Not for Publication (1984 film)

Last updated
Not for Publication
NotforPublicationdvd.jpg
DVD cover
Directed by Paul Bartel
Written byPaul Bartel
John Meyer
Produced byAnne Kimmel
Starring Nancy Allen
David Naughton
Alan Rosenberg
Alice Ghostley
Cork Hubbert
Laurence Luckinbill
CinematographyGeorge Tirl
Edