Bye Bye Birdie
Theatrical release poster
Directed byGeorge Sidney
Screenplay byIrving Brecher
Based onBye Bye Birdie
by Michael Stewart
Produced byFred Kohlmar
Starring
CinematographyJoseph Biroc
Edited byCharles Nelson
Music by
Production
company
The Kohlmar-Sidney Company
Distributed byColumbia Pictures
Release dates
  • April 4, 1963 (1963-04-04)
(Radio City Music Hall, New York City)[1][2]
Running time
112 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$5 million[3]
Box office$13.1 million

Bye Bye Birdie is a 1963 American musical romantic comedy film directed by George Sidney from a screenplay by Irving Brecher, based on Michael Stewart's book of the 1960 musical of the same name. It also features songs by composer Charles Strouse and lyricist Lee Adams, and a score by Johnny Green. Produced by Fred Kohlmar, the film stars Janet Leigh, Dick Van Dyke, Ann-Margret, Maureen Stapleton, Bobby Rydell, Jesse Pearson, and Ed Sullivan. Van Dyke and featured player Paul Lynde reprised their roles from the original Broadway production.

The story was inspired by Elvis Presley 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 country singer Conway Twitty, who was, at that time, a teen idol pop artist.[4]

The film was Van Dyke's feature film debut and helped make Ann-Margret a superstar during the mid-1960s. Her performance earned a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actress and her next role was with Presley in Viva Las Vegas.

In 2006, the film was ranked number 38 on Entertainment Weekly's list of the 50 Best High School Movies.[5]

Plot

In 1962, popular rock and roll superstar Conrad Birdie receives an Army draft notice, devastating his teenage fans nationwide. Despite his doctorate in biochemistry, unsuccessful songwriter Albert Peterson schemes with his secretary and long-suffering girlfriend Rosie DeLeon to have Conrad sing a song Albert will write. Rosie convinces Ed Sullivan to have Conrad perform Albert's song "One Last Kiss" on The Ed Sullivan Show and then kiss a randomly chosen high school girl goodbye before joining the Army. After this succeeds, Albert will feel free to marry Rosie, despite his widowed, meddlesome mother Mae's long history of interfering with her son's life.

Columbus, Ohio, is chosen as the location for Conrad's farewell performance. The random lucky girl chosen, Kim MacAfee, is thrilled, unlike her high school sweetheart, Hugo Peabody. The teenagers of nearby Sweet Apple, blissfully unaware of their town's impending fame, are spending the "Telephone Hour" discussing the latest gossip: Kim and Hugo have just gotten pinned (a tradition where a boy gives a girl his fraternity pin, indicating a serious commitment to each other)[6] and Kim feels grown up ("How Lovely to Be a Woman").

Upon Conrad's arrival, the teenage girls sing their anthem, "We Love You Conrad", while the boys express their dislike of him ("We Hate You Conrad!"). Sweet Apple becomes very popular, but some local adults are unhappy with the sudden celebrity, especially after Conrad's song "Honestly Sincere" and his hip-thrusting moves cause every woman, including the mayor's wife, to faint.

Pressured by the town's leading citizens, Kim's father Harry declines to allow her to kiss Conrad on television, until Albert placates him by promising that his "whole family" will be on Sullivan's TV show ("Hymn for a Sunday Evening"). Albert reveals to Harry that he is actually a biochemist who has developed a miracle supplement for domestic animals that will make a hen lay three eggs a day; they test it on the family's pet tortoise, which speeds out the door. Harry, a fertilizer salesman, sees a great future for himself marketing this pill with Albert.

Hugo feels threatened by Conrad, but Kim reassures him that he is the "One Boy" for her. Rosie, meanwhile, feels unappreciated by Albert, who persuades her to "Put on a Happy Face". Albert's mother Mae shows up, distressed to find the pair together; Harry is also agitated about Conrad's monopoly of his house and Kim's behavioral changes. Both lament the problems with "Kids" today.

