Moi Nathalie

The good news: Patty Duke redeems herself as an actress after her admittedly "bad work" in "Valley of the Dolls." The bad news: hardly anyone went to see this in theaters. That's a shame because there's much to commend this film. Most of that centers around Duke's performance (actually, they're all top notch performances here). She has to convince us she's unattractive, vulnerable, yet no weakling by any stretch of the imagination. Yet I never felt entirely sorry for her because she seemed well equipped to weather the putdowns that come from being an ugly girl. I ended up liking Natalie because Duke makes her likable -- yeah, she's got a heart of gold but she's got spirit, too. There are all kinds of nice moments here but I especially appreciate the scene at the Hoboken ferry landing where she goes to see if her fictional Prince Charming will actually materialize. She won a Golden Globe award for this performance and it stands as probably her best work as an adult. From here she moved into what is arguably her second best adult role, in the TV film, "My Sweet Charlie." She won an emmy for that one. About this time she also did a wonderful job in a PBS film called "Birdbath." Again, she's paired with Farentino and again, she's a plain Jane from New York City, but this time with an entirely different psychological make-up from Natalie and with a horrible secret. Duke sure showed a lot of potential for the big screen...too bad it never materialized. And it's too bad this film isn't available on VHS.

Part of this movie was shot right across the street from me, in an apartment building on Ocean Parkway in Brooklyn, NY, when I was a kid. One of my friends lived there, and when I came out of his apartment, I talked to Patty Duke who was sitting with some crew in the lobby, for a couple of minutes before they ushered me out. I was a major fan of the Patty Duke show, so I was thrilled, and she was very nice. It's the only movie I can ever remember shot in my neighborhood, and it caused quite a thrill. I don't remember much about the movie except the Brooklyn street scenes of neighborhoods I was familiar with. I'd love to see this movie again to relive some of those moments. Is it ever played on TV on one of the movie channels that specialize in older movies like AMC or Turner Classic Movies?

This is by far one of my favorite films ever. I haven't seen it since I was 9 or 10 about 12 years ago. I absolutely love Patty Duke's performance, and the film is so balanced and witty. It definitely inspired me to be a filmmaker and I would love to see it again.

I remember going into Center City Philadelphia with a friend and walking along Chestnut Street right past a line of hippies waiting to get into Easy Rider. Of course, we went to see Patty Duke as we were fans of her TV show. I enjoyed the That Girl mixed with pathos. Yes, it was a tad preachy but the golden girl attracting trouble, a little schadenfreude on Patty's part? But, all too soon, Patty became involved with the wrong man, too. There was a lot of good in the movie for us young girls to see. Natalie graduating from school, getting a job and her own place complete with the bed cut of a bathtub seemed preferable to doing the deed in a New Orleans graveyard as in Easy Rider.

This movie really shaped my adolescence. James Farentino was so dreamy in it. I cried when she left him even though I knew it was the right thing for her to do. The use of humour as a defence mechanism was truly touching. Philip Sterling and Martin Balsam's performances also stand out in my mind --- and what a creep Bob Balaban was! A well-done memory everlasting.