In the realm of romantic tear jerkers few can hold a candle to this forgotten gem. Sandy Dennis plays the tragic Sara, a quirky, bohemian girl who helps men get over the problems that limit their abilities to function in some aspect of life by inviting them to live with her for a month. The only stipulation is that when the month is up they have to leave. Charlie Blake (Anthony Newley) is chosen as Mr. November because he's forsaken personal intimacy for business acumen. He, like others before him, finds himself falling in love with Sara. The difference is, this time, she's falling in love too. Will she decide to break her rule and let Mr. November stay on? I'm tearing up just thinking about it...
This film started life as a play, but Universal Studios convinced Herman Raucher to adapt it to a screen play before it ever reached the stage. It's a bittersweet story that you'll need a box of Kleenex to get through. The fine performances by the principals flesh out the characters and the warm screen play and simple direction by Robert Ellis Miller really says something about the opportunity for personal change inherent in relationships. The trailer is below, uploaded to YouTube by Charlizetheronitalia
The film was remade in 2001 with Keanu Reeves and Charlize Theron and while much fresher in the public consciousness, it too is somewhat obscure, probably because of poor critical response. The trailer for it below was uploaded to YouTube by chr0n0phasia.
Both versions are available on DVD (thanks to a 2009 print on demand release of the 1968 version). The '68 version is also occasionally aired on TV. I haven't seen the 2001 version yet and haven't seen it in television listings.
Obscurity factor: 6 (largely forgotten, occasionally aired on TV, recently available on DVD)
When it comes to solipsistic, self indulgent feature films, few can match the intensity of this one. Released with an X rating, it was written, scored, directed by and starred Anthony Newley and deals with a musical star who is approaching middle age and trying to drown that fact in cheap tawdry affairs. He spends a lot of time in the nude. That being said, there is some fabulous stuff in this film if you're a lover of camp. I haven't been able to get a hold of the whole film. I do, however, have the sound track album, which I found with a stash of similar albums at a thrift shop years ago, and some of the music is delightfully silly. Take for example the video below (uploaded to YouTube by myfirstlovesong). It's the dance number Chalk and Cheese sung by Newley's wife at the time, Joan Collins (playing Polyester Poontang). The concept is a zodiac wheel that comes to life and some of the costumes are outrageous. This film was really savaged by critics when it was released. Vincent Canby of the New York Times went so far as to call it "as a self indulgent as a burp." But, as I said, it's value now lies in its camp qualities and as a cultural time capsule of the free wheeling 60's.
This film isn't available on DVD (no surprise there) but has survived in pieces on YouTube (no full upload yet). It was buried long ago and has been forgotten but if you find a digital version of it out there, let me know. I'd love to see the whole thing.
Obscurity Factor: 10 (no DVD, not available in full anywhere)
