One of Francis Ford Coppola's very first full-length feature films, a coming of age comedy about lonely, virginal, nebbish young Bernard (Peter Kastner) who works in the library (on roller skates!) and has only one thing on his mind: girls! And not just any library, it's the New York Public Library. In fact, the city itself is one of the film's co-stars: lots of scenes in and around the streets of NYC and Central Park. Bernard's dad (Rip Torn) is also his boss in the library, always looking down on him and calling him "big boy". He has a buddy who teaches him about girls, smoking, and getting high. One day he sees a beautiful actress (Elizabeth Hartman) sitting on the "Alice" sculpture in Central Park, only to see her again and again in the days to come. Lonely, he paces the streets of New York and runs into his co-worker (Karen Black) who secretly has a crush on him. She finds him in a private peep show just as he gets his tie stuck in the machine. They walk the streets together and we're treated to scenes of NYC nightlife and movie picture marquee lights: some theaters showing a double feature of "Shenandoah" and "Father Goose", another showing "The Russians are coming, the Russians are coming".
The hand-held camera work and quick-edits is done in a style that was not uncommon for its time. Coppola was able to recruit numerous other well-known stars for this film in other supporting roles: Michael Dunn (
Ship of Fools) as Elizabeth Hartman's fellow bohemian in the theater scene, Geraldine Page as Bernard's overprotective, manipulative, pushy, controlling mother, legendary Julie Harris as Bernard's landlady, and Dolph Sweet ("Gimmie a Break!") as the landlady's handyman. Bernard rebels at the end, throwing a fit in the library in front his parents which leads to a madcap, screwball-esque chase through the NY Library and the streets, ending up in a department store.
Additional info: Songs are by the Loving Spoonfools. Page was nominated for Best Supporting Actress. This was one of just a handful of motion pictures that Canadian-actor
Peter Kastner appeared in. He retired from acting for many years, and died in November of 2008. It was rumored that he was being considered for the lead in the "Graduate". He'd be a good choice; you gotta see this film. It's like a "60's" time capsule.
One of Francis Ford Coppola's very first full-length feature films, a coming of age comedy about lonely, virginal, nebbish young Bernard (Peter Kastner) who works in the library (on roller skates!) and has only one thing on his mind: girls! And not just any library, it's the New York Public Library. In fact, the city itself is one of the film's co-stars: lots of scenes in and around the streets of NYC and Central Park. Bernard's dad (Rip Torn) is also his boss in the library, always looking down on him and calling him "big boy". He has a buddy who teaches him about girls, smoking, and getting high. One day he sees a beautiful actress (Elizabeth Hartman) sitting on the "Alice" sculpture in Central Park, only to see her again and again in the days to come. Lonely, he paces the streets of New York and runs into his co-worker (Karen Black) who secretly has a crush on him. She finds him in a private peep show just as he gets his tie stuck in the machine. They walk the streets together and we're treated to scenes of NYC nightlife and movie picture marquee lights: some theaters showing a double feature of "Shenandoah" and "Father Goose", another showing "The Russians are coming, the Russians are coming". 