Husband-Hunting Trios

Hollywood certainly never had a problem with recycling. It was accomplished most effectively with a trio of young women (often roommates) in search of husbands. The stories were all pretty trite and pointless but the actresses were almost always quite fetching and once in awhile the locations (usually European) made the film look more like an exciting travelogue with pretty hostesses. 20th Century Fox made a fortune with this well-worn plot.  Here are a dozen of them:

Good 70s Films: The Last of Sheila

1973 Murder Mystery
From Warner Bros
Directed by Herbert Ross

Starring
Richard Benjamin
Dyan Cannon
James Coburn
Joan Hackett
James Mason
Ian McShane
Raquel Welch

Good 70s Films: The Champ

1979 Drama
From MGM
Directed by Franco Zeffirelli

Starring
Jon Voight
Faye Dunaway
Ricky Schroder
Jack Warden
Arthur Hill
Joan Blondell
Strother Martin
Elisha Cook Jr.

Judith Anderson

She never worked that much in the movies, certainly not as much as some of her contemporaries and one wonders why. And let's get it out there and you can mull it over as we chat... Judith Anderson was a magnificent actress. She was highly-trained, a masterful stage actress, a vigorous interpreter of the classics and could have out-acted most of those contemporaries whom she merely supported in films. Was she identified as too much of a stage actress to even be offered much of a career in films? Was she too formidable for some? Did her playing Mrs. Danvers stall a future career? Was it her looks?  Her closeted lesbianism? What exactly?

Good 70s Films: Breaking Away

1979 Comedy Drama
From 20th Century Fox
Directed by Peter Yates

Starring
Dennis Christopher
Dennis Quaid
Jackie Earle Haley
Daniel Stern
Barbara Barrie
Paul Dooley
Robin Douglass
Hart Bochner

The Directors: Mike Nichols

The movies were fortunate to have had Mike Nichols want to come aboard as a director.  He had established himself as part of a sharp-edged comedy team and would ultimately be one of the most awarded directors on Broadway.  But you know what? He thought he had something to offer to the movies and as it turned out, he was so right. With just his first and second films, he gave Hollywood a face-lift.  Some would say it was needed, some would offer it wasn't.  He is a director whose films I made sure I saw (with one exception) and I was almost always rewarded with a great time.

Ingrid

She's one of those for whom we don't need a last name.  We know of whom we're speaking.  It seems more reasonable that I would have done a posting on her when I did my tribute to the 1940s since that was her most acclaimed decade but for one reason or another it didn't work out.  On the other hand it's not totally a head-scratcher to bring her up as part of our salute to the 1970s since she was not only still working but won her third Oscar in that decade. So let's see what we can say about Ingrid Bergman.

Good 70s Films: Network

1976 Drama
From MGM
Directed by Sidney Lumet

Starring
Faye Dunaway
William Holden
Peter Finch
Robert Duvall
Beatrice Straight
Ned Beatty
Wesley Addy
William Prince