Every once in a while a movie diamond comes out from the rough. I sought out Paul Newman's 'lesser known' movies. The couple I had seen whilst good were not anything spectacular, but I then stumbled across The Prize. Whilst not expecting anything too entertaining, I was, to my delight, proved wrong. It was magnificent. One of Newman's top performances.
Despite the negativity of the cinema critics, The Prize was box office gold for MGM studios, and the movie-going public made it one of the most popular tickets during Christmas of 1963.
The opening scenes of the movie are quite clever. We are introduced to the winners of the Nobel prizes and the viewer is given an introduction to the main supporting cast. We meet the joint winners for Chemistry Dr Claude Marceau (Gerard Oury) and his wife Dr Denise Marceau (Micheline Presline). Claude and Denise are married, yet Claude shares his physical needs with his accompanying "secretary" (Jacqueline Beer). The prize for Medicine is shared by Dr John Garrett (Kevin McCarthy) who is convinced fellow winner Dr Carlo Ferrelli (Sergio Fantoni) stole his research. The Prize for Physics has been won by American physicist, Dr Max Stratman (Edward G Robinson) who has been joined by his niece, Emily Stratman (Diane Baker). One Nobel winner is missing American novelist, Andrew Craig (Paul Newman), who has won the prize for Literature.
Andrew's fondest for alcohol, womanising and his general cynicism for the Nobel Prize, prompt the Swedish Foreign Ministry to allocate him a chaperone for his stay the beautiful Inger Lisa Anderson (Elke Sommer in her first American film appearance). We meet the novelist flirting with a flight attendant arriving into Stockholm late because of a rendezvous with a young woman. Andrew is introduced to Dr Max Stratman whilst checking into the hotel. Both men agree to meet the next day for a drink, with Dr Stratman determined to give the young author some advice in accepting the Noble Prize humbly. As Andrew spends the night indulging in alcohol and the flashing his charm at every young woman in Stockholm, Dr Stratman is being abducted and an impostor put in his place to accept Stratman's Nobel Prize.
At the Nobel Prize press conference the next morning, Andrew lets the world in on a little secret he has been suffering writer's block for the last five years and as a consequence has been earning money by writing detective stories. It is Andrew's 'nose' for detecting mysterious occurrences to make him realise that something is not quite right with 'Dr Stratman' he doesn't seem to recall meeting Andrew from the night before ..
As Andrew becomes caught up in trying to unravel the sinister plot to smuggle the real Dr Stratman behind the Iron Curtain, attempts are made to kill him. Naturally when he reports the situation, no one believes him, because Andrew's reputation for being an alcoholic trouble maker has indeed preceded him. He is therefore warned to stop creating problems. To make matters more complicated, Andrew and Lisa fall under each other's spell and they start a romance, and Lisa realises that Andrew is indeed telling the truth about Dr Stratman's abduction. Together they must save Dr Stratman and the Nobel ceremony, as well as trying to prevent an international incident at the same time.
It is now up to both Andrew and Lisa to save the real Max Stratman from being smuggled behind the Iron Curtain and preventing the impostor Stratman from receiving the Noble Prize and publicly denouncing his loyalties to America.
As Andrew ends up in one comedic situation after another, the other supporting actors come in to play. They are absolutely fantastic, providing for a hilarious and witty journey for all involved.
The screenplay was written by Ernest Lehman the screenwriter for Hitchcock's North by Northwest. This is where the unfair and biased comparisons start to play upon the viewer's judgement of the film. Whilst North by Northwest is a traditional Hitchcock thriller/mystery, The Prize is a delightful comedy. A word of warning for fans of North By Northwest; The Prize is not meant to be taken as a serious spy thriller. It simply invites the viewer to enjoy the frivolities and comic situations of a group of people who could not be more different.
After playing such intense and character roles such as Eddie Felson and Brick Pollitt previously, Newman was able to completely relax and enjoy playing a comedic role. He is absolutely delightful as the flirtatious and handsome young novelist. Elke Sommer is gorgeous as Andrew's chaperone and eventual romantic interest. It is wonderful to see how skilfully she helps her character develop from treating Andrew with icy distain, to falling in love with him. Micheline Praline and Diane Baker are beautiful as Denise Marceau and Emily Stratman. Both are fine actresses.
To those who admire Paul Newman's work, I urge you all to see this movie. Despite the kudos he receives for his dramatic roles, this is one of his top line movies. It is often disregarded, and to my mind, unfairly. It is absolutely wonderful and I loved it. To those who simply like a bit of a laugh and some wonderful actors hamming it up, it is the perfect way to spend a quiet Saturday Night relaxing. If you enjoy it, spread the word. They certainly don't make them like this anymore.
Despite the negativity of the cinema critics, The Prize was box office gold for MGM studios, and the movie-going public made it one of the most popular tickets during Christmas of 1963.
The opening scenes of the movie are quite clever. We are introduced to the winners of the Nobel prizes and the viewer is given an introduction to the main supporting cast. We meet the joint winners for Chemistry Dr Claude Marceau (Gerard Oury) and his wife Dr Denise Marceau (Micheline Presline). Claude and Denise are married, yet Claude shares his physical needs with his accompanying "secretary" (Jacqueline Beer). The prize for Medicine is shared by Dr John Garrett (Kevin McCarthy) who is convinced fellow winner Dr Carlo Ferrelli (Sergio Fantoni) stole his research. The Prize for Physics has been won by American physicist, Dr Max Stratman (Edward G Robinson) who has been joined by his niece, Emily Stratman (Diane Baker). One Nobel winner is missing American novelist, Andrew Craig (Paul Newman), who has won the prize for Literature.
Andrew's fondest for alcohol, womanising and his general cynicism for the Nobel Prize, prompt the Swedish Foreign Ministry to allocate him a chaperone for his stay the beautiful Inger Lisa Anderson (Elke Sommer in her first American film appearance). We meet the novelist flirting with a flight attendant arriving into Stockholm late because of a rendezvous with a young woman. Andrew is introduced to Dr Max Stratman whilst checking into the hotel. Both men agree to meet the next day for a drink, with Dr Stratman determined to give the young author some advice in accepting the Noble Prize humbly. As Andrew spends the night indulging in alcohol and the flashing his charm at every young woman in Stockholm, Dr Stratman is being abducted and an impostor put in his place to accept Stratman's Nobel Prize.
At the Nobel Prize press conference the next morning, Andrew lets the world in on a little secret he has been suffering writer's block for the last five years and as a consequence has been earning money by writing detective stories. It is Andrew's 'nose' for detecting mysterious occurrences to make him realise that something is not quite right with 'Dr Stratman' he doesn't seem to recall meeting Andrew from the night before ..
As Andrew becomes caught up in trying to unravel the sinister plot to smuggle the real Dr Stratman behind the Iron Curtain, attempts are made to kill him. Naturally when he reports the situation, no one believes him, because Andrew's reputation for being an alcoholic trouble maker has indeed preceded him. He is therefore warned to stop creating problems. To make matters more complicated, Andrew and Lisa fall under each other's spell and they start a romance, and Lisa realises that Andrew is indeed telling the truth about Dr Stratman's abduction. Together they must save Dr Stratman and the Nobel ceremony, as well as trying to prevent an international incident at the same time.
It is now up to both Andrew and Lisa to save the real Max Stratman from being smuggled behind the Iron Curtain and preventing the impostor Stratman from receiving the Noble Prize and publicly denouncing his loyalties to America.
As Andrew ends up in one comedic situation after another, the other supporting actors come in to play. They are absolutely fantastic, providing for a hilarious and witty journey for all involved.
The screenplay was written by Ernest Lehman the screenwriter for Hitchcock's North by Northwest. This is where the unfair and biased comparisons start to play upon the viewer's judgement of the film. Whilst North by Northwest is a traditional Hitchcock thriller/mystery, The Prize is a delightful comedy. A word of warning for fans of North By Northwest; The Prize is not meant to be taken as a serious spy thriller. It simply invites the viewer to enjoy the frivolities and comic situations of a group of people who could not be more different.
After playing such intense and character roles such as Eddie Felson and Brick Pollitt previously, Newman was able to completely relax and enjoy playing a comedic role. He is absolutely delightful as the flirtatious and handsome young novelist. Elke Sommer is gorgeous as Andrew's chaperone and eventual romantic interest. It is wonderful to see how skilfully she helps her character develop from treating Andrew with icy distain, to falling in love with him. Micheline Praline and Diane Baker are beautiful as Denise Marceau and Emily Stratman. Both are fine actresses.
To those who admire Paul Newman's work, I urge you all to see this movie. Despite the kudos he receives for his dramatic roles, this is one of his top line movies. It is often disregarded, and to my mind, unfairly. It is absolutely wonderful and I loved it. To those who simply like a bit of a laugh and some wonderful actors hamming it up, it is the perfect way to spend a quiet Saturday Night relaxing. If you enjoy it, spread the word. They certainly don't make them like this anymore.