During rehearsal for the broadcast, an impatient Conrad kisses Kim (who swoons). Hugo is hurt and Kim breaks up with him. Later that night, at the local malt shop, Conrad, Kim, Hugo, and many of their friends assert that they have "A Lot of Livin' to Do". Meanwhile, after being informed the Russian Ballet has switched to a different dance requiring extra time, therefore eliminating Conrad's song and farewell kiss to Kim, Albert unsuccessfully attempts to convince the Ballet's manager to shorten its performance. Afterwards, he dejectedly decides to drown his sorrows at Maude's Madcap Café, a local bar.

Surprisingly, he finds Mae there, playing canasta with the owner Mr. Maude, also a widower. Rosie, fed up with Albert and his mother, also goes to the café for "a night to remember". After ordering three drinks (but only gulping down one), Rosie goes into another room where the Shriners convention is taking place. She starts dancing and flirting with the men ("Sultans' Ballet"), but when the scene becomes too wild, Albert rescues her from the crazed Shriners.

The next day, Rosie formulates how to get back Conrad's spot on The Ed Sullivan Show that evening. She slips one of Albert's pills into the orchestra conductor's milk, which speeds up the ballet, amusing the audience, offending the Russians and placing Conrad back on the show to sing "One Last Kiss". However, just as Conrad is about to kiss Kim, Hugo runs onstage and punches Conrad, knocking him out on the live telecast, which shocks Albert and Rosie.

Kim and Hugo reunite. Albert is free to marry now ("Rosie") and his mother agrees, revealing her own marriage to Mr. Maude. All three couples live happily ever after. Kim, now wiser, bids Conrad a fond goodbye in "Bye Bye Birdie (Reprise)".

Cast

In addition, in uncredited cameo appearances as themselves, are two CBS personalities: former ABC News anchor turned CBS game show host John Daly, doing a live news report from in front of the United States Capitol; and The Ed Sullivan Show orchestra leader Ray Bloch, reprising that role.

Musical numbers

  1. "Bye Bye Birdie" – Kim
  2. "The Telephone Hour" – Ursula and Sweet Apple Kids
  3. "How Lovely to Be a Woman" – Kim
  4. "We Love/Hate You Conrad" - Kim, Ursula, Hugo and Sweet Apple Kids
  5. "Honestly Sincere" – Conrad
  6. "Hymn for a Sunday Evening" – Harry, Doris, Kim and Randolph
  7. "One Boy" – Kim, Hugo and Rosie
  8. "Put on a Happy Face" – Albert and Rosie
  9. "Kids" – Harry, Mae, Albert and Randolph
  10. "One Last Kiss (Gym Rehearsal)" – Conrad
  11. "A Lot of Livin' to Do" – Conrad, Kim, Hugo and Sweet Apple Kids
  12. "Shriner's Ballet" – Rosie (non-vocal dance number)
  13. "One Last Kiss" – Conrad
  14. "Rosie" – Albert, Rosie, Kim and Hugo
  15. "Bye Bye Birdie (Reprise)" – Kim

Differences from stage musical

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 certain other characters.

  • The name of the character Rosie Alvarez was changed to Rosie DeLeon, and the song "Spanish Rose" was dropped for this film.
  • In the film, Albert is neither 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.
  • In the film, Lou, of "Almaelou", is Mae's deceased husband. In the musical, he was Al and Mae's dog.
  • The film version of "A Lot of Livin' to Do" features Pearson, Ann-Margret and Rydell in a colorful song-and-dance number staged to show Kim and Hugo trying to make each other jealous.
  • The songs "An English Teacher", "Baby, Talk to Me", "What Did I Ever See in Him", and "Normal American Boy" were omitted from the film, as was the "100 Ways to Kill a Man" ballet.
  • The plot structure is altered so 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 ends on a brighter note:
    • Hugo prevents the "last kiss" by running out on stage and knocking Birdie out with a single punch on live television. In doing so, he wins Kim's heart, and the young couple is reunited.
    • There is no arrest of Conrad for statutory rape, forcing him to flee in disguise.
    • In the Broadway musical, Albert's mother is portrayed as a recalcitrant racist and abandoned by her son. In the film, Albert's mother shows up with a man (Mr. Maude) in tow, informs Albert and Rosie that she has married him, and gives Albert and Rosie her blessing for their long-postponed wedding.
    • In the film, Albert and Mr. McAfee agree to become partners selling Albert's chemical formulas.
    • The film ends with Ann-Margret singing a slightly revised version of the title song: "Bye Bye Birdie, the Army's got you now...."

