Billie (film)
Encyclopedia
Billie is a 1965 musical film
directed by Don Weis. Based on the 1952 play Time Out For Ginger
by Ronald Alexander, the film stars Patty Duke
in the title role.
ish behavior and passion for track
running, she distances herself from her fellow female classmates. Instead, she befriends Mike Benson, the newest school student who has recently joined the school athletic team. She gives him advice on how to run faster, and although he is initially reluctant to be taught
a man's sport from a girl, he soon notices how gifted she is and is happy to listen to her. One day, the school coach Jones, sees her running on the track, and allows her to be on the team.
The town is shocked by this event, with most people feeling that it is inappropriate for a girl to be associated with athletics. Billie is unaffected by the gossips and criticism, though she feels sad over how much trouble she is causing her father, Howard G. Carol. Howard is running for Mayor against Charlie Davis, and is harmed by the string of negative publicity. He at first sticks by his daughter's side, but later, as the elections near, attempts to make her quit the team. This upsets Billie, who has immediately been accepted as 'one of the guys' on the team. She reveals that she is able to run quickly due to listening to a fast beat in her head, and teaches the other guys how to do the same. During this process, she grows closer to Mike.
Meanwhile, Billie's older sister Jean has returned from University to spend time with her family. Jean admits to her sister that she has been married to a man named Bob Matthews for seven months. Furthermore, she finds out that she is pregnant with his child. Howard is not aware of Jean's situation and encourages her to date other men, setting her up with Matt Bullitt. When the scandalous news about her pregnancy comes out, Howard's chances of becoming a mayor is even less. To save her father's career, Jean overcomes her fear and reveals that she has been married to Bob for over a year. Howard is at first shocked and slugs Bob, but later accepts and even embraces the news.
In the end, Billie wins the big match and becomes Mike's girlfriend. Afterward, he makes clear that he has no trouble with the fact that she is better at sports than he is. Howard wins the election and becomes the town's mayor. His loving and caring wife reveals that she is pregnant at the afterparty.
Musical film
The musical film is a film genre in which songs sung by the characters are interwoven into the narrative, sometimes accompanied by dancing. The songs usually advance the plot or develop the film's characters, though in some cases they serve merely as breaks in the storyline, often as elaborate...
directed by Don Weis. Based on the 1952 play Time Out For Ginger
Time Out For Ginger
Time Out For Ginger is a Broadway comedy by Ronald Alexander that ran 248 performances at the Lyceum Theatre from November 26, 1952 to June 27, 1953, before becoming hugely popular in regional theatres throughout the 1950s and early 1960s...
by Ronald Alexander, the film stars Patty Duke
Patty Duke
Anna Marie "Patty" Duke is an American actress of stage, film, and television. First becoming famous as a child star, winning an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress at age 16, and later starring in her eponymous sitcom for three years, she progressed to more mature roles upon playing Neely...
in the title role.
Plot
Billie is a 15-year-old girl who is not like every other teen. With her bobbed haircut, tomboyTomboy
A tomboy is a girl who exhibits characteristics or behaviors considered typical of the gender role of a boy, including the wearing of typically masculine-oriented clothes and engaging in games and activities that are often physical in nature, and which are considered in many cultures to be the...
ish behavior and passion for track
Track and field
Track and field is a sport comprising various competitive athletic contests based around the activities of running, jumping and throwing. The name of the sport derives from the venue for the competitions: a stadium which features an oval running track surrounding a grassy area...
running, she distances herself from her fellow female classmates. Instead, she befriends Mike Benson, the newest school student who has recently joined the school athletic team. She gives him advice on how to run faster, and although he is initially reluctant to be taught
a man's sport from a girl, he soon notices how gifted she is and is happy to listen to her. One day, the school coach Jones, sees her running on the track, and allows her to be on the team.
The town is shocked by this event, with most people feeling that it is inappropriate for a girl to be associated with athletics. Billie is unaffected by the gossips and criticism, though she feels sad over how much trouble she is causing her father, Howard G. Carol. Howard is running for Mayor against Charlie Davis, and is harmed by the string of negative publicity. He at first sticks by his daughter's side, but later, as the elections near, attempts to make her quit the team. This upsets Billie, who has immediately been accepted as 'one of the guys' on the team. She reveals that she is able to run quickly due to listening to a fast beat in her head, and teaches the other guys how to do the same. During this process, she grows closer to Mike.
