Funny Lady

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Funny Lady

Theatrical poster
Directed by Herbert Ross
Produced by Ray Stark
Written by Jay Presson Allen
Arnold Schulman
Starring Barbra Streisand
James Caan
Omar Sharif
Roddy McDowall
Ben Vereen
Music by Fred Ebb
John Kander
Peter Matz
Cinematography James Wong Howe
Editing by Marion Rothman
Maury Winetrobe
Distributed by Columbia Pictures
Release date(s) Flag of the United States March 15, 1975
Running time 136 min.
Country US
Language English
Preceded by Funny Girl
Allmovie profile
IMDb profile

Funny Lady is a 1975 film starring Barbra Streisand, James Caan, Omar Sharif, Roddy McDowall, and Ben Vereen.

A sequel to the 1964 Broadway musical and subsequent 1968 film version of Funny Girl, it is a highly fictionalized account of the later life and career of comedienne Fanny Brice and her marriage to songwriter and empresario Billy Rose. The screenplay was by Jay Presson Allen and Arnold Schulman, based on a story by Schulman. The primary score was by John Kander and Fred Ebb, whose first success as a team had been the song "My Coloring Book," written for Streisand in 1962. It was directed by Herbert Ross.

Contents

[edit] Cast

[edit] Production

Although she was contractually bound to make one more film for producer Ray Stark (Fanny Brice's one-time son-in-law), Streisand balked at doing the project, and agreed only after she was threatened with a lawsuit.

Her first choice for the role of Rose was Robert Blake, who actually bore a closer resemblance to the character than Caan. He agreed to a read-through of the script at her home but, insulted he had been made to audition for the leading lady, turned down the part.

Stark, unhappy with the scenes shot by the original cinematographer, lured an ailing James Wong Howe out of retirement to complete the film. It proved to be his final project, which earned him an Academy Award nomination.

Studio heads forced Ross to trim the film to a manageable 136 minutes prior to its release. Much of Vereen's performance ended up on the cutting room floor, together with a recreation of Brice's "Baby Snooks" radio show and dramatic scenes involving her and her daughter.

In addition to Howe, Oscar nominations went to Ray Aghayan and Bob Mackie for Best Costume Design, John Kander and Fred Ebb for Best Original Song ("How Lucky Can You Get?"), Peter Matz for Best Scoring of an Original Song Score and/or Adaptation, and the sound crew. Streisand, Caan, and Vereen all received Golden Globe Award nods, as did Kander and Ebb and the film itself, but it was shut out of any wins in both competitions.

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[edit] Reception

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The film received mixed reviews and was only a moderate commercial success.

[edit] Soundtrack

All songs by Kander and Ebb, unless otherwise noted

  • "How Lucky Can You Get?"
  • "So Long, Honey Lamb"
  • "Isn't This Better?"
  • "I Got a Code in my Doze"
  • "Blind Date"
  • "Let's Hear it For Me"
  • "I Found a Million Dollar Baby" (Harry Warren, Billy Rose, Mort Dixon)
  • "If I Love Again" (Ben Oakland, J. P. Murray)
  • "Great Day" (Vincent Youmans, Edward Eliscu)
  • "Am I Blue?" (Harry Akst, Grant Clarke, Clare Hanlon, Don Redman, Sam H. Stept)
  • "It's Only a Paper Moon" (Harold Arlen, E.Y. "Yip" Harburg, Billy Rose)
  • "More Than You Know" (Vincent Youmans, Edward Eliscu, Billy Rose)

[edit] External links