Production

According to Ann-Margret, she was cast when director George Sidney saw her dancing while on a date at the Sands Casino on New Year's Eve 1961.[7]

Sidney was so smitten with the rising new star that Janet Leigh was "very upset that all the close-ups were going to Ann-Margret", as Leigh herself was the lead star of the film.[8]

Sidney says originally he was only going to produce and Gower Champion would direct, but Champion told Sidney he could not see it as a film, so Sidney stepped in. "That was a great deal of fun," said Sidney. "It was a young people's picture, with a lot of bright, gay noisy cast members yelling and screaming."[9]

Ann-Margret was paid $3,500 a week and earned $85,000 in all.[10]

Reception

Bye Bye Birdie grossed $233,825 in its opening week at Radio City Music Hall in New York, a house record at that time.[11] It was the 8th highest-grossing film of 1963, grossing $13.1 million domestically,[12] of which distributor Columbia Pictures received $6.2 million in rentals.[13]

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 86% of 29 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 6.7/10. The website's consensus reads: "A poppy satire on pop music, Bye Bye Birdie is silly, light, and very, very pink."[14] According to Filmink Ann-Margret "stole the show".[15] Wanda Hale of the New York Daily News gave the comedy a full four-star rating and said it "bubbles over with the vitality of youth and the fun of farce as it creates a teenage furor over a hip-twisting, leering rock 'n' roll male singer."[2] Philip K. Scheuer of the Los Angeles Times said it "should repeat the success It scored on the stage and is in the smash class with 'West Side Story' and 'The Music Man.'"[16] A user of the Mae Tinee pseudonym in the Chicago Tribune said "the music is pleasant, the dances are spritely, and it's all amiable, light entertainment."[17] Ken Barnard of the Detroit Free Press stated that it "offers an attractive and tuneful means of saying bye, bye to the summer doldrums for a couple of hours."[18] Margo Miller of The Boston Globe called the film "fantasy as Hollywood can best serve up, slick and funny."[19] Harold Whitehead of the Montreal Gazette said it was "a quite handsome film with not too many drawbacks" but noted that Ann-Margret "is much too frenetic for our taste. When she calms down a little, she will probably be really something for the musical screen."[20] Michael P. Feiner of the Montreal Star called it "a gay musical—sometimes farcical, sometimes mildly satirical, sometimes merely entertaining, but most of the time fun to watch."[21] A critic for the Buffalo Evening News called it a "hilarious song-and-dance show" that "exaggerates youth's exuberance and carries its infectious exhilaration to the audience."[22]

The film received generally mixed-to-positive reviews in the state of Ohio itself. Brainard Platt of the Dayton Journal-Herald said it was "an excellent follow-up to the hit stage play of the same name" and a "real fun show for the whole family".[23] E.B. Radcliffe of The Cincinnati Enquirer said the film "should be on your list of planned holiday fun" and called it a "good farce".[24] Dale Stevens of The Cincinnati Post criticized the film for lacking the satirical edge of the musical, but said "this is unquestionably among the smash films of the year" and "should be the teenage sensation of the century".[25]

