A wonderful movie, 1972's The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds stars Joanne Woodward as Mrs. Beatrice Hunsdorfer, an unhappy widowed woman who struggles to cope with daily life while raising two teenage daughters. Paul Newman's directing is superb and given two thumbs up. I first saw this film at my grandparents' home back in the early '90s, and loved it right away. There are a number of things going wrong for Mrs. Hunsdorfer: her husband died in the Korean War and she's left with the responsibility of raising her girls while living in a messy house, she has no job and stays home reading the ads in the local newspaper. She then takes in an elderly lady, known as "Nanny" (Judith Lowry) to get some income. Nanny's presence in the movie is wonderful, though she doesn't speak. Her daughters have issues of their own as well: Matilda (or Tillie) is growing marigolds that were dipped in radioactivity for a science project, and Ruth is wanting to spend time with her boyfriend (and has seizures). Little by little, Mrs. Hunsdorfer's life is going downhill. She ends up drinking and bitching to Tillie about seeing too much rabbit feces in the house, and a number of other things. She also dreams of opening a business--a small café downtown--but is told by her brother-in-law that she can't handle it. This is mostly a drama, but for me, it is also a comedy as well. It really saddens me that this movie is still not out on DVD. I strongly hope that it gets released sometime soon. To the producers of this film: PLEASE get this flick out on DVD soon!!! A++ for the story and acting and Paul Mewman's directing.
A look at the dysfunctional life of Mrs. Hunsdorfer and her daughters..
29 September 2008
Warning: Spoilers