Roseland (film)
Encyclopedia
Roseland is a 1977 Merchant Ivory Productions
' portmanteau film with a screenplay by Ruth Prawer Jhabvala
. It was directed by James Ivory
and produced by Ismail Merchant
.
The film is made up of three connected short features, The Waltz
, The Hustle
and The Peabody
. All three stories share a theme of the protagonists trying to find the right dance partner, and all are set in the Roseland Ballroom
in New York City
.
Pauline (Copeland) is a middle-aged widow with the means to pay for the services of a younger gigolo, Russell (Walken) and share champagne with her Roseland friends, the dance teacher Cleo (Helen Gallagher) and the shy divorcee, Marilyn (Chaplin). Both Marily and Cleo fail to break Russell's attachment to the lifestyle that Pauline provides.
Rosa (Skala), a former Schrafft's cook and wannabe dance superstar makes it her mission to win the peabody prize with her older older partner, Arthur (Thomas) who is desperate to marry her.
Length: 104 minutes.
The Waltz
The Hustle
The Peabody
explained that the film shows what "is mostly the sadness and faded dreams of dancers who look like they were around the day the doors first opened." The review praised how Ivory "effectively uses three romantic vignettes" as well as the "realistic" dialogue.
Merchant Ivory Productions
Merchant Ivory Productions is a film company founded in 1961 by producer Ismail Merchant and director James Ivory. Their films were for the most part produced by the former, directed by the latter, and scripted by Ruth Prawer Jhabvala, with the noted exception of a few films. The films were often...
' portmanteau film with a screenplay by Ruth Prawer Jhabvala
Ruth Prawer Jhabvala
Ruth Prawer Jhabvala, CBE is a Booker prize-winning novelist, short story writer, and two-time Academy Award-winning screenwriter. She is perhaps best known for her long collaboration with Merchant Ivory Productions, made up of director James Ivory and the late producer Ismail Merchant...
. It was directed by James Ivory
James Ivory (director)
James Francis Ivory is an American film director, best known for the results of his long collaboration with Merchant Ivory Productions, which included both Indian-born film producer Ismail Merchant, and screenwriter Ruth Prawer Jhabvala...
and produced by Ismail Merchant
Ismail Merchant
Ismail Merchant was an Indian-born film producer, best known for the results of his famously long collaboration with Merchant Ivory Productions which included director James Ivory as well as screenwriter Ruth Prawer Jhabvala...
.
The film is made up of three connected short features, The Waltz
Waltz
The waltz is a ballroom and folk dance in time, performed primarily in closed position.- History :There are several references to a sliding or gliding dance,- a waltz, from the 16th century including the representations of the printer H.S. Beheim...
, The Hustle
Hustle (dance)
The Hustle is a catchall name for several disco dances which were extremely popular in the 1970s. Today it mostly refers to the unique partner dance done in ballrooms and nightclubs to disco music. It has some features in common with swing dance. Its basic steps are somewhat similar to the...
and The Peabody
Peabody (dance)
Peabody was a foxtrot type ballroom dance in the United States of the beginning of the 20th century. It was essentially a fast One-Step danced under lively ragtime music....
. All three stories share a theme of the protagonists trying to find the right dance partner, and all are set in the Roseland Ballroom
Roseland Ballroom
The Roseland Ballroom is a multi-purpose hall, in a converted ice skating rink, with a colorful ballroom dancing pedigree, in New York City's theatre district, on West 52nd Street....
in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
.
Plot
At Roseland, an older lady, May (Wright), with a light step, looks for the memory of her husband in the ballroom's mirrors. Stan (Jacobi), a cheerful older man steers May to brandy alexanders and away from her past.Pauline (Copeland) is a middle-aged widow with the means to pay for the services of a younger gigolo, Russell (Walken) and share champagne with her Roseland friends, the dance teacher Cleo (Helen Gallagher) and the shy divorcee, Marilyn (Chaplin). Both Marily and Cleo fail to break Russell's attachment to the lifestyle that Pauline provides.
Rosa (Skala), a former Schrafft's cook and wannabe dance superstar makes it her mission to win the peabody prize with her older older partner, Arthur (Thomas) who is desperate to marry her.
Crew
- DirectorFilm directorA film director is a person who directs the actors and film crew in filmmaking. They control a film's artistic and dramatic nathan roach, while guiding the technical crew and actors.-Responsibilities:...
: James IvoryJames Ivory (director)James Francis Ivory is an American film director, best known for the results of his long collaboration with Merchant Ivory Productions, which included both Indian-born film producer Ismail Merchant, and screenwriter Ruth Prawer Jhabvala... - ProducerFilm producerA film producer oversees and delivers a film project to all relevant parties while preserving the integrity, voice and vision of the film. They will also often take on some financial risk by using their own money, especially during the pre-production period, before a film is fully financed.The...
: Ismail MerchantIsmail MerchantIsmail Merchant was an Indian-born film producer, best known for the results of his famously long collaboration with Merchant Ivory Productions which included director James Ivory as well as screenwriter Ruth Prawer Jhabvala... - ScreenplayScreenplayA screenplay or script is a written work that is made especially for a film or television program. Screenplays can be original works or adaptations from existing pieces of writing. In them, the movement, actions, expression, and dialogues of the characters are also narrated...