A more mixed review of the film was offered by David Cobb of the Toronto Daily Star, who liked Ann-Margret's and Leigh's performances, its humor and the musical numbers; as for everything else, he said "it is professionally, smoothly accomplished [but not] very engaging or dramatically interesting".[26] Richard Roud of The Guardian said, "I wonder if anyone will remember any scenes from Bye Bye Birdie (Odeon, Marble Arch) in 20 years. I doubt it. Birdie is no On the Town, no Singing in the Rain, no Funny Face. But in a year as barren of American musicals as 1963 (and 1962 for that matter) it looks pretty good [...] and it makes quite a pleasant evening out."[27] Bosley Crowther of The New York Times praised several of the musical numbers but wrote that "unfortunately, Mr. Sidney and his scriptwriter, Irving Brecher, have allowed the essence of this spirited musical comedy of Michael Stewart to get away from them. Not only do they lose Conrad Birdie in the mazes of their rearranged plot, but they lose the essential idea of satire and the pace and sparkle of the show."[1] Les Wedman of the Vancouver Sun was more negative in his remarks, saying that the musical "as served up In the movie version, is a bit of a turkey, well-dressed but flavored with chestnuts and overdone to the point where it fell apart to reveal a pretty flimsy skeleton."[28] Dickson Terry of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch said it "starts out to be a hilarious satire on the Elvis-type rock and roll singers and their swooning teen-age audiences but somewhere along the way it loses its bearings and turns into just another musical."[29] Stanley Eichelbaum of the San Francisco Examiner wrote that "producer Fred Kohlmar has clumsily transformed 'Bye Bye Birdie' from a clever musical satire on American teenagers into a comic-strip movie for adolescents. It's true that certain vestiges of the stage work's devastating humor and vitality have crept Into the film at the Fox Warfield and Mission Drive-In. But on the whole, director George Sidney and screenwriter Irving Brecher have bludgeoned the original into semiconsciousness. Happily, no one tried too hard to spoil the bouncy score by Charles Strouse and Lee Adams. The musical numbers are the best part of the film and Onna White's choreography, which brightens most of the songs, is fresh and attractively original. And since the cast is generally young and eager—with Ann-Margret doing a surprisingly competent job as a nimble Ohio 15-year-old—the movie isn't exactly a total loss. But what it misses most is Gower Champion's sleek, galvanic direction, which kept the stage musical moving like a fine Swiss watch."[30]

Accolades

Award Category Nominee(s) Result
Academy Awards[31] Best Scoring of Music – Adaptation or Treatment Johnny Green Nominated
Best Sound Charles Rice Nominated
Golden Globe Awards[32] Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy Nominated
Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy Ann-Margret Nominated
Laurel Awards Top Comedy 4th Place
Top Musical Nominated
Top Female Comedy Performance Ann-Margret Nominated

In addition, the film was given a Royal Charity Premiere when released in the U.K. on 7 November 1963, at the Odeon Marble Arch, in the presence of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh.

