One of Marsha Mason's Best
I remember watching this movie when it first came to the theater and thinking that the actors were exactly as I had envisioned them while I was reading the book. Great movie. Marsha Mason is a delight and deservedly got the Oscar nomination. James Caan is perfect as the put-upon sailor whose records have been misplaced causing him to be land-locked. Mason is wonderful as a hooker who is perpetually down-on-her-luck. This movie should be on DVD. I'll add it to my collection.
Love, with an Edge.
The uncertainty of life in the early 70's is on display in this movie and James Caan and Marsha Mason handle the tough assigment with outstanding performances. This is not a formula romantic comedy by any stretch of the imagination and thank goodness for that.
Caan stars as John Baggs Jr, a Navy man, who finds the freedom of life on the seas very much to his liking. That is, until he meets Marsha Mason's character Maggie (possibly named after Stephen Crane's charater Maggie: A Girl of the Streets) a troubled single mother and barfly. The two meet naturally enough in a bar, end up at Maggie's place for what both accept will be a one night stand, but turns into a real relationship soon afterwards. It's at this point when the movie really excels and allows the two stars to work their craft. Many issues are tackled and the director pulls no punches in illustrating life at the bottom of the socio-economic level.
This movie is a must see for anyone interested in seeing...
Realistic Navy Story
I enlisted in the Navy at age 17 in February, 1945 and became a "lifer," staying for over 20 years. This movie was made in the 70's but depicts much of what it was like when I was in. As I watched it I was reminded of the time I spent in the old Brooklyn receiving station waiting for transportation to a new ship, and the liberties in Brooklyn, New York in the early fifties.
I don't recall ever seeing a "bar girl" that looked like Marsha Mason but I have seen hundreds of them, not only on New York, but in seaport bars around the world, and miss Mason played the part as though she had lived it, with all the pathos and exuberance one would see in those sad and lonely women. She deserved her nomination and should have won.
James Caan could have been me or any number of sailors who found a home in the Navy and loved the life at sea. He was a Bos'n Mate First Class, the senior right arm rate when I entered the Navy, one that was all Navy and much admired by by the rest...
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