Funny Girl is a musical film based on the stage musical of the same name. The semi-biographical plot is based on the life and career of Broadway and film star and comedienne Fanny Brice and her stormy relationship with entrepreneur and gambler Nicky Arnstein. Its original title was My Man. The screen adaptation, directed by William Wyler, paired Barbra Streisand (reprising her Broadway role) with Omar Sharif as Arnstein. Kay Medford also repeated her stage role as Fanny's mother and Walter Pidgeon was cast as Flo Ziegfeld.

The film was a commercial and critical success, gaining Streisand an Academy Award for Best Actress. It became the top grossing film of 1968, receiving seven Oscar nominations.

Plot

The plot follows that of the stage musical. It is set in and around New York City just prior to and following World War I. The story opens with Ziegfeld Follies star Fanny Brice, awaiting the return of husband Nick Arnstein from prison, and then moves into an extended flashback of their story which is the bulk of the film.

The film is divided into two acts. In the first act Fanny is shown as a stage-struck teen who gets her first job in vaudeville. She meets the suave Arnstein after her debut performance. They continue to meet occasionally over the years, becoming more romantically involved as Fanny's career flourishes and she becomes a star. Arnstein eventually seduces Fanny in Baltimore as they duet on the song "You Are Woman, I Am Man." The first act concludes with Fanny deciding to give up her place in the Follies and follow her man. She brushes aside objections from her friends, and in a dramatic rendition of "Don't Rain on My Parade," she is seen racing to catch Nick's ship before he can sail out of her life.

The second act opens with Fanny revealing to Arnstein that she'd like to become a "Sadie" — her name for a married lady. Arnstein, however, needs to make his fortune from a poker game before he'll agree to marry her. Fanny cannot take the tension of the game and goes back to their cabin. Arnstein returns in the morning, calling her Sadie before revealing all the money he has won. They marry, move into an expensive house and have a baby girl. Fanny goes back on stage with Ziegfeld and life appears very rosy. However, Nick's business ventures fail and they must move into a smaller apartment. He refuses financial help from Fanny, instead getting involved in a bonds scam that goes bad. He is imprisoned for embezzlement.

The film returns to Fanny in the theatre, awaiting Arnstein's return from more than a year behind bars. When he arrives, they agree to separate. Fanny sings the closing song "My Man" with tears running down her face.

Development

Development began when Isobel Lennart was asked by Ray Stark in the early 1960s to write the screenplay, and then Jule Styne and Stephen Sondheim were hired to write the songs. A treatment of Lennart's script was used by David Merrick as the basis for the stage musical which went out on Broadway while the film was still in development. Jerome Robbins was brought on board to direct, and Mary Martin was approached for the part of Fanny. Sondheim dropped out to be replaced as lyricist by Bob Merrill, while Carol Haney joined as choreographer. Anne Bancroft was Robbins' preferred choice for Fanny, but Bancroft wasn't happy with the songs, so Eydie Gormé and Carol Burnett were considered. Robbins was unhappy with the script development and wanted Lennart fired. When Stark refused to fire Lennart, Robbins resigned, to be replaced by Bob Fosse.

Fosse chose Barbra Streisand for the stage role, which she would repeat in her first movie. Streisand had popularized the hit single "People" from the Broadway score which rose to #5 on the Billboard pop chart in 1964. Streisand said she would play the part "as herself" because she felt that she and Brice were "very much alike". Fosse left the film project to be briefly replaced by Garson Kanin after Sidney Lumet turned it down, before William Wyler came on board and saw the project through to completion.

Filming started in August 1967 and finished in December. It went on general release on 19 September 1968.

Cast

The film paired Barbra Streisand as Fanny Brice with Omar Sharif in the role of Nick Arnstein. Kay Medford repeated her stage role as Rose Brice, and Walter Pidgeon was cast as Flo Ziegfeld, with Anne Francis in the added role of showgirl Georgia James, although most of her performance was left on the cutting room floor. The role of Mrs. Strakosh played by Jean Stapleton on stage went to Mae Questel. Gerald Mohr played Tom Branca, while Frank Faylen was Keeney.

Songs

Not all the songs from the original Broadway score were used. The most notable addition was "My Man," a Fanny Brice tune used as the film's finale.

1. "Overture"
2. "I'm the Greatest Star" - Fanny
3. "If a Girl Isn't Pretty" - Fanny, Mrs. Strakosh, and Rose
4. "Rollerskate Rag" - Fanny and the Rollerskate Girls
5. "I'd Rather Be Blue Over You (Than Happy With Somebody Else)" - Fanny
6. "Secondhand Rose" - Fanny
7. "His Love Makes Me Beautiful" - Fanny and Company
8. "People" - Fanny
9. "People (Reprise)" - Fanny
10. "You Are Woman, I Am Man" - Nick and Fanny
11. "Don't Rain on My Parade" - Fanny
12. "Sadie, Sadie" - Fanny and Nick
13. "The Swan" - Fanny
14. "Funny Girl" - Fanny
15. "My Man" - Fanny
16. "Finale"

Reception

Streisand won the Academy Award for Best Actress, an honor she shared with Katharine Hepburn for The Lion in Winter. The film was nominated in the categories of Best Picture, Best Actress in a Supporting Role (Kay Medford), Best Cinematography, Best Film Editing, Best Music, Score of a Musical Picture , Best Original Song ("Funny Girl"), and Best Sound.

Streisand received a Golden Globe as Best Actress; nominations also went to the film, the title song, and Wyler. Lennart's screenplay won her recognition from the Writers Guild of America.

A 1975 sequel, entitled Funny Lady, with James Caan in the role of Brice's second husband, impresario Billy Rose, was considered inferior by most critics, but was still a commercial success.

American Film Institute recognition

• 2002 AFI's 100 Years... 100 Passions: #41
• 2004 AFI's 100 Years... 100 Songs:
  • "People" #13
  • "Don't Rain on My Parade" #46
• 2005 AFI's 100 Years... 100 Movie Quotes:
  • "Hello, gorgeous." #81
• 2006 AFI's 100 Years of Musicals: #16

The movie was referenced in the well-known Doonesbury serial comic, in the August 03, 1999 episode.

Box Office

The film was a huge hit in theaters, and became the top grossing film of 1968. On a budget of $14,100,000 the film grossed $58,500,000 in the US alone, with rentals of $26,000,000 and a total gross of $84,500,000.

With increases in inflation the gross today would be $498 million. In today's market this is classed as a Blockbuster.

References

External links

Funny Girl (film)