  • In 1964, The Carefrees made a novelty record with a song called "We Love You Beatles" based on the song "We Love You Conrad" from Bye Bye Birdie. Released on the London International label #10614, the song peaked at No. 39 on the Billboard Hot 100. At the base of the Plaza Hotel in New York City, where the Beatles were staying for their first appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show, scores of Beatles fans sang the song out so their voices would reach the band in their rooms up above.
  • In an episode of the television series Mad Men (Season 3, Episode 2), the opening sequence of Bye Bye Birdie is shown (twice), and later Peggy Olson sings the tune to herself in front of a mirror in an attempt to emulate Ann-Margret's appeal as somebody who can "be 25 and act 14", although Ann-Margret was, in fact, 21 at the time of filming, playing 16. Later, in Episode 4, Salvatore Romano directs a knock-off parody of the sequence for a commercial for Pepsi's new diet drink, Patio.[33]
  • "One Last Kiss" was featured on an actual episode of The Ed Sullivan Show from January 1967, featuring Gary Lewis & the Playboys. It was one of Lewis' last performances before going into the U.S. Army, so Sullivan chose a girl from the audience to come up to the stage. Lewis sang "One Last Kiss" to her and received that "one last kiss".
  • In Bye Bye Boyfriend, a Two of a Kind book, the White Oak Academy puts on a school play based on Bye Bye Birdie. Ed Sullivan is mentioned many times, and Mary-Kate wins the part of Kim, even though she auditioned for Rosie. In the book, the characters and the soundtrack of the movie, as well as some of its songs, are mentioned.
  • In "Wild Barts Can't Be Broken", an episode of the TV series The Simpsons, the kids, adults and seniors of Springfield perform a musical parody of the song "Kids" from Bye Bye Birdie.[34]
  • In the popular television series Friends (Season 1, Episode 18), during a charade-like game Monica draws a pictorial representation of the film Bye Bye Birdie for the remainder of the group to identify; however, nobody can.
  • The 1995 Oasis album (What's the Story) Morning Glory? derives its title from a line in the song "The Telephone Hour", with the album's title being referenced in the band's single "Morning Glory".
  • The animated show Home Movies references this play (along with Grease) in the episode "Bye Bye Greasy" in which the characters put on a play with similar themes.
  • Family Guy references two of the show's signature songs: "The Telephone Hour" (in reference to Peter being diagnosed as mentally disabled in the Season 4 episode "Petarded") and "Honestly Sincere" (performed by Seth MacFarlane, voicing President Barack Obama in the Season 9 episode "New Kidney in Town").
  • Sonic Boom, a television series, parodied the song "The Telephone Hour" in the Season 2 episode "Mister Eggman". The parody song consisted of the villagers (including Sonic the Hedgehog and friends) spreading the word that Doctor Eggman never truly earned his doctorate. The song also made reference to the fact that it itself was a parody, breaking the fourth wall.
  • "Kids" was the musical number at the end of "The Punch and Judy Affair" (Season 7, episode 8 of Are You Being Served?).
  • "Alot of Livin' To Do" is sung in the film Year of the Comet.

