What's a Nice Girl Like You Doing in a Place Like This?

IMDb RATING

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What's a Nice Girl Like You Doing in a Place Like This? (1963)

A writer named Algernon (but called Harry by his friends) buys a picture of a boat on a lake, and his obsession with it renders normal life impossible. He attempts to function again by consu... Read allA writer named Algernon (but called Harry by his friends) buys a picture of a boat on a lake, and his obsession with it renders normal life impossible. He attempts to function again by consulting an analyst and becoming married, but eventually succumbs to his strange anxiety by d... Read allA writer named Algernon (but called Harry by his friends) buys a picture of a boat on a lake, and his obsession with it renders normal life impossible. He attempts to function again by consulting an analyst and becoming married, but eventually succumbs to his strange anxiety by disappearing into the picture.

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

6.4/10

2.9K

YOUR RATING

See production info at IMDbPro

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User reviews12

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Featured reviews

6Jeremy_Urquhart

Marty's baby steps.

Scorsese, you're a funny guy...

He got funnier later in his career, that's for sure, but for an early short film made when the legend was only 20, it's not bad. It follows a neurotic guy as he narrates his life that's uneventful, but he perceives it to be chaotic. It feels sort of like a prototype for the kind of thing that Woody Allen would essentially make a career out of (did Scorsese beat him to the punch? I don't know of many Woody Allen films that were written or directed before the late 1960s).

It's got some neat editing, and a certain amount of style that makes it better than the average short film made this long ago. There's nothing amazing to be found here, but it's decent enough and made me chuckle a couple of times, so that's something.

8jzappa

His First Film and He's Already Ahead of His Time

This cute, inventive student film is Scorsese's first time behind the camera and he's already ahead of his time. His techniques pertaining to narration and, generally, his way of telling the story are as auspicious and new in a film from 1963 as are his stylish placement of the camera.

The story is odd, the cinematography is odd, even the actors are odd. It's a great debut. Like a lot of directors in his ranks, Scorsese does not begin his filmography with the most hard-hitting and serious of his work. He begins with the lighter side to his cinematic voice and manages to keep it above fluff.

Michael_Elliott

Two from Scorsese

What's a Nice Girl Like You Doing in a Place Like This? (1963)

** (out of 4)

First film from Martin Scorsese about a writer who buys a painting and soon his obsession with it leads to writers block. There's not too much going on here but I guess that's to be expected with a student film. The camera-work and editing are nice.

It's Not Just You, Murray! (1964)

*** (out of 4)

Martin Scorsese's second short is a nice homage to the gangster pictures from Warner. A middle aged gangster looks back over his life from the start of his career to the present. If you're a fan of the Warner gangster pictures then you'll enjoy this short film with all the references to those earlier pictures.

7alegleser

Nice little start

I found this first short of the brilliant Martin Scorcese very odd, very odd indeed. Although it is a student film, I loved this cartoonish, "woody allenish" (or Jewish comedy) side of Scorcese, and I would really like to see more.

Unfortunately, we still haven't (I'm not complaining though), and that leads us to the question: "what if Scorcese had stayed on the comedy path?", great things i'm sure.

Didn't like the ending though, but enjoyed very much the repetitive actions of the friend and the bizarre montage of the boat.

As I said, this is a very enjoyable short, I recommend it (if anyone cares).

PS: This is my first review, that's why it stinks.

PS2: I would re read this review listing to "Wouldn't it be nice" by the Beach Boys.

7tavm

What's a Nice Girl Like You Doing in a Place Like This? is the earliest of Martin Scorsese's works available for viewing

The title of this short doesn't really tell what it's about. This is the earliest of the legendary Martin Scorsese's films that's available for viewing and it's quite a fascinating find as with this one, he experiments with various jump cuts, still images, and extreme close-ups with a (possibly) stock piano score playing throughout. The ending is especially interesting. Worth checking out.

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Trivia
This film is included in the "Martin Scorsese Shorts" set, released by the Criterion Collection, spine #1,030.

Goofs
When Harry jumps into the water inside the picture, his friend lifts up his sunglasses with his left hand and advises him that life is fraught with peril. However, in the next immediate cut (which is a reverse shot), as his friend says the last word of the aforementioned dialog ("peril"), he now has his hands by his sides and his sunglasses are resting firmly on his nose.