Lovin' Molly

Maybe it's not such a bad movie if you haven't read the book. But after reading the book which has something muggy, something atmospheric around watching the movie is a boring and tedious business. Even the characters are miscast. How can you believe Anthony Perkins is Gid? Besides they should have made ONE story for the movie out of the three perspectives in the book. Following the book this closely for the movie was a mistake. Another thing is that the characters don't change age. They don't get visibly older. If you think that a movie like Chinatown was made around the same time you see what I mean with lack of quality. Lovin' Molly is too much a book filming in which they tried to stay faithful to the book. Anyway, maybe somebody who never read the book can enjoy it.

Lovin' Molly very accurately captures the emotion, mood, and zeitgeist of the times it's set in. The film stands on its own regardless of having read the book.

Also, Anthony Perkins is most definitely not miscast. I found his portrayal of Gid quite compelling. His ability to contrast against Johnny (Beau Bridges) was spot on.

Mr Fry (Edward Binns) was not sufficiently developed but the film does an excellent job capturing the character. I would have liked to see more of the interaction with Mr. Taylor (Claude Traverse) and Gid.

I highly recommend this film to any fan of Larry McMurtry as an example of his earlier works.

In 1925 Texas, lanky farmer Anthony Perkins (as Gid Fry) and chubby chum Beau Bridges (as Johnny McCloud) both want to marry beautiful free-spirited Blythe Danner (as Molly Taylor). The trio crawl in and out of each other's beds for nearly forty years. If you don't believe this can get unexciting, just watch them from beginning to end. The three leads often seem intentionally made-up to look unattractive; however, Ms. Danner has a memorable nude scene in the early running...

You wouldn't know to look at it, but "Lovin' Molly" stemmed from a story by "The Last Picture Show" (1971) writer Larry McMurtry and was helmed by "Network" (1976) director Sidney Lumet. Dramatic television veteran Edward Binns plays Perkins' crotchety father. Watch for a couple of (then) daytime television stars in small, featured roles...

Future big-league actress and "Rocky Horror" participant Susan Sarandon plays Mr. Perkins' neglected other woman, and Conard Fowkes (as Eddie) is a third man involved with Danner. A "flashback" scene with Mr. Fowkes reveals he has more "chemistry" with Danner than either of her leading men. Those familiar with his "Dark Shadows" role as the New England lawyer who helped Victoria Winters find Laura Collins' coffin will realize Fowkes' is the film's outstanding performance.

**** Lovin' Molly (4/14/74) Sidney Lumet ~ Anthony Perkins, Beau Bridges, Blythe Danner, Conard Fowkes

Molly was probably a likable character, and I got the impression Blythe Danner was giving a good performance. But somehow this movie never registered with me. I did like the old-time music (Ralph Stanley wouldn't want me to call it bluegrass) and the big-band music used in one scene in the 1940s.

My biggest problem was that I could never remember which of the male characters were which (and apparently Molly had the same problem seeing as how she couldn't make up her mind which one to like), and even though I like Beau Bridges, I never saw any of the men as resembling him until the 1960s.

This was probably a good movie to those who like novels such as 'Wuthering Heights'.

It's seems clear that Sidney Lumet was unfamiliar with the setting, the characters, the story...I mean, Gid is a cowboy wearing OVERALLS--Gid's NOT a farmer! He was afraid of Texas, and moved back east to New Jersey to shoot the remainder of the film--no wonder the film looks like a TV movie. It should have been directed by someone else, someone who understood the place, and written by a screenwriter who understood the characters and story, like McMurtry himself, perhaps??? Maybe someday it will be re-done, and done justly. It's a moving and complex story, one that deserves to be told in the affecting way it's written. Eastwood as director? It spans a 45-year period, and though challenging, with the appropriate writer and director and actors would make for a timeless, memorable film.