See also

References

  1. 1 2 Crowther, Bosley (April 5, 1963). "The Screen: 'Bye Bye Birdie' Arrives at Radio City Music Hall; George Sidney Directs Version of Comedy 'Glory of Easter' Show Presented on Stage". The New York Times. New York City, New York. Retrieved October 25, 2023.
  2. 1 2 Hale, Wanda (April 5, 1963). "Easter Comes Early To The Music Hall". New York Daily News. New York City, New York: News Syndicate Co., Inc. p. 73.
  3. ↑ "Columbia Pictures' Volume Indefinite". Variety. May 23, 1962. p. 6.
  4. ↑ Conway Twitty website biography Archived 2007-06-30 at the Wayback Machine
  5. ↑ AMC Filmsite - 50 Best High School Movies Archived 2008-12-29 at the Wayback Machine, filmsite.org; accessed October 18, 2016.
  6. ↑ Conklin, John E. (2008). Campus Life in the Movies: A Critical Survey from the Silent Era to the Present. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company. p. 102. ISBN 9780786452354. Archived from the original on March 28, 2017.
  7. ↑ King, Susan (April 25, 2011). "Hello, 'Birdie'". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on May 30, 2013. Retrieved January 26, 2013.
  8. ↑ Reynolds, Debbie (2013). Unsinkable: A Memoir. HarperCollins. p. 216. ISBN 978-0-06-221365-5.
  9. ↑ Davis, Ronald L. (2005). Just making movies. University Press of Mississippi. p. 79. ISBN 9781578066902.
  10. ↑ Meet Ann-Margret: Hard Work, Ambition Propel a Young Actress To the Top in Hollywood By DAVID H. KELSEY Wall Street Journal 7 Apr 1964: 1.
  11. ↑ "Alltime Music Hall, N.Y. Records". Variety. April 24, 1963. p. 4.
  12. ↑ "Bye Bye Birdie". The Numbers. Nash Information Services, LLC. Retrieved January 29, 2023.
  13. ↑ "Top 20 Films of 1963 by Domestic Revenue". boxofficereport.com. 2006. Archived from the original on July 26, 2008. Retrieved January 29, 2023.
  14. ↑ "Bye Bye Birdie". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved January 29, 2023.
  15. ↑ Vagg, Stephen (September 6, 2021). "Surviving Cold Streaks: Ann-Margret". Filmink. Retrieved March 9, 2023.
  16. ↑ Scheuer, Philip K. (April 5, 1963). "'Ugly American', 'Birdie' Reviewed". Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles, California: Times-Mirror Company. pp. 18, Part V.
  17. ↑ Tinee, Mae (June 24, 1963). "Stage Play is Bubbly in Film, Too". Chicago Tribune. Chicago, Illinois: Tribune Company. pp. 10, Section 2. Retrieved October 25, 2023.
  18. ↑ Barnard, Ken (July 11, 1963). "'Birdie' Has a Happy Face". Detroit Free-Press. pp. 6-C. Retrieved October 25, 2023.
  19. ↑ Miller, Margo (June 27, 1963). "'Bye, Bye, Birdie': Fast, Fresh, Funny". The Boston Globe. Boston, Massachusetts. p. 13. Retrieved October 25, 2023.
  20. ↑ Whitehead, Harold (June 29, 1963). "French Picture Leads". The Gazette. Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Retrieved October 25, 2023.
  21. ↑ Feiner, Michael P. (June 29, 1963). "Wacky Musical Satire". Montreal Star. Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Retrieved October 25, 2023.
  22. ↑ "At the Century, 'Birdie' Says Bye Bye to the Blues". Buffalo Evening News. Buffalo, New York. July 13, 1963. Retrieved October 26, 2023.
  23. ↑ Platt, Brainard (July 13, 1963). "'Bye Bye Birdie' a Delightful Film". The Journal-Herald. Dayton, Ohio. Retrieved October 26, 2023.
  24. ↑ Radcliffe, E.B. (July 1, 1963). "A Swingin' Movie". The Cincinnati Enquirer. Retrieved October 26, 2023.
  25. ↑ Stevens, Dale (June 29, 1963). "'Bye Bye Birdie' Opens at Keith's". The Cincinnati Post. Retrieved October 26, 2023.
  26. ↑ Cobb, David (June 29, 1963). "David Cobb Reviews the New Movies". Toronto Star. Retrieved October 25, 2023.
  27. ↑ Roud, Richard (November 8, 1963). "Films in London". The Guardian. London, England, United Kingdom. Retrieved October 25, 2023.
  28. ↑ Wedman, Les (August 2, 1963). "At the Movies". Vancouver Sun. Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Retrieved October 25, 2023.
  29. ↑ Terry, Dickson (July 12, 1963). "The New Films". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. St. Louis, Missouri. Retrieved October 25, 2023.
  30. ↑ Eichelbaum, Stanley (July 4, 1963). "'Bye Bye Birdie' a Tepid Movie". San Francisco Examiner. San Francisco, California. p. 12. Retrieved October 25, 2023.
  31. ↑ "The 36th Academy Awards (1964) Nominees and Winners". oscars.org. Archived from the original on November 2, 2017. Retrieved August 23, 2011.
  32. ↑ "Bye Bye Birdie – Golden Globes". HFPA. Retrieved June 3, 2021.
  33. ↑ "Birdie's the Word: Mad Men's Pop Culture References". The Millions. September 11, 2009. Archived from the original on October 7, 2011. Retrieved September 25, 2011.
  34. ↑ Doyle, Larry (2007). The Simpsons: The Complete Tenth Season; DVD commentary for the episode "Wild Barts Can't Be Broken" (DVD). 20th Century Fox.

Further reading

  • Monder, Eric (1994). George Sidney:a Bio-Bibliography. Greenwood Press. ISBN 9780313284571.
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