RICK'S REAL/REEL LIFE: September 2021

Monday, September 20, 2021

“40 Carats” 1973

Liv Ullman & Edward Albert in the 1973 romantic comedy "40 Carats."

The frothy comedy 40 Carats is one of those ‘70s movies that strives for smart and progressive, but is uneasily mixed with romantic soap suds.

New Yorker Ann Stanley is on vacation in Greece when her car breaks down in the countryside. Young and handsome Peter Latham comes to her rescue on his motorcycle. He’s immediately attracted, she’s more inhibited. But the lovely Greece beach scenery, plus some Ouzo, allows them both to drop their defenses, along with their clothes. What happens in Greece stays in Greece, right? Back in NYC at her upscale realtor job, Ann instantly meets Peter again through her daughter, Trina. Ann is mortified, but Peter wants to pick up where they left off.

Lovely couple Liv Ullman & Edward Albert in a romantic moment, "40 Carats."

Not exactly hard-hitting stuff, but 40 Carats is lightly entertaining and surprisingly positive toward the May-December romance. And it’s still moderately entertaining despite one huge problem.

Norwegian Liv Ullman was Hollywood's "It" actress from 1972-74,
seemingly cast--and miscast--in everything, including "40 Carats."

It’s impossible for me to watch a film about romance where age is the title factor and not judge the stars’ respective ages. Norwegian star Liv Ullman wowed Hollywood with her foreign film work in the early '70s. So, the studios sought to mold her into a Nordic star in North America, along the lines of Garbo and Ingrid Bergman. There were so few roles for actresses at the time, that Hollywood shoe-horned Liv into everything, including the Broadway comedy adaptation of 40 Carats. With so many 40-ish actresses at the time for whom this role could have been perfect, they cast 34-year-old Liv as a woman of 40, who finds love with a 22-year-old man. What undercuts the premise, along with Liv Ullman's fresh-faced looks, is her heavy accent and total lack of comedic timing for this feather-weight romantic comedy. Further emphasizing Liv’s youth is casting Gene Kelly as her ex-husband. Gene was still an attractive, energetic guy, but standing in scene with Ullman, her soft looks against his 60- year-old self, with Kelly’s obvious toupee, will have viewers scratching their heads. At nearly 70, Binnie Barnes is an energetic hoot as Liv's mother. In the scene where Binnie and Gene disco dance, they look like a senior couple having a blast. 40-ish Billy Green Bush is the 42-year-old twangy tycoon who wants to marry 17-year-old daughter of Liv, played by then-20 Deborah Raffin. And Edward Albert followed up his success in Butterflies Are Free with 40 Carats. At 22, Edward is gorgeous and quite good in his role—as a 22-year-old. Imagine that!

Emphasizing Liv's youth was casting 60-year-old Gene Kelly as her ex, who looks like
the easy-chair loving dad on TV's "Frasier!"

Aside from Ullman’s Ann Stanley always hedging on her age, there are the throwaway lines to explain the various accents and ages. Unlike the play’s original Ann, the movie heroine left Norway at young age, where her father hailed from. Who then moved to America with his British bride, played by Brit Binnie Barnes. Got that? And Billy Green Bush’s Alabama drawl was utilized for his character. And there are some lines that hint that Gene Kelly’s Billy may be a bit older than Ullman’s Ann Stanley. Yes, like 26 years older!

Julie Harris got to go glam on Broadway & won a Tony for the smash "40 Carats!"

40 Carats was based on a smash Broadway play that ran for two years and won a Tony for leading lady Julie Harris, who got to be glamorous for a change. How could Hollywood mess up a no-brainer like this? A number of 40-ish Hollywood divas were considered, but apparently thought to be past their box-office prime: Audrey Hepburn was a pro at classy comedy; Joanne Woodward had the everywoman touch; Shirley MacLaine would have handled the comedic scenes with sass; Elizabeth Taylor played a much older woman who has plastic surgery in Ash Wednesday during this time and looked sensational. Best of all might have been Lee Remick at 38, who looked like a Hollywood version of Ullman with those big blue eyes. But Columbia thought they were playing it safe with Liv Ullman, miscast the movie, and the Broadway hit became a Hollywood flop.

Though their romance is at times on thin ice, the "40 Carats" romantic duo prevail.

Sadly for Ms. Ullman, Liv’s Hollywood bombs quickly torpedoed her US career. Casting Liv in a Broadway hit that tanked was bad enough, but Saint Joan, The Abdication, and Zandy’s Bride quickly sunk, too. All this paled in comparison to Ross Hunter’s hilariously tacky musical remake of Lost Horizon. This camp classic quickly joined other such career-enders as Mame, At Long Last Love and Can’t Stop the Music. Actually, Ross Hunter should have produced 40 Carats, this glossy and glam light comedy would have been right up his alley!