: Ruth Prawer JhabvalaRuth Prawer JhabvalaRuth Prawer Jhabvala, CBE is a Booker prize-winning novelist, short story writer, and two-time Academy Award-winning screenwriter. She is perhaps best known for her long collaboration with Merchant Ivory Productions, made up of director James Ivory and the late producer Ismail Merchant... - PhotographyCinematographyCinematography is the making of lighting and camera choices when recording photographic images for cinema. It is closely related to the art of still photography...
: Ernest Vincze - MusicComposerA composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
: Michael Gibson - Dance directorChoreographyChoreography is the art of designing sequences of movements in which motion, form, or both are specified. Choreography may also refer to the design itself, which is sometimes expressed by means of dance notation. The word choreography literally means "dance-writing" from the Greek words "χορεία" ...
: Patricia BirchPatricia BirchPatricia Birch is an American choreographer and director for musical theatre and film.Born in Englewood, New Jersey, Birch began her career as a dancer in Broadway musicals, including Brigadoon, Goldilocks, and West Side Story . She has directed and choreographed music videos for Cyndi Lauper, the... - Associate producers: Dennis J. Murphy, Macy Wall
- Executive producers: Michael T. Murphy, Ottomar Rudolf
- Casting: Judy Abbott
- Film editors: Humphrey DixonHumphrey DixonHumphrey Dixon is a British film editor.He started as assistant editor, then became film editor for Merchant Ivory's Autobiography of a Princess . In 1984, he directed Merchant Ivory's documentary The Wandering Company...
, Richard Schmiechen
Length: 104 minutes.
The WaltzWaltzThe waltz is a ballroom and folk dance in time, performed primarily in closed position.- History :There are several references to a sliding or gliding dance,- a waltz, from the 16th century including the representations of the printer H.S. Beheim...
- Teresa WrightTeresa WrightTeresa Wright was an American actress. She received the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress in 1942 for her performance in Mrs. Miniver. That same year, she received an Academy Award for Best Actress nomination for her performance in Pride of the Yankees opposite Gary Cooper...
(May), - Lou JacobiLou JacobiLouis Harold "Lou" Jacobi was a Canadian character actor.-Life and career:Jacobi was born Louis Harold Jacobovitch in Toronto, Ontario to Joseph and Fay Jacobivitch...
(Stan), - Don De Natale (Master of Ceremonies),
- Louise Kirkland (Ruby),
- Hetty Galen (Red-Haired Lady),
- Carol Culver (Young May),
- Denny Shearer (Eddie)
The HustleHustle (dance)The Hustle is a catchall name for several disco dances which were extremely popular in the 1970s. Today it mostly refers to the unique partner dance done in ballrooms and nightclubs to disco music. It has some features in common with swing dance. Its basic steps are somewhat similar to the...
- Geraldine ChaplinGeraldine ChaplinGeraldine Leigh Chaplin is an English-American actress and the daughter of Charlie Chaplin.Chaplin first came to prominence for her Golden Globe-nominated role of Tonya in David Lean's Doctor Zhivago . She received her second Golden Globe nomination for Robert Altman's Nashville...
(Marilyn), - Helen GallagherHelen GallagherHelen Gallagher is an American actress, dancer, singer and makeup artist.-Early years:Born in Brooklyn, she was raised in Scarsdale, New York for several years until the Wall Street crash which heralded the Great Depression, and her family moved to the Bronx. Her parents separated and she was...
(Cleo), - Joan CopelandJoan CopelandJoan Copeland is an American actress and the younger sister of celebrated playwright Arthur Miller. She began her career appearing in theatre in New York City during the mid 1940s. She moved into television and film during the 1950s while still maintaining an active stage career...
(Pauline), - Christopher WalkenChristopher WalkenChristopher Walken is an American stage and screen actor. He has appeared in more than 100 movies and television shows, including Joe Dirt, Annie Hall, The Deer Hunter, The Prophecy trilogy, The Dogs of War, Sleepy Hollow, Brainstorm, The Dead Zone, A View to a Kill, At Close Range, King of New...
(Russell), - Conrad JanisConrad JanisConrad Janis is an American jazz musician and also a theatre, film, and television actor. In the fall of 1953, he played eldest son Edward in the Ezio Pinza situation comedy Bonino on NBC...
(George), - Jayne Heller (Bella),
- Annette Rivera and Floyd Chisholmz (Hustle Couple),
- Jeanmarie Evans (Cloakroom Attendant)
The PeabodyPeabody (dance)Peabody was a foxtrot type ballroom dance in the United States of the beginning of the 20th century. It was essentially a fast One-Step danced under lively ragtime music....
- Lilia SkalaLilia Skala-Early life:Skala was born Lilia Sofer in Vienna, Austria. Her mother, Katharina Skala, was Catholic, and her father, Julius Sofer, was Jewish and worked as a manufacturers representative for the Waldes Koh-i-noor Company. In the late 1930s, she was forced to flee her Nazi-occupied homeland with...
(Rosa) - David Thomas (Arthur)
- Edward Kogan (Bartender)
- Madeline Lee (Camille)
- Stan Rubin (Bert)
- Dortha Duckworth (Ladies' Room Attendant)
Reception
The Washington PostThe Washington Post
The Washington Post is Washington, D.C.'s largest newspaper and its oldest still-existing paper, founded in 1877. Located in the capital of the United States, The Post has a particular emphasis on national politics. D.C., Maryland, and Virginia editions are printed for daily circulation...
explained that the film shows what "is mostly the sadness and faded dreams of dancers who look like they were around the day the doors first opened." The review praised how Ivory "effectively uses three romantic vignettes" as well as the "realistic" dialogue.