| Bye Bye Birdie | |
|---|---|
Original release poster |
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| Directed by | George Sidney |
| Produced by | Fred Kohlmar |
| Screenplay by | Michael Stewart Irving Brecher |
| Based on | Bye Bye Birdie |
| Starring | Janet Leigh Dick Van Dyke Ann-Margret |
| Music by | Johnny Green (Score) Charles Strouse (Music) Lee Adams (Lyrics) |
| Cinematography | Joseph Biroc |
| Editing by | Charles Nelson |
| Distributed by | Columbia Pictures |
| Release date(s) | April 4, 1963 |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
Bye Bye Birdie is a 1963 musical comedy film from Columbia Pictures.[1] It is a film adaptation of the stage production of the same name. The screenplay was written by Michael Stewart and Irving Brecher, with music by Charles Strouse and lyrics by Lee Adams.
Directed by George Sidney, the film version starred Dick Van Dyke, reprising his Broadway role as Albert Peterson, along with Maureen Stapleton as Mae Peterson, Janet Leigh as Rosie DeLeon, Paul Lynde reprising his Broadway role as Harry MacAfee, Bobby Rydell as Hugo Peabody, and Ann-Margret as Kim MacAfee.
The story was inspired by the phenomenon of popular singer Elvis Presley and his being drafted into the United States Army in 1957. Jesse Pearson plays the role of teen idol Conrad Birdie, whose character name is a word play on another pop singer of the era, Conway Twitty.[2] Presley himself was the first choice for the role of Birdie, but his manager, Colonel Tom Parker, rejected the idea as he did not want Presley in any roles that were parodies of himself. Ed Sullivan appears as himself, host of the popular, long-running CBS TV variety show.
The film is credited with making Ann-Margret a superstar during the mid-1960s, leading to her appearing with the real Elvis in Viva Las Vegas (1964). Bye Bye Birdie opens with Ann-Margret singing a title song written especially for the movie. The soundtrack was released by RCA Records in 1964.
In 2006, the film was ranked number 38 on Entertainment Weekly's list of the 50 Best High School Movies.[3] Despite the film's box office success, it opened to mixed reviews, with unfavorable comparisons to the Broadway production. Some noted its mediocre production values, rewriting of the script, changes in the musical score, and disappointing choreography in some songs.[4]
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Conrad Birdie (Jesse Pearson), a popular rock and roll star, receives an Army draft notice, devastating his teenage fans across the nation. Albert Peterson (Dick Van Dyke) is an unsuccessful songwriter, the family business, although he has a doctorate in biochemistry. He schemes with his secretary and long-suffering girlfriend Rosie DeLeon (Janet Leigh) to have Birdie sing a song Albert will write, but Birdie's conscription puts a halt to the plan. Rosie, however, convinces Ed Sullivan to have Birdie sing a song Albert will write called "One Last Kiss" on The Ed Sullivan Show, and then kiss a randomly-chosen high school girl goodbye before going off to the Army. Once that is a success, Albert will feel free to marry Rosie, despite his meddlesome mother Mae's (Maureen Stapleton) long history of ensuring nothing will come between her and her beloved son.
Sweet Apple, Ohio, is chosen as the location for Birdie's farewell performance. The random lucky girl chosen is Kim MacAfee (Ann-Margret), who is thrilled. Kim already has a high school sweetheart, Hugo Peabody (Bobby Rydell), who is not so thrilled. The teenagers of Sweet Apple, blissfully unaware of their town's impending fame, are spending the "Telephone Hour" catching up on the latest gossip: Kim and Hugo have just gotten pinned. Kim feels grown up, and declares "How Lovely to be a Woman".
On the day Birdie arrives in town, the teenage girls sing their anthem to him, "We Love You Conrad", but the boys despise him for their girls' love for him ("We Hate You Conrad!"). Sweet Apple becomes a very popular place, but some of the local adults are unhappy with the sudden celebrity, especially after Conrad shows off his hip-thrusting moves while his "Honestly Sincere" causes every female to faint. Under pressure from the town's notable citizens, Mr. McAfee is unwilling to allow his daughter to kiss Conrad on television, but Albert placates him by telling him that their "whole family" will be on Sullivan's TV show ("Hymn for a Sunday Evening"). Albert reveals to Mr. McAfee that he is actually a biochemist who has developed a miracle supplement for domestic animals that will make a hen lay 3 eggs a day; they test it on the family's pet tortoise, which speeds off out the door. McAfee, a fertilizer salesman, sees a great future for himself in partnership with Albert marketing this pill.
