Among the major critics, Pauline Kael, who disliked Friedkin, was alone in finding absolutely nothing redeeming about it. Variety said it "drags" but thought it had "perverse interest." Time described it as a "humane, moving picture." The Los Angeles Times praised it as "unquestionably a milestone" but refused to run its ads. Ĭontemporary critical reaction was, for the most part, cautiously favorable. The film has a 89% approval rating on the review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, based on 19 reviews with an average rating of 7.2/10. Songs featured in the film include " Anything Goes" performed by Harpers Bizarre during the opening credits, " Good Lovin' Ain't Easy to Come By" by Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell, "Funky Broadway" by Wilson Pickett, " (Love Is Like A) Heat Wave" by Martha and the Vandellas, and an instrumental version of Burt Bacharach's " The Look of Love".
The actual apartment interior would not allow for filming, given its size and other technical factors, so a replica of Grimes' apartment was built on the Chelsea Studios sound stage, and that is where the interior scenes were filmed. (Grimes was a personal friend of Mart Crowley.) Most of the patio scenes were filmed at Grimes' home. According to commentary by Friedkin on the 2008 DVD release, Michael's apartment was inspired by the real-life Upper East Side apartment of actress Tammy Grimes. Studio shots were at the Chelsea Studios in New York City. The bar scene in the opening was filmed at Julius in Greenwich Village. However, Friedkin cut the scene during editing, feeling it was over-sensationalistic however, he later admitted regretting that decision. The actors who played them were reluctant to perform this on film, but eventually they did. He shot a scene that was offstage in the play where Hank and Larry kiss passionately. įriedkin rehearsed for two weeks with the cast. They decided on William Friedkin, who had just made a film of The Birthday Party by Harold Pinter that impressed them.
Ĭrowley and Dunne originally wanted the play's director, Robert Moore, to direct the film but Gordon Stulberg, head of Cinema Center, was reluctant to entrust the job to someone who had never made a movie before.
Crowley was paid $250,000 plus a percentage of the profits for the film rights in addition to this, he received a fee for writing the script.
Mart Crowley and Dominick Dunne set up the film version of the play with Cinema Center Films, owned by CBS Television. Elaine Kaufman ( uncredited) as extra/pedestrian.Maud Adams ( uncredited) as photo model.When he pulls himself together, it appears his life will remain very much the same. As the party ends and the guests depart, Michael collapses and sobs into Donald's arms. Michael's plan to out Alan with the game appears to backfire when Alan calls his wife, not his male college friend, whom Michael had presumed to be Alan's lover. Michael believes Alan is a closeted homosexual. Hank and Larry attempt to call each other via two phone lines in Michael's apartment. Emory calls a dentist on whom he had had a crush while in high school. Bernard reluctantly attempts to call the son of his mother's employer, with whom he had had a sexual encounter as a teenager. With each call, past scars and present anxieties are revealed. Michael begins a telephone game with the objective for each guest to call the one person he truly believes he has loved. As the guests become more and more intoxicated, hidden resentments begin to surface. In the middle of the scuffle, Michael impulsively begins drinking again. During the ensuing chaos, Harold finally makes his grand appearance. "Cowboy," a hustler and Emory's "gift" to Harold, arrives. However, Alan arrives unexpectedly, throwing the gathering into turmoil. Alan calls again to inform Michael that he will not be coming after all, and the party continues in a festive manner. Bernard is an amiable black bookstore clerk.
Hank, a soon-to-be-divorced schoolteacher, and Larry, a fashion photographer, are a couple but struggling with monogamy. Emory is a stereotypical flamboyant interior designer. Michael reluctantly agrees and invites him to come over. Alan, Michael's (presumably straight) former college roommate, calls with an urgent need to see Michael. Another friend, Donald, a self-described underachiever who has moved from the city, arrives and helps Michael prepare. Michael, a Roman Catholic, recovering alcoholic and sporadically-employed writer, is preparing to host a birthday party for one of his friends, Harold. The film is set in an Upper East Side apartment in Manhattan in 1968.