealing the show as a Hungarian film producer, Sir Leopold Sartori (based on Sir Alexander Korda perhaps).

Also in the cast are Pat Boone as Bruce Minton III, Joanna Barnes, Ellen Burtsyn [aka Ellen McRae], Laura Devon, Martin Gabel, Roger C Carmel, Harry Madden, Myrna Hansen, Anthony Eustrel and Michael Romanoff.

Goodbye Charlie is directed by Vincente Minnelli, runs 117 minutes, is a Venice production, is released by 20th Century Fox, is written by Harry Kurnitz, based on George Axelrod’s play, is shot by Milton Krasner, is produced by David Weisbart, and is scored by André Previn.

The story was reworked by Blake Edwards for Switch (1991).

George Axelrod’s Broadway play Goodbye Charlie originally opened at the Lyceum Theater on 16 December 1959, ran for 109 performances and starred Lauren Bacall and Sydney Chaplin.

© Derek Winnert 2018 Classic Movie Review 6929

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