Edward Albert & Liv Ullman meet cute in Greece, in "40 Carats."

Not that Liv Ullman is horrible as Ann Stanley in 40 Carats—she's a naturally empathetic actress—but the foreign star of heavy dramas is just terribly uncomfortable and miscast. Gene Kelly as Billy Boylan, Liv’s “slightly” older ex is a bit much, but he knows this type of material like the back of his hand, as does Binnie Barnes as mother Maud, and Nancy Walker as Liv’s secretary, and Natalie Schaefer as the annoying client.

Deborah Raffin knew her way around a pool table and light comedy in "40 Carats."

Note how good Deborah Raffin was playing pool, and she brings some game to breezy comedy, too. Raffin and Barnes have a good comic rapport as Trina, the modern young New York daughter and her with-it grandmother. Binnie Barnes neither looks nor acts her age and practically steals the movie.

Binnie Barnes is one hip grannie in "40 Carats," w/Edward Albert & Deborah Raffin.

Edward Albert's character Peter comes on a bit strong, but that’s from the script’s clumsy attempt to make his character look like a “no hang-ups” young man. Albert’s natural sensitivity makes up for the occasionally overbearing script points. But all’s forgiven in the closing scene, where Albert pulls up on his motorcycle, and finds Ullman waiting for him. Peter scrutinizes Ann, scowling slightly and then breaks out in a smile that would melt an iceberg.

Edward Albert, adoring and adorable, at the finale of "40 Carats."

Don Porter and Rosemary Murphy play Albert’s wealthy parents. Both are skilled actors, but Porter in particular comes off absurd, as the heavy who keeps referring to Ullman’s Ann as of “their generation.” Porter was frankly 60 and and Murphy pushing 50, so this is one of many instances where Ullman’s actual age undermines her character and performance.

No, Liv Ullman isn't laughing because Don Porter as her young beau's father,
keeps referring to her character as of "their generation!" With Rosemary Murphy.

I know some of my friends and family think I know too much movie trivia, but this blew my mind: M.J. Frankovich, a big producer in ‘60s and ‘70s Hollywood, was the adopted son of Joe E. Lewis! AND he was also married to Binnie Barnes. I had no idea! I found Frankovich quite interesting as he produced many sexy comedies in the late ‘60s and early ‘70s: Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice; Cactus Flower, Butterflies are Free, There’s a Girl in My Soup; and 40 Carats. The producer also made a couple unintentional comedies: The Love Machine and Doctors’ Wives.

"40 Carats" in a nutshell!

Jay Presson Allen wrote the American adaptation from the French play for the Broadway version of 40 Carats. Leonard Gershe, a long time sitcom comedy writer, who also wrote Butterflies are Free, wrote the screenplay for 40 Carats.

Milton Katselas, a Broadway, film, and TV director, started off as an acting coach. His first directing gig was Edward Albee’s off-Broadway sensation The Zoo Story. Milton also directed the Broadway and movie version of Butterflies are Free. He directed Bette Davis in her Emmy-winning comeback, Strangers: The Story of a Mother and Daughter. He later directed Burton and Taylor in their infamous Private Lives production.

Binnie Barnes & Gene Kelly boogie down and steal a scene in "40 Carats."

40 Carats is very 70s, but in a good way. The worst comes at the beginning, with a sappy ballad over the opening credits, by Michel Legrand and Marilyn Bergman. Luckily, they wrote a truly lovely ballad that year, The Way We Were, which won them an Oscar.

Jean Louis wardrobe designs/selections are chic and character appropriate. Except Liv’s engulfing fur hat—that comes off as very Lucy Ricardo-esque. The opening and closing Greece scenes are lovely and the early ‘70s N.Y.C. scenes are evocative of the era, too.

Liv's Ann doesn't fit in at her young boyfriend's party, and neither does her hat!

For a ‘70s film, where there’s some characters that are shocked by Ann and Peter’s 18 year age difference, an equal number of characters are okay with their romance. And Gene Kelly’s ex-hubby gives a nifty little monologue about why numbers don’t matter when it comes to love. And Ann gets her happy ending with Peter after all. That was pretty progressive, for early ‘70s mainstream Hollywood!

Sadly, the two young stars of 40 Carats, Edward Albert and Deborah Raffin, beautiful to look at and charmingly well-cast, died young. Edward died of lung cancer at age 55 on Sept. 22, 2006 and Deborah of leukemia at 59 in 2012.