There have been two screen versions of Eugene O'Neill's best known comedy, his most accessible play and one that did not leave its audience depressed after 4 hours of sitting through it. In fact, the play itself as presented here just falls short of two hours, and includes enough light slice of life comedy and the drama of growing pains that it's quite easy to get through, even in its videotaped format. The role of the 17-year-old Richard Miller is played by a much older actor, Richard Backus, who was in his early thirties when he played this character. Backus is quite a good actor, and I could definitely believe him as being a college age, but getting ready to graduate from high school, definitely not. I've seen him on stage (as Mordred in "Camelot") and on various soap operas (most memorably his Emmy nominated role on "Ryan's Hope"), and did my best to accept him as this character. As was the case with the classic movie versions (which included the musical "Summer Holiday"), the parents were played by older actors as well, with Geraldine Fitzgerald excellent as the firm but loving mother, and William Swetland as his strict but perplexed father.
The musical version of this on Broadway, "Take Me Along", obviously expanded the role of the fun-loving, alcoholic Uncle Sid, played here by John Braden, and by Jackie Gleason in the musical. Wallace Beery and Frank Morgan essayed the role on screen, so that character was obviously bigger than life. But here, he's quite underplayed, basically shamed for interrupting family dinners while drunk and breaking the heart of Fitzgerald's spinster sister who has loved him but refuses to marry him. She's played by Joyce Ebert who is the heart and soul of the family, in a role played by Aline MacMahon and Agnes Moorehead onscreen and Eileen Herlie and standby Ruth Warrick on Broadway. The story here for their characters is left unresolved, which reflects life as Eugene O'Neill often wrote.
Smaller roles are beautifully filled by a fabulous supporting cast, and Linda Hunt as the family maid is a delight to watch, finding joy even in setting the table. Swoosie Kurtz plays the bad girl floozy who even while trying to corrupt Backus shows a great soul in even the most hardened of characters. The fact that when she is spoken of after her big scene in derogatory terms is an accurate depiction of the time, even though the audience gets to see who she really is which is the point O'Neill was trying to make about women in that profession. A great production design of various sets shows the care that the Long Wharf Theater took in recreating O'Neill's work, and that makes this production a perfect choice to be archived.
The musical version of this on Broadway, "Take Me Along", obviously expanded the role of the fun-loving, alcoholic Uncle Sid, played here by John Braden, and by Jackie Gleason in the musical. Wallace Beery and Frank Morgan essayed the role on screen, so that character was obviously bigger than life. But here, he's quite underplayed, basically shamed for interrupting family dinners while drunk and breaking the heart of Fitzgerald's spinster sister who has loved him but refuses to marry him. She's played by Joyce Ebert who is the heart and soul of the family, in a role played by Aline MacMahon and Agnes Moorehead onscreen and Eileen Herlie and standby Ruth Warrick on Broadway. The story here for their characters is left unresolved, which reflects life as Eugene O'Neill often wrote.
Smaller roles are beautifully filled by a fabulous supporting cast, and Linda Hunt as the family maid is a delight to watch, finding joy even in setting the table. Swoosie Kurtz plays the bad girl floozy who even while trying to corrupt Backus shows a great soul in even the most hardened of characters. The fact that when she is spoken of after her big scene in derogatory terms is an accurate depiction of the time, even though the audience gets to see who she really is which is the point O'Neill was trying to make about women in that profession. A great production design of various sets shows the care that the Long Wharf Theater took in recreating O'Neill's work, and that makes this production a perfect choice to be archived.
