The Wedding Party ** (1969, Charles Pfluger, Valda Setterfield, Raymond McNally, John Braswell, Robert De Niro, Jennifer Salt, William Finley, Jill Clayburgh) – Classic Movie Review 5380

This wildly comic 1969 film farce is written, produced, edited and directed by theatre professor Wilford Leach and two of his students, protégé Brian De Palma and Cynthia Monroe, who bankrolled its $43,000 budget.

The plot follows the soon-to-be groom Charlie (played by Charles Pfluger) and his interactions with his fiancée’s relatives and wedding party members before the ceremony on the family’s estate on Shelter Island.

Brian De Palma’s first feature, it was made in 1963 and finally released after supporting player Robert De Niro (he plays Cecil!) was a hit in De Palma’s 1968 Greetings. It is De Niro’s first screen performance, at the age of 20.

Also in the cast are De Palma regulars Jennifer Salt and William Finley, and fellow student Jill Clayburgh (in her debut) as the bride-to-be, Josephine, with John Braswell as the minister, the Reverend Oldfield, and Valda Setterfield and Raymond McNally as Mrs amd Mr Fish.

Ir is R rated for sexual content and language.

The film is now available free online and on DVD.

© Derek Winnert 2017 Classic Movie Review 5380

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