Meanwhile, Billie's older sister Jean has returned from University to spend time with her family. Jean admits to her sister that she has been married to a man named Bob Matthews for seven months. Furthermore, she finds out that she is pregnant with his child. Howard is not aware of Jean's situation and encourages her to date other men, setting her up with Matt Bullitt. When the scandalous news about her pregnancy comes out, Howard's chances of becoming a mayor is even less. To save her father's career, Jean overcomes her fear and reveals that she has been married to Bob for over a year. Howard is at first shocked and slugs Bob, but later accepts and even embraces the news.
In the end, Billie wins the big match and becomes Mike's girlfriend. Afterward, he makes clear that he has no trouble with the fact that she is better at sports than he is. Howard wins the election and becomes the town's mayor. His loving and caring wife reveals that she is pregnant at the afterparty.
Cast
- Patty DukePatty DukeAnna Marie "Patty" Duke is an American actress of stage, film, and television. First becoming famous as a child star, winning an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress at age 16, and later starring in her eponymous sitcom for three years, she progressed to more mature roles upon playing Neely...
as Billie Carol - Jim BackusJim BackusJames Gilmore "Jim" Backus was a radio, television, film, and voice actor. Among his most famous roles are the voice of Mr...
as Howard G. Carol - Jane GreerJane GreerJane Greer was a film and television actress who was perhaps best known for her role as femme fatale Kathie Moffat in the 1947 film noir Out of the Past.-Career:...
as Agnes Carol - Warren BerlingerWarren BerlingerWarren Berlinger is an American character actor, with both Broadway runs and over a thousand television appearances to his credit.-Personal life:...
as Mike Benson - Billy De WolfeBilly De WolfeBilly De Wolfe was an American character actor. He was active in films from the mid-1940s until his death in 1974. He was a good friend of Doris Day from the time of their meeting during the filming of Tea for Two until his death...
as Mayor Charlie Davis - Charles LaneCharles Lane (actor)Charles Gerstle Levison , better known as Charles Lane, was an American character actor seen in many movies and TV shows, and at the time of his death may have been the oldest living professional American actor. Lane appeared in many Frank Capra films, including You Can't Take It With You , Mr...
as Coach Jones - Dick SargentDick SargentRichard Stanford Cox , known professionally as Dick Sargent, was an American actor, notable as the second actor to portray Darrin Stephens on the television series Bewitched...
as Matt Bullitt - Susan SeaforthSusan Seaforth HayesSusan Seaforth Hayes is an American dramatic actress. She is best known for her portrayal of Julie Williams on the long-running NBC drama Days of our Lives, and her intermittent portrayal of JoAnna Manning on the CBS daytime drama The Young and the Restless...
as Jean Matthews - Ted BessellTed BessellTed Bessell was an American television actor and director.-Early career:Born in Flushing, New York, Bessell grew up in Manhasset on Long Island, New York. He was originally gearing up for a career as a classical musician...
as Robert 'Bob' Matthews - Richard DeaconRichard Deacon (actor)Richard Deacon , born in Philadelphia, was an American television and motion picture actor.-Career:The bald and usually bespectacled character actor often portrayed pompous or imperious figures. He made appearances on The Jack Benny Show as a salesman and a barber, and on NBC's Happy as a hotel...
as Principal Arnold Wilson - Bobby DiamondBobby DiamondBobby Diamond, also known as Robert Leroy Diamond , is a California civil and criminal law attorney who was a child star and young-adult actor, mostly in the 1950s and 1960s...
as Eddie Davis - Michael FoxMichael Fox (American actor)Michael Fox was an American character actor who was in numerous movies and television roles. Some of his most famous recurring roles were as various autopsy physicians in Perry Mason, as Coroner George McLeod in Burke's Law, as Amos Fedders in Falcon Crest and as Saul Feinberg in The Bold and the...
as Ray Case, Reporter - Clive Clerk as Ted Chekas
- Harlan WardeHarlan WardeHarlan Warde was a character actor active in television and movies. From 1958–1962 Warde joined Chuck Connors in The Rifleman. In 1962–1971 Warde joined the cast of the TV Western series The Virginian in the recurring role of Sheriff Brannon...
as Doctor Hall - Jean MacRae as Nurse Webb
- Donna McKechnieDonna McKechnieDonna McKechnie is an American musical theater dancer, singer, actress, and choreographer. She is known for her professional and personal relationship with choreographer Michael Bennett, with whom she collaborated on her most noted role, "Cassie" from the musical A Chorus Line, for which she...
as Dancer (uncredited)