Two for the Seesaw

Robert Mitchum and Shirley MacLaine are well-cast in this engaging love story set in NYC and shot in gritty, atmospheric black and white. Mitchum's wonderfully-modulated performance as a middle-aged lawyer on the rebound, and MacLaine's as the effervescent young dancer he becomes involved with, mesh very appealingly. The Broadway-caliber dialogue is more sophisticated, and the emotional level more intimate, than the films the two were typically making at the time. If "The Grass is Greener", a Mitchum (and Cary Grant and Deborah Kerr!) film from the same period and also an adaptation of a stage play, is a tepid example of how *not* to bring a play to the screen, "Two for the Seesaw" is a vibrant example of how to use film to endow a play with an intimacy that would be impossible to achieve onstage. Major kudos to Mitchum, MacLaine, and the director, Robert Wise.

Recently got a chance to see this movie and thought the performances by Robert Mitchum and Shirley MacLaine were great. Especially like the part that Shirley MacLaine played. I am not to used to seeing Robert Mitchum in roles like this but thought he did well. He plays a man going through a divorce who meets a younger woman played by Shirley Maclaine. Having both different life experiences they somehow try to make their new relationship work. I gave this film an 8 out 10 and was pleasantly surprised to find that it was this good. Read in another post that at the time of this films release critics didn't think that Mitchum's role was believable enough because of perhaps the age difference. I had no problem with buying into this story and the actors that portrayed the characters. Good Movie!

The post-beatnik / pre-hippie party scene is truly spectacular as a snapshot of a time/place rarely caught on film. While most of America was still living a black & white Eisenhower existence, this film shows the cutting edge NYC scene that had already moved beyond bebop and Kerouac and was just about to stumble full tilt into the Warhol Factory. The party scene probably seemed about as weird to middle America as the alien bar scene in Star Wars, fifteen years later. But one kid in every high school across the country changed their plans to attend 'State' and filled out last minute applications to NYU; they knew that they would grow old waiting for that world to reach their hometown.

A little known treat for anyone into the early days of "alt".

There are no special effects, no graphic sex........just GREAT ACTING. I could watch movies like this all day and night. Shirley McLaine is at her best.......Robert Mitchum is........well...Robert Mitchum............did you know he smoked pot quite a bit? Anyway, give me two excellent actors and a great script over blowing up buses and the latest and greatest computer graphics any day. (ie; SHREK) I was home sick and forced to watch this, which is how i see many of my movies. two thumbs up. I think she(Shirley McLaine) was nominated for an Oscar for this or did she win an Oscar? I love good black and white movies. It engaged me from the beginning to the end.

Two for the Seesaw is very heavy. It's one of those movies you watch once, appreciate the acting, and never want to see again.

Robert Mitchum is getting a divorce, and in 1962, that's not a common occurrence. He picks up a loose dancer at a party, and in their mutual loneliness, they become really close really fast. Behind the scenes, Robert Mitchum and his leading lady Shirley MacLaine had an affair, and you can see the hurt and romance smoldering off the screen. Both actors do a fantastic job and handle a depressing script with realism rather than melodrama. Maybe it's because I knew they'd had an affair, but when they argued in the film, I almost felt embarrassed watching it, like I was intruding on a private argument. It's very powerful.

However, it's a downer. It was based off a play, which is usually a clue that it's going to be depressing, and it absolutely is. Back in 1962, it wasn't common to make a movie about the highs and lows of one couple's relationship, as it is now. So, if you watch it, try not to compare it to its contemporaries and appreciate it on its own. Also, make sure you're in the right mood; if you're just coming out of a breakup, wait a while before renting it.