Two for the Seesaw (film)

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Two for the Seesaw
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Robert Wise
Produced by	Walter Mirisch
Written by	William Gibson Isobel Lennart
Starring	Robert Mitchum Shirley MacLaine Edmon Ryan Elisabeth Fraser Eddie Firestone
Music by	André Previn
Cinematography	Ted D. McCord
Editing by	Stuart Gilmore
Distributed by	United Artists
Release date(s)	November 21, 1962
Running time	119 min
Country	United States
Language	English
IMDb profile

Two for the Seesaw is a 1962 drama film, directed by Robert Wise and starring Robert Mitchum and Shirley MacLaine. It was adapted from a Broadway play of the same name, written by William Gibson.

1 Plot summary
2 Production notes
3 References
4 External links

[edit] Plot summary

Jerry Ryan (Mitchum) is a lawyer from Nebraska who has recently separated from his childhood sweetheart. To get away from it all he has moved to a shabby apartment in New York. He is struggling with the divorce, which has been filed but is not final, and takes long walks at night.

At a party he meets Gittel Mosca (MacLaine), a flighty, needy, struggling dancer, who has yet to make it at 29. They instantly connect, and begin to fall in love. But the relationship is hampered by their differences in background and temperament.

Jerry gets a job with a New York law firm and prepares to take the bar examination. He helps Gittel rent a loft for a dance studio, which she rents out to other dancers. But their relationship is stormy. Gittel has a fling with an old boyfriend, and Jerry is constantly on the phone with his soon to be ex-wife.

They prepare to move in together nevertheless, but Gittel is upset when she learns that the divorce came through and Jerry did not tell her about it. Jerry explains that even though he is divorced from his former wife on paper, they continue bonded in many ways.

Jerry decides to return to Nebraska and begin again with his ex-wife.

[edit] Production notes

Paul Newman was originally slated to star opposite Elizabeth Taylor in the film. When Taylor was forced to drop out of because of shooting overruns on Cleopatra, Newman was freed up to take the role of "Fast Eddie" Felson in The Hustler.^[1]