40 Carats

Beautiful 36, no… 38, no… 39, no… 40-year-old Liv Ullmann (as Ann Stanley) from Norway originally is driving through gorgeous Greece when her car overheats. Along comes handsome 22-year-old Edward Albert (as Peter Latham) from Pittsburgh, USA on a motorcycle. Believing herself too old to ride a motor bike, Ms. Ullmann instead strips down to her underwear for a swim with Mr. Albert. One thing leads to another and they have sex on the beach. Perhaps feeling a little old and out of sorts after the act, Ullmann leaves Albert while he sleeps...

Back home in New York, guess who arrives to pick up Ullmann's daughter for a date?

At first this seemed like it was going to be a drama, but it's obviously a comedy by the time Ullmann and Albert meet in New York. It probably would have been funnier if a woman more experienced in situation comedy played Ullmann's part, but the film does garner some chuckles. Although Albert does look like the younger of the two, the age difference seems more like ten than twenty years. Ullmann appears closer to Albert's age than she does to ex-husband Gene Kelly (as Billy Boylan). Respected elder Binnie Barnes (as Maud Ericson) does well in her last feature.

****** 40 Carats (6/28/73) Milton Katselas ~ Liv Ullmann, Edward Albert, Gene Kelly, Binnie Barnes

I do love this little film. I also think Edward Albert is the only actor is this film who isn't overacting. Or miscast. I could watch this film all day, just to watch Edward. He has to be about the most beautiful young man ever put on the planet. In this film he is charming and a complete breath of fresh air, however quaint that may sound. The premise of a woman old enough to be the man's mother become romantically involved was BIG at the time. When the scene is relaxed and the acting natural, it's a lovely film to watch. In scenes of awkward overacting, Edward stands out as a natural, his uniqueness, talent and intelligence radiate from his face. I am not so sure of the comedy rating of this film. It's actually quite serious part of the time. I wish he had been given more excellent parts to play throughout his career.

40-ish divorcée and mother from New York City meets a 22-year-old American man while vacationing with her mother in Greece; they spar a bit at first, but he manages to charm her. Back at home, their paths cross again, where he asks her to marry him. Hit Broadway plays are almost always good material for sparkling screen comedies. It often doesn't matter how familiar the plots may seem at the time--if the story is funny or charming and the characters are appealing, audiences will usually be very forgiving (a good love song helps as well). "40 Carats" doesn't really work, for a variety of reasons. The play--originally written by Pierre Barillet and Jean-Pierre Grédy, which was adapted for the American stage by Jay Presson Allen, whose work was then given an overhaul for the screen by Leonard Gershe--has no substance, and yet it's overwritten. Everyone works hard to keep the soufflé from falling, what with 'witty' asides and one-liners, but the casting isn't right. Norwegian actress Liv Ullmann, in only her second American film, looks unsure of herself, like a deer in the headlights. She's much too insecure for a puff-piece like "40 Carats", and she gets no help from director Milton Katselas. Ullmann's scenes with Edward Albert have no lift, and he comes on like an overripe gigolo. After an arduous introduction, the scenes back in New York City have some bounce, mostly due to the other players. Second-billed Gene Kelly is hammy, as usual, but he's comfortable in front of the camera and puts us at ease (the man knows what he's doing). Binnie Barnes and Nancy Walker are also good (Walker singlehandedly saves her scenes with Ullmann), while the more serious third act performances by potential in-laws Don Porter and Rosemary Murphy are solid. Deborah Raffin makes her film debut as Ullmann's daughter--and has a killer scene at the pool table--but her match-up with older Billy Green Bush doesn't work (he's either miscast or misdirected in his approach to this role). Gershe gives the May-September material some of the snap of his "Butterflies Are Free", and there are a few laughs in the picture, but it trudges along with an unhappy spirit. There's also a ballad--a lousy one--written by Michel Legrand and Alan & Marilyn Bergman to clinch the deal. ** from ****

"40 Carats" is a surprisingly good movie. While Ullmann and Albert have little chemistry together, they nevertheless make a sweet pair, because they are both enormously appealing individually. Gene Kelly adds a few nice moments and leads a likable supporting cast. The film is slightly overlong but more mature than you might think.

Based on a hit Broadway play that won a Tony Award for Julie Harris, 40 CARATS is a comedy about a 40-ish woman who is pursued by a 22-year-old man. Liv Ullmann, looking very pretty, stars as the New York City realtor who meets the young man (Edward Albert) while on vacation in Greece. By coincidence (and a big one) he meets her again when he shows up for a blind date with her daughter (Deborah Raffin). It turns out he's from a wealthy family which interests Ullmann's swinging mother (Binnie Barnes).

Into this mix are Ullmann's first husband (Gene Kelly), her secretary (Nancy Walker), a hick from Texas (Billy Green Bush), a customer (Natalie Schafer), and Albert's parents (Don Porter, Rosemary Murphy).

The plot revolves around the machinations and misconceptions of who is dating who and is it proper for Ullmann to marry a much younger man.

Ullmann is good as the "middle-aged" woman. Albert is sort of creepy. Kelly is annoying as is Green Bush. Walker gets in a few zingers. Raffin is a blank. But in her final film appearance the 70-year-old Binnie Barnes (looking decades younger) steals every scene she's in as a swinging grandmother who's always borrowing Raffin's clothes and can't wait to hit the dance floor. This role was played by Glenda Farrell on Broadway.