Six Weeks
Encyclopedia
Six Weeks is a 1982 film drama, directed by Tony Bill
and based on a novel by Fred Mustard Stewart
. It stars Dudley Moore
and Mary Tyler Moore
.
Co-star Katherine Healy
was a professional figure skater and a ballerina, both talents demonstrated by her character in the film.
, strike up a sentimental friendship with a California politician, Patrick Dalton. Nicole has decided to abandon all further treatments for the disease because of the treatments' side effects.
Since the girl has only six weeks or less to live, the trio fly to New York City
where the daughter skates the ice rink at Rockefeller Center
, assumes the lead role of Marie in The Nutcracker
with the New York City Ballet at Lincoln Center, and sightsees most of the city. During her subway ride returning from her triumphant performance in the Tchaikovsky ballet, she suddenly collapses and dies in her mother's arms, having achieved her lifelong dream.
In the final scene, Patrick and Charlotte remember Nicole, and it is obvious the couple will have a future together.
The film was reviled as tasteless by critics, especially for a scene in which Nicole acts as "minister" for Charlotte and Patrick in a mock wedding ceremony, which she concludes with "I now pronounce you man and wife. You may kiss the child" (meaning Nicole, of course).
The film is one of the first instances of a theatrical film in which we see, in widescreen and color, scenes from George Balanchine
's production of The Nutcracker.
Tony Bill
Gerard Anthony "Tony" Bill is an American actor, producer, and director. He produced the 1973 movie The Sting, for which he shared the Academy Award for Best Picture with Michael Phillips and Julia Phillips...
and based on a novel by Fred Mustard Stewart
Fred Mustard Stewart
Fred Mustard Stewart was an American novelist. His most popular books were The Mephisto Waltz , adapted for a 1971 film starring Alan Alda; Six Weeks , made into a 1982 film starring Mary Tyler Moore; Century, a New York Times best-seller in 1981; and Ellis Island , which became a...
. It stars Dudley Moore
Dudley Moore
Dudley Stuart John Moore, CBE was an English actor, comedian, composer and musician.Moore first came to prominence as one of the four writer-performers in the ground-breaking comedy revue Beyond the Fringe in the early 1960s, and then became famous as half of the highly popular television...
and Mary Tyler Moore
Mary Tyler Moore
Mary Tyler Moore is an American actress, primarily known for her roles in television sitcoms. Moore is best known for The Mary Tyler Moore Show , in which she starred as Mary Richards, a 30-something single woman who worked as a local news producer in Minneapolis, and for her earlier role as...
.
Co-star Katherine Healy
Katherine Healy
Katherine Healy is a former principal ballerina who also had a professional performing career in figure skating.-Biography:...
was a professional figure skater and a ballerina, both talents demonstrated by her character in the film.
Plot summary
Charlotte Dreyfus, a wealthy cosmetic tycoon and her 12-year-old daughter Nicole, who's dying from leukemiaLeukemia
Leukemia or leukaemia is a type of cancer of the blood or bone marrow characterized by an abnormal increase of immature white blood cells called "blasts". Leukemia is a broad term covering a spectrum of diseases...
, strike up a sentimental friendship with a California politician, Patrick Dalton. Nicole has decided to abandon all further treatments for the disease because of the treatments' side effects.
Since the girl has only six weeks or less to live, the trio fly to 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...
where the daughter skates the ice rink at Rockefeller Center
Rockefeller Center
Rockefeller Center is a complex of 19 commercial buildings covering between 48th and 51st streets in New York City, United States. Built by the Rockefeller family, it is located in the center of Midtown Manhattan, spanning the area between Fifth Avenue and Sixth Avenue. It was declared a National...
, assumes the lead role of Marie in The Nutcracker
The Nutcracker
The Nutcracker is a two-act ballet, originally choreographed by Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanov with a score by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. The libretto is adapted from E.T.A. Hoffmann's story "The Nutcracker and the Mouse King". It was given its première at the Mariinsky Theatre in St...
with the New York City Ballet at Lincoln Center, and sightsees most of the city. During her subway ride returning from her triumphant performance in the Tchaikovsky ballet, she suddenly collapses and dies in her mother's arms, having achieved her lifelong dream.
In the final scene, Patrick and Charlotte remember Nicole, and it is obvious the couple will have a future together.
Reaction
The film was nominated for two Golden Globe Awards, one for Dudley Moore for Best Actor in a Dramatic Motion Picture and one for Katherine Healy as Best New Female Star of the Year. However, Mary Tyler Moore's performance earned a Razzie Award nomination for Worst Actress.The film was reviled as tasteless by critics, especially for a scene in which Nicole acts as "minister" for Charlotte and Patrick in a mock wedding ceremony, which she concludes with "I now pronounce you man and wife. You may kiss the child" (meaning Nicole, of course).
The film is one of the first instances of a theatrical film in which we see, in widescreen and color, scenes from George Balanchine
George Balanchine
George Balanchine , born Giorgi Balanchivadze in Saint Petersburg, Russia, to a Georgian father and a Russian mother, was one of the 20th century's most famous choreographers, a developer of ballet in the United States, co-founder and balletmaster of New York City Ballet...
's production of The Nutcracker.
Cast
- Dudley MooreDudley MooreDudley Stuart John Moore, CBE was an English actor, comedian, composer and musician.Moore first came to prominence as one of the four writer-performers in the ground-breaking comedy revue Beyond the Fringe in the early 1960s, and then became famous as half of the highly popular television...
as Patrick Dalton - Mary Tyler MooreMary Tyler MooreMary Tyler Moore is an American actress, primarily known for her roles in television sitcoms. Moore is best known for The Mary Tyler Moore Show , in which she starred as Mary Richards, a 30-something single woman who worked as a local news producer in Minneapolis, and for her earlier role as...
as Charlotte Dreyfus - Katherine HealyKatherine HealyKatherine Healy is a former principal ballerina who also had a professional performing career in figure skating.-Biography:...
as Nicole - Shannon Wilcox as Peg Dalton