Hugo feels threatened by Conrad; Kim reassures him that he is the "One Boy" for her. Rosie, meanwhile, feels like Albert does not appreciate her, so Albert persuades her to "Put on a Happy Face". Albert's mother shows up, distressed to find Albert and Rosie together. Harry (Paul Lynde), Kim's father, is also agitated, not liking the way Conrad is taking over his house. They lament what is wrong with these "Kids" today.
During rehearsal for the broadcast, an impatient Conrad kisses Kim and she faints. Hugo is hurt, so he and Kim break up. Albert is told that, for unknown reasons, the Russian ballet has switched to a different dance that needs extra time, therefore eliminating his song and the farewell kiss to Kim. Their plans for the future could be ruined. Rosie, fed up with Albert and his mother, dances and flirts with a room full of men at a Shriners convention ("Sultans' Ballet"). Albert rescues her from the crazed Shriners. Albert, of course, does request to have the ballet shortened to at least four minutes so there will be enough time for Conrad Birdie to sing his song, but the arrogant Ballet manager, probably unable to understand the importance of the song's inclusion, initially refuses to have it shortened, believing that cutting time would mean "artistic sabotage" to such a classic piece of work.
However, Rosie slips one of Albert's pills into the milk of the orchestra's conductor to speed up the ballet, which not only amuses the audience, but also offends the Russians. There is a last-minute scramble to fill air time, and Birdie does get to appear on the show and sing "One Last Kiss". Hugo interrupts the actual kiss by running onstage and knocking out Birdie on live TV.
Kim and Hugo reunite. Albert is free to marry now ("Rosie") and his mother agrees, revealing that she is now married to a widower she met the previous evening. All the couples (including Mae and her new husband) live happily ever after. Kim, now wiser, bids Conrad a fond goodbye in "Bye Bye Birdie (Reprise)".
Van Dyke and Lynde, both former cast members of the original stage production, resented Ann-Margret having been more prominently spotlighted in the film.
Several significant changes were made in the plot and character relationships in the film from the stage version. The film was rewritten to showcase the talents of rising star Ann-Margret, adding the title song for her and dropping songs by other characters.
The name of the character Rosie Alvarez was changed to Rosie DeLeon. In both versions the character is a positive portrayal of a Latina; however, the song "Spanish Rose", originally performed in the stage musical by Chita Rivera in a comic, exaggerated Hispanic style to irritate Albert's mother, was dropped for this film.
In the film, Albert is not Birdie's agent nor an aspiring English teacher but a talented research chemist. He contributed to Birdie's initial success, and therefore Birdie "owes" him a favor. Albert has not written "One Last Kiss" when Rosie pitches the idea to Sullivan.
The film version of "A Lot Of Livin' To Do" features Pearson, Ann-Margret and Rydell in a colorful song-and-dance number that is staged to suggest that Kim and Hugo are trying to make each other jealous, but there is no suggestion during the number or after it that any under-age drinking or sexual activity is going on.
The song "Baby, Talk to Me" performed by Albert in the stage version is omitted from the film.
The plot structure is altered so that The Ed Sullivan Show broadcast is at the end of the movie; in the stage musical, it is at the closing of the first act. The film version also ends on a brighter note. Hugo prevents the "last kiss" by running out on stage, knocking Birdie out with a single punch on The Ed Sullivan Show. In doing so, he wins Kim's heart, and the young couple is reunited. There is no suggestion that Conrad got tired of show business, or that he suffered anything other than the embarrassment of being knocked out before an audience of millions of viewers. Albert's mother shows up with a man in tow, informs Albert and Rosie that she has married him, and gives Albert and Rosie her blessing for their long-postponed wedding. Albert and Mr. McAfee agree to become partners selling Albert's chemical formulas. The film then ends with Ann-Margret singing a slightly revised version of the title song: "Bye Bye Birdie, the Army's got you now...."
The film was nominated for two Academy Awards.[5]
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