Penelope is bored, and feels neglected by her banker husband (Ian Bannen), so she decides to rob his bank. Wouldn't you? Okay, maybe you wouldn't, but then you're not Natalie Wood. Penelope is a kooky girl - a kleptomaniac who has been pilfering things since college. She sees a therapist about it (Dick Shawn) and eventually decides to make a clean breast of it and confess. The problem is nobody believes her!
While not brilliant, this light comedy is lots of fun for a number of reasons. The cast features some great character actors - Peter Falk, Lou Jacobi, Jonathan Winters, Arlene Golonka - and the delivery is bright and quick. Penelope wears some gorgeous clothes and looks glamorous throughout - even when she forgets her shoes, which she does often. Edith Head did the wardrobe for the film and they even produced a short about the fashions narrated by Ms. Head. Look for it occasionally on TCM.
Penelope isn't available on DVD yet, but you can watch it in full on YouTube. It was uploaded by stephsayss. The poster above, with the suggestive money bags is available at MoviePosterShop.com.
Obscurity factor 8 (not on DVD, available on YouTube, largely forgotten, occasionally aired on TCM)
I saw this about ten years ago. Yes, it is not great but it had its moments. I read in a biography of Natalie that there were people who advised her not to do this movie. Her career is interesting, because although it lasted for decades, the period where she was in a lot of big, hit movies was relatively brief. There was a hot streak that started with "Splendor in the Grass" or "West Side Story" (I cannot recall offhand which opened first) and lasted for about four years. Then she had four flops in a row, including "Penelope." She then took three years off, and returned with a major hit, "Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice," and then nothing of any real note after that. "Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice" is rather obscure nowadays. It has not lived on like some other movies of the same era, like "M*A*S*H" or "Midnight Cowboy."
ReplyDeleteA revision to my previous posting: She was in three flops in a row, not four. Those others were "This Property is Condemned" and "Inside Daisy Clover." "The Great Race" was a big hit, but she did not enjoy making it. She said something about feeling lost among all the chases and pie fights.
ReplyDeleteYes, she did have a strange career. Many people loved her though. "Bob and Carol and Ted and Alice" is one of those Paul Mazursky movies that is so much a piece of its time. It's probably his most famous film - certainly of his early work - and was his first.
ReplyDeleteDaisy Clover is good - although it flopped. It has a Hollywood atmosphere all of its own (shared by They Shoot Horses Don't They, in a similar vein). But Anonymous is so right: so many turkeys, with Meteor and Sex and the Single Girl at the absolute turkey top!
ReplyDeleteYes, I agree. I wish Sex and the Single Girl was better. The cast is so good...
ReplyDelete"Sex and the Single Girl" is truly horrendous. I remember reading in an Audrey Hepburn biography that her marriage to Mel Ferrer could not have been helped by the fact that while she was filming "My Fair Lady" he was on the other side of the lot filming "Sex and the Single Girl."
ReplyDeleteI agree that "Inside Daisy Clover" is good. I meant flop in terms of box office, not quality. I should have been more specific!
Anonymous, if you wish, I am Oliver Hazan on Facebook (the middle aged American one, not the British student: We are friends, which leads to exchanges between Oliver Hazan and Oliver Hazan. Very Sibyl).
ReplyDeleteI have a fantastic (yet little visited) Chinese movie page too.
http://www.nextjourney.org/Dianying/dianying.html
Thanks, Oliver! I will check it out.
ReplyDeleteSynchronicity! This is on TV here tonight in Australia.
ReplyDeleteHow funny!
ReplyDeleteI think Sex and the Single Girl had a clever humour about it. Natalie was the best for Helen Gurley Brown.
ReplyDeleteYes, she was a good choice for that role. I wish the script had been a little better though.
ReplyDeleteHer "West Side Story" role (together with "Splendor") made her an icon for a generation, which she never lost. No matter how bad the movie - we loved her.
ReplyDeleteNow, even though I cherish her in the childhood roles the most (I love seeing her in "Miracle on 23rd Street" and "The Ghost and Mrs. Muir" - I can't think of a more charming child actor) I do fondly recall the sight of her running around in those bikini undies in "Penelope" when I was still pretty young - quite a thrill.
I find it a blithe comedy. It's empty calories, but delightful, nonetheless...
ReplyDeletenatalie was great in miracle on 34th street, the ghost and mrs. muir, rebel without a cause, splendor in the grass, love with the proper stranger and bob and carol and ted and alice. in other words she made the transition from child to teen to adult roles. she is outstanding in inside daisy clover. although this property is condemned failed with critics and at the box office, her performance is astonishing.
ReplyDeleteYes, she's a wonderful actress and had a really nice range...
ReplyDelete