The Sterile Cuckoo
Encyclopedia
The Sterile Cuckoo released in the UK as Pookie, is a theatrical release feature film
released by Paramount Pictures
. It tells the story of an eccentric young couple whose relationship deepens despite their differences and inadequacies, and stars Liza Minnelli
, Wendell Burton
, and Tim McIntire
.
The movie was adapted by Alvin Sargent
from the 1965 novel
by John Nichols
, and directed by Alan J. Pakula
.
Much of the movie was filmed at Hamilton College in Clinton, New York
. Some of it was filmed in Sylvan Beach
, New York
, including the Sylvan Beach Union Chapel
.
It was nominated for Academy Awards
for Best Actress in a Leading Role
(Liza Minnelli) and Best Music, Song (Fred Karlin
and Dory Previn
for Come Saturday Morning
).
on the bus so the nun will switch seats with her. Jerry is beginning to settle into college life with his roommate (Tim McIntire) when Pookie shows up one Saturday morning out of the blue. They spend much time together over the weekend, and before long are seeing each other regularly.
Jerry slowly falls in love with Pookie, but soon their different personality type
s pull them apart. They began having sex, and not long after Pookie tells Jerry she might be pregnant. After the pregnancy scare is over, Jerry wants to spend spring break
alone to catch up on his studies. Pookie begs and pleads to stay with him, and he relents. The week alone with Pookie makes Jerry realize they need time apart, and he tells Pookie this. He discovers she has left college, and he finds her in the same boarding house
where she had stayed on the first day she came to visit. He puts her on a bus for home, and the young lovers part.
Feature film
In the film industry, a feature film is a film production made for initial distribution in theaters and being the main attraction of the screening, rather than a short film screened before it; a full length movie...
released by Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film production and distribution company, located at 5555 Melrose Avenue in Hollywood. Founded in 1912 and currently owned by media conglomerate Viacom, it is America's oldest existing film studio; it is also the last major film studio still...
. It tells the story of an eccentric young couple whose relationship deepens despite their differences and inadequacies, and stars Liza Minnelli
Liza Minnelli
Liza May Minnelli is an American actress and singer. She is the daughter of singer and actress Judy Garland and film director Vincente Minnelli....
, Wendell Burton
Wendell Burton
Wendell Burton is an American television executive and former motion picture actor and television actor, best known for his co-starring role with Liza Minnelli in the 1969 movie The Sterile Cuckoo....
, and Tim McIntire
Tim McIntire
Tim McIntire was an American character actor, probably most famous for his portrayal of disc jockey Alan Freed in the film American Hot Wax...
.
The movie was adapted by Alvin Sargent
Alvin Sargent
Alvin Sargent is an American screenwriter. He has won two Academy Awards for his screenplays and has been involved in the writing of all movies to date in the Spider-Man film series.-Life and career:...
from the 1965 novel
The Sterile Cuckoo (novel)
The Sterile Cuckoo, is the 1965 novel by John Nichols.It tells the story of a quirky young couple whose relationship deepens despite their differences. It was made into a movie by Alan J. Pakula.-Film, TV or theatrical adaptations:...
by John Nichols
John Nichols (American writer)
John Treadwell Nichols is an American novelist.-Biography:Nichols is the author of the "New Mexico trilogy", a series about the complex relationship between history, race and ethnicity, and land and water rights in the fictional Chamisaville County, New Mexico...
, and directed by Alan J. Pakula
Alan J. Pakula
Alan Jay Pakula was an American film director, writer and producer noted for his contributions to the conspiracy thriller genre.-Career:...
.
Much of the movie was filmed at Hamilton College in Clinton, New York
Clinton, Oneida County, New York
Clinton is a village in Oneida County, New York, United States. The population was 1,952 at the 2000 census. It was named for George Clinton, a royal governor of the colony of New York....
. Some of it was filmed in Sylvan Beach
Sylvan Beach
Sylvan Beach may refer to*Sylvan Beach, New York, a village in Oneida County*A hamlet in the state of New York in the towns of Tyrone, New York in Schuyler County and Wayne, New York in Steuben County....
, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, including the Sylvan Beach Union Chapel
Sylvan Beach Union Chapel
Sylvan Beach Union Chapel is a historic interdenominational church building located at Sylvan Beach in Oneida County, New York. It opened on July 3, 1887 and worship services have been held there every summer since then. The film "The Sterile Cuckoo" starring Liza Minnelli was shot in part at the...
.
It was nominated for Academy Awards
Academy Awards
An Academy Award, also known as an Oscar, is an accolade bestowed by the American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize excellence of professionals in the film industry, including directors, actors, and writers...
for Best Actress in a Leading Role
Academy Award for Best Actress
Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role is one of the Academy Awards of merit presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize an actress who has delivered an outstanding performance while working within the film industry...
(Liza Minnelli) and Best Music, Song (Fred Karlin
Fred Karlin
Fred Karlin was an American composer of more than one hundred scores for feature films and television movies. He also was an accomplished trumpeter adept at playing jazz, blues, classical, rock, and medieval music....
and Dory Previn
Dory Previn
Dory Previn, née Dorothy Veronica Langan , is an American lyricist, singer-songwriter and poet.During the late 1950s and 1960s she was a lyricist for motion picture songs, and with her first husband André Previn received several Academy Award nominations...
for Come Saturday Morning
Come Saturday Morning (song)
Come Saturday Morning is a popular song with music by Fred Karlin and lyrics by Dory Previn, published in 1970. It was first performed by The Sandpipers on the soundtrack of the 1969 film The Sterile Cuckoo starring Liza Minnelli, and it was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original...
).
Plot
Mary Ann "Pookie" Adams (Minnelli) is an oddball, quirky teenager who meets Jerry Payne (Burton) while waiting for a bus heading to their colleges, which are near each other, where they have enrolled as freshmen. Jerry immediately sees that Pookie is different, even strange. She lies to a nunNun
A nun is a woman who has taken vows committing her to live a spiritual life. She may be an ascetic who voluntarily chooses to leave mainstream society and live her life in prayer and contemplation in a monastery or convent...
on the bus so the nun will switch seats with her. Jerry is beginning to settle into college life with his roommate (Tim McIntire) when Pookie shows up one Saturday morning out of the blue. They spend much time together over the weekend, and before long are seeing each other regularly.
Jerry slowly falls in love with Pookie, but soon their different personality type
Personality type
Personality type refers to the psychological classification of different types of individuals. Personality types are sometimes distinguished from personality traits, with the latter embodying a smaller grouping of behavioral tendencies. Types are sometimes said to involve qualitative differences...
s pull them apart. They began having sex, and not long after Pookie tells Jerry she might be pregnant. After the pregnancy scare is over, Jerry wants to spend spring break
Spring break
Spring break – also known as March break, Study week or Reading week in the United Kingdom and some parts of Canada – is a recess in early spring at universities and schools in the United States, Canada, mainland China, Korea, Japan, Taiwan, Mexico, the Dominican Republic, the United...
alone to catch up on his studies. Pookie begs and pleads to stay with him, and he relents. The week alone with Pookie makes Jerry realize they need time apart, and he tells Pookie this. He discovers she has left college, and he finds her in the same boarding house
Boarding house
A boarding house, is a house in which lodgers rent one or more rooms for one or more nights, and sometimes for extended periods of weeks, months and years. The common parts of the house are maintained, and some services, such as laundry and cleaning, may be supplied. They normally provide "bed...
where she had stayed on the first day she came to visit. He puts her on a bus for home, and the young lovers part.
Cast
- Liza MinnelliLiza MinnelliLiza May Minnelli is an American actress and singer. She is the daughter of singer and actress Judy Garland and film director Vincente Minnelli....
as Mary Ann 'Pookie' Adams - Wendell BurtonWendell BurtonWendell Burton is an American television executive and former motion picture actor and television actor, best known for his co-starring role with Liza Minnelli in the 1969 movie The Sterile Cuckoo....
as Jerry Payne - Tim McIntireTim McIntireTim McIntire was an American character actor, probably most famous for his portrayal of disc jockey Alan Freed in the film American Hot Wax...
as Charlie Schumacher