The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds (film)
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Original Poster
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| Directed by | Paul Newman |
| Produced by | Paul Newman |
| Screenplay by | Alvin Sargent |
| Based on | The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds by Paul Zindel |
| Starring |
Joanne Woodward Nell Potts Roberta Wallach Judith Lowry David Spielberg Richard Venture Carolyn Coates Will Hare Estelle Owens Jess Osuna Ellen Dano |
| Music by | Maurice Jarre |
| Cinematography | Adam Holender |
| Edited by | Evan A. Lottman |
| Distributed by | 20th Century Fox |
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Release date
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Running time
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101 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds is a 1972 American drama film produced and directed by Paul Newman. The screenplay by Alvin Sargent is based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning play of the same title by Paul Zindel. Newman cast his wife, Joanne Woodward, and one of their daughters, Nell Potts, in two of the lead roles. Roberta Wallach, daughter of Eli Wallach, played the third lead.
Middle-aged widow Beatrice Hunsdorfer (Joanne Woodward) and her daughters Ruth (Roberta Wallach) and Matilda (Nell Potts) are struggling to survive in a society they barely understand. Beatrice dreams of opening an elegant tea room but does not have the wherewithal to achieve her lofty goal. Epileptic Ruth is a rebellious adolescent, while shy but highly intelligent and idealistic Matilda seeks solace in her pets and school projects, including one which gives the film its title.
Matilda's science experiment is designed to show how small amounts of radium affect marigolds; some die, but others transform into strange but beautiful mutations completely unlike the original plants. Similarly, Matilda has managed to muddle through a grim existence in a dilapidated, debris-ridden house in a lower middle class neighborhood, learning to deal with her embarrassing mother while managing to avoid becoming anything like her, a future for which her sister seems fated.
Although the story was set in Staten Island, New York, director Newman said that he chose to shoot the film in Bridgeport, Connecticut because it was only 17 minutes from his home in Westport.
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Wikipedia