Long Day's Journey into Night (1962 film)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Long Day's Journey into Night
Poster - Long Day's Journey into Night.jpg
Theatrical release poster
Directed bySidney Lumet
Based onLong Day's Journey into Night
1956 play
by Eugene O'Neill
Produced byEly Landau
Joseph E. Levine
Jack J. Dreyfus Jr.
StarringKatharine Hepburn
Ralph Richardson
Jason Robards
Dean Stockwell
CinematographyBoris Kaufman
Edited byRalph Rosenblum
Music byAndré Previn
Production
company
First Company
Distributed byEmbassy Pictures
Release dates
Running time
174 minutes
170 minutes
(TCM Print)
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$435,000[1]

Long Day's Journey into Night is a 1962 American drama film adaptation of Eugene O'Neill's 1956 play. It was directed by Sidney Lumet, and produced by Ely Landau, with Joseph E. Levine and Jack J. Dreyfus Jr. as executive producers. The screenplay was not adapted, but used directly from O'Neill's play, the music score by André Previn, and the cinematography by Boris Kaufman.

It was shot at Chelsea Studios in New York City.[2] The exteriors were shot on City Island.

The film has been restored and preserved by UCLA Film & Television Archive.

The film won Best Actor and Best Actress at the Cannes Film Festival and was named by the National Board of Review as one of the Top Ten Films of 1962.

Plot and themes[]

The film concerns a fateful, heart-rending day in August 1912 at the seaside Connecticut home of the Tyrone family.

One theme of the play is addiction and the resulting dysfunction of the family: All three males are alcoholics, and Mary is addicted to morphine. They all constantly conceal, blame, resent, regret, accuse, and deny in an escalating cycle of conflict with occasional desperate and half-sincere attempts at affection, encouragement, and consolation.

Cast and characters[]

Production[]

Producer Ely Landau did a version of The Iceman Cometh for TV. This impressed the widow of Eugene O'Neill enough for her to give him the screen rights to Long Day's Journey. The cast and director formed a cooperative and agreed to work for a lower fee in exchange for a percentage of the profits.[3] The film was reportedly shot for $435,000 over 37 days, two days over schedule.[1] Lumet later wrote that the total budget was $490,000.[3]

Release[]

Joseph E. Levine bought the film for distribution, but said he lost money on it. "You cannot stay in business by making O'Neill pictures," he said.[4] Lumet later wrote that "there actually were some profits."[3]

Critical reception[]

The film has received critical acclaim. Rotten Tomatoes gives a score of 94% based on 17 reviews, with an average score of 8.2/10.[5] Critics regularly praised Lumet's direction and Hepburn's performance.

Dwight Macdonald from Esquire magazine, wrote of the film "In his screen version of Eugene O’Neill’s Long Day’s Journey Into Night, Sidney Lumet has given us a superb cinematic translation of the only American play to which the much-abused adjective “great” can seriously be applied." When speaking of Hepburn's performance he said "I have never been an addict of Katharine Hepburn; she struck me usually as mannered, to say the least; but here, stimulated by O’Neill and Lumet, she emerges as a superb tragédienne."[6] Bosley Crowther of The New York Times said that "Under the direction of Sidney Lumet, they charge the place with electricity. That is, on the whole they do so. They develop an overall sense of deep disquiet within the passionate individuals and an acrid air of smoldering savagery." And when commenting on Hepburn's performance he stated "In the moments of deepest anguish, she is vibrant with hot and tragic truth, an eloquent representatation of a lovely woman brought to feeble, helpless ruin."[7]

Awards and nominations[]

Katharine Hepburn as morphine-addicted mother Mary Tyrone (with Ralph Richardson as James Tyrone behind her).
Award Category Nominee(s) Result
Academy Awards[8] Best Actress Katharine Hepburn Nominated
Cannes Film Festival[9] Palme d'Or Sidney Lumet Nominated
Best Actor Ralph Richardson
Jason Robards
Dean Stockwell 		Won
Best Actress Katharine Hepburn Won
Directors Guild of America Awards Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Motion Pictures Sidney Lumet Nominated
Golden Globe Awards Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama Katharine Hepburn Nominated
Laurel Awards Top Female Dramatic Performance Nominated
Mexican Cinema Journalists Best Foreign Actress Won
National Board of Review Awards Top Ten Films 5th Place
Best Actor Jason Robards (also for Tender is the Night) Won

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ a b Scheuer, Philip K. (11 Dec 1962). "Julie Harris Seen as 'Haunting' Hit: Director Wise Lauds Cast; Landau on 'Lost Audience'". Los Angeles Times. p. E13.
  2. ^ New York: The Movie Lover's Guide: The Ultimate Insider Tour of Movie New York – Richard Alleman – Broadway (February 1, 2005) ISBN 0-7679-1634-4
  3. ^ a b c Lumet, Sidney (1995). Making Movies. New York: Vintage Books. p. 24. ISBN 978-0-679-75660-6.
  4. ^ MURRAY SCHUMACH (Dec 6, 1963). "Joseph E. Levine says making of art films for U.S. is risky". New York Times. ProQuest 116525835.
  5. ^ "Long Day's Journey into Night (1962)". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Archived from the original on October 27, 2020. Retrieved October 30, 2020.
  6. ^ "O'Neill, Lumet, Kurosawa, and the great Goldwyn". Esquire. 1962-12-01. Archived from the original on 2020-11-07. Retrieved 2020-10-30.
  7. ^ "Screen: 'Long Day's Journey' Opens: O'Neill Play Is Filmed by Sidney Lumet". The New York Times. 1962-10-10. Archived from the original on 2020-10-10. Retrieved 2020-10-30.
  8. ^ "The 35th Academy Awards (1963) Nominees and Winners". oscars.org. Archived from the original on 2016-07-02. Retrieved 2011-08-23.
  9. ^ "Festival de Cannes: Long Day's Journey into Night". festival-cannes.com. Archived from the original on 2011-07-28. Retrieved 2009-02-23.

External links[]

Retrieved from ""