The Marriage of a Young Stockbroker

The Marriage of a Young Stockbroker
File:The Marriage Of A Young Stockboker.jpg Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Lawrence Turman
Produced by	Lawrence Turman
Written by	Lorenzo Semple Jr Charles Webb
Starring	Richard Benjamin Joanna Shimkus Elizabeth Ashley Adam West Patricia Barry
Music by	Fred Karlin
Cinematography	László Kovács
Edited by	Fredric Steinkamp
Distributed by	20th Century Fox
Release dates	August 19, 1971
Running time	95 mins
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$2,230,000 or $1.5 million

The Marriage of a Young Stockbroker is an American romantic comedy-drama film released in 1971, based on a novel by Charles Webb. It was directed and produced by Lawrence Turman, whose credits most notably include producing 1967's high-grossing hit The Graduate, which also was adapted from a book by Webb.

It stars Richard Benjamin in the title role and Joanna Shimkus as his beleaguered wife, with Adam West, Elizabeth Ashley, Patricia Barry, and Tiffany Bolling in supporting roles.

Synopsis

The story mainly deals with the crumbling marriage of William Alren (Richard Benjamin) and his wife Lisa (Joanna Shimkus), and how William uses voyeurism and extra-marital affairs to "spice up" his marriage. William gives up his career as a stockbroker, and takes up voyeurism full-time.

After putting up with her husband's various dalliances, Lisa is advised by her outspoken sister Nan (Elizabeth Ashley) to get a divorce. Nan's own marriage to Chester (Adam West) is in no better shape than Lisa's and equally on the rocks. The film ends with William and Lisa reunited, but not before Lisa finally gets "revenge" on her husband.

Critical reception

Critic Leonard Maltin felt that while the film was a "humorous and sad depiction of marital breakdown," the cast was let down by a script that "seems uncertain as to what point it wants to drive across" (Maltin, 1991: 769). Steven Scheuer concurred somewhat, saying that while the film was "occasionally amusing" it also tended to be "generally heavy-handed" (Scheuer, 1990: 672).

Roger Greenspun generally found the picture to be miscast, especially Richard Benjamin, feeling that while he is "a good comedian [he is] miscast [in this role]" (Greenspun, 1971). He also thought it closer to an "unsuccessful television pilot" than a movie, in terms of its treatment of themes such as "sexual mechanics, the mechanics of marital supremacy, [and] the nuclear family as a machine for getting on in the suburbs" (Greenspun, 1971). Leslie Halliwell called it a "sardonic adult comedy of the battle of the sexes" (Halliwell, 2000: 522).

See also

• List of American films of 1971

References

• Greenspun, Roger (1971) The Marriage of a Young Stockbroker The New York Times, August 20, 1971. (accessed 6 April 2008). [1]
• Halliwell, Leslie (2000) Walker, John (ed.) Halliwell's Film & Video Guide 2001, HarperCollinsEntertainment, London.
• Maltin, Leonard (1991) Leonard Maltin's Movie and Video Guide 1992, Signet, New York.
• Scheuer, Steven H. (1990) Movies on TV and Videocassette, Bamtam Books, New York.

External links

• The Marriage of a Young Stockbroker at IMDb