Goodbye Charlie
Encyclopedia
Goodbye Charlie is a 1964
comedy film
about a callous womanizer who gets his just reward. It was adapted from George Axelrod
's play Goodbye, Charlie and starred Debbie Reynolds
and Tony Curtis
. The play also provided the basis for Switch
, with Ellen Barkin
and Jimmy Smits
.
) when he is caught fooling around with Sartori's wife. Later, passerby Bruce Minton III (Pat Boone
) comes to the aid of a dazed woman (Debbie Reynolds) wandering on a beach. She doesn't remember much other than directions to Charlie's residence.
The next morning, it all comes back to her: she is the reincarnation
of Charlie. After getting over the shock, she convinces her best (and only) friend, George Tracy (Tony Curtis), of her identity. All manner of complications arise as she first accepts the situation and then decides to take advantage of it, with Tracy's reluctant help.
Charlie has changed his sex, but he cannot change his ways, and eventually he gets murdered again ... only to be reincarnated one more time: as a dog.
's stage play Goodbye Charlie, which opened on Broadway in December 1959 and ran briefly into 1960, does not include this prologue and Charlie is played throughout by Lauren Bacall
. Debbie Reynolds was a surprising choice for the film version, since she and Bacall have vastly different screen personas.
in another comedy about reincarnation, Fancy Meeting You Again. Like Goodbye Charlie, this play also ends with a character dying (Matthau this time) and coming back as a dog.
as the reincarnated Charlie), but only the pilot
episode was broadcast.http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0250409/
1964 in film
The year 1964 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* January 29 - The film Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb is released....
comedy film
Comedy film
Comedy film is a genre of film in which the main emphasis is on humour. They are designed to elicit laughter from the audience. Comedies are mostly light-hearted dramas and are made to amuse and entertain the audiences...
about a callous womanizer who gets his just reward. It was adapted from George Axelrod
George Axelrod
George Axelrod was an American screenwriter, producer, playwright and film director, best known for his play, The Seven Year Itch , which was adapted into a movie of the same name starring Marilyn Monroe...
's play Goodbye, Charlie and starred Debbie Reynolds
Debbie Reynolds
Debbie Reynolds is an American actress, singer, and dancer.She was initially signed at age 16 by Warner Bros., but her career got off to a slow start. When her contract was not renewed, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer gave her a small, but significant part in the film Three Little Words , then signed her to...
and Tony Curtis
Tony Curtis
Tony Curtis was an American film actor whose career spanned six decades, but had his greatest popularity during the 1950s and early 1960s. He acted in over 100 films in roles covering a wide range of genres, from light comedy to serious drama...
. The play also provided the basis for Switch
Switch (film)
Switch is a 1991 comedy film written and directed by Blake Edwards. A promiscuous man is murdered by his lovers and reincarnated as a beautiful woman .-Legacy:...
, with Ellen Barkin
Ellen Barkin
Ellen Barkin is an American film, television and theatre actress.-Early life:She was born Ellen Rona Barkin in Bronx, a borough of New York City, New York, the daughter of Evelyn , a hospital administrator who worked at Jamaica Hospital, and Sol Barkin, a chemical salesman...
and Jimmy Smits
Jimmy Smits
Jimmy Smits is an American actor. Smits is perhaps best known for his roles as attorney Victor Sifuentes on the 1980s legal drama L.A. Law, as NYPD Detective Bobby Simone on the 1990s police drama NYPD Blue, and as Congressman Matt Santos on The West Wing...
.
Plot summary
Charlie Sorrel is shot and killed by Sir Leopold Sartori (Walter MatthauWalter Matthau
Walter Matthau was an American actor best known for his role as Oscar Madison in The Odd Couple and his frequent collaborations with Odd Couple star Jack Lemmon, as well as his role as Coach Buttermaker in the 1976 comedy The Bad News Bears...
) when he is caught fooling around with Sartori's wife. Later, passerby Bruce Minton III (Pat Boone
Pat Boone
Charles Eugene "Pat" Boone is an American singer, actor and writer who has been a successful pop singer in the United States during the 1950s and early 1960s. He covered black artists' songs and sold more copies than his black counterparts...
) comes to the aid of a dazed woman (Debbie Reynolds) wandering on a beach. She doesn't remember much other than directions to Charlie's residence.
The next morning, it all comes back to her: she is the reincarnation
Reincarnation
Reincarnation best describes the concept where the soul or spirit, after the death of the body, is believed to return to live in a new human body, or, in some traditions, either as a human being, animal or plant...
of Charlie. After getting over the shock, she convinces her best (and only) friend, George Tracy (Tony Curtis), of her identity. All manner of complications arise as she first accepts the situation and then decides to take advantage of it, with Tracy's reluctant help.
Charlie has changed his sex, but he cannot change his ways, and eventually he gets murdered again ... only to be reincarnated one more time: as a dog.
Differences from the play
The film version of Goodbye Charlie has a brief prologue showing the male incarnation of Charlie Sorrell committing the flirtation which causes his murder and his reincarnation as a woman. George AxelrodGeorge Axelrod
George Axelrod was an American screenwriter, producer, playwright and film director, best known for his play, The Seven Year Itch , which was adapted into a movie of the same name starring Marilyn Monroe...
's stage play Goodbye Charlie, which opened on Broadway in December 1959 and ran briefly into 1960, does not include this prologue and Charlie is played throughout by Lauren Bacall
Lauren Bacall
Lauren Bacall is an American film and stage actress and model, known for her distinctive husky voice and sultry looks.She first emerged as leading lady in the Humphrey Bogart film To Have And Have Not and continued on in the film noir genre, with appearances in The Big Sleep and Dark Passage ,...
. Debbie Reynolds was a surprising choice for the film version, since she and Bacall have vastly different screen personas.
Similarities to other plays
In 1952, Matthau (Charlie's murderer) had briefly starred on Broadway with Leueen MacGrathLeueen MacGrath
Leueen MacGrath was a British actress and playwright and the second wife of George S. Kaufman, from 1949 until their divorce in 1957....
in another comedy about reincarnation, Fancy Meeting You Again. Like Goodbye Charlie, this play also ends with a character dying (Matthau this time) and coming back as a dog.
Television adaptation
In 1985, Goodbye Charlie was made into a TV series (starring Suzanne SomersSuzanne Somers
Suzanne Somers is an American actress, author, singer and businesswoman, known for her television roles as Chrissy Snow on Three's Company and as Carol Lambert on Step by Step....
as the reincarnated Charlie), but only the pilot
Television pilot
A "television pilot" is a standalone episode of a television series that is used to sell the show to a television network. At the time of its inception, the pilot is meant to be the "testing ground" to see if a series will be possibly desired and successful and therefore a test episode of an...
episode was broadcast.http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0250409/