Georgy Girl 1966

     A homely but vivacious young woman dodges the amorous attentions of her father's middle-aged employer.  There’s a bit of a dark turn in this one area considering Georgy’s father’s employer has been hitting on her for years.  Her dad knows about these events but the boss ends up being very benign.  Georgy herself is so wonderful that you never doubt she’ll be perfectly okay.  This is a movie about a swinging sixties girl!!  They’re all positive and hyper, awkward and slightly detached from what’s going on around them.  They still want very much to have fun.  They run around together trying to get their lives together.

     If this film were made now, Georgy would not need to compromise.  Single-parent families are much more accepted in this modern society.  It’s important to remember that in the 1960’s this kind of a life was nearly impossible.  That’s why there should not be such negativity towards this film.  It would be more satisfying to see Georgy defy society by declaring her own self-worth and maternal capabilities enough to abandon Joss and Leamington.  She should head off into the sunset with her friend's baby.  But around the corner would be the very same social workers who tore the children from Carol White’s arms in Cathy Come Home.  That’s what life was like in this time period.  Hate the period but not the film.  Georgy Girl is reflective of its time and it is an extraordinary moment.  It saw the demise of the old and the birth of the new.  3 1/2* (I liked this movie)

99 min, Comedy directed by Silvio Narizzano and written by Margaret Forster and Peter Nichols with James Mason, Alan Bates, Lynn Redgrave, Charlotte Rampling, Bill Owen, Clare Kelly, Rachel Kempson, Denise Coffey, Dorothy Alison, Peggy Thorpe-Bates, Dandy Nichols, Terence Soall, Jolyon Booth.

Note:  Imdb 6.9* out of 10* with 3,429 reviews, Rotten Tomatoes 91% with 11 critic reviews 70% with 1000+ ratings, Goodreads gives the novel by Margaret Forster 3.41* out of 5* with 301 ratings and 31 reviews, Letterboxd 3.3* out of 5*,  dvdtalk.com 2 1/2* content, 3* video, 3* audio, 1 1/2* replay, Amazon 4.4* out of 5* with 271 reviews.

Special Note:  This movie was nominated for four Academy Awards, in the categories of Best Actress in a Leading Role Lynn Redgrave, Best Black-and-White Cinematography Kenneth Higgins, Best Actor in a Supporting Role James Mason and Best Music - Original Song for the song "Georgy Girl", with music by  Tom Springfield and lyrics by Jim Dale but failed to win in any of these categories?  Vanessa Redgrave backed out of the role of Georgy just before shooting started.  Her sister Lynn accepted the part instead.  Lynn Redgrave’s Best Actress Oscar nomination for this movie coincided with sister Vanessa's similar nomination for Morgan 1966.  Such a coincidence had occurred only once before when sisters Joan Fontaine and Olivia de Havilland respectively vied for the Best Actress Oscar for Suspicion 1941 and Hold Back the Dawn 1941.  Fontaine was the only winner of the four actresses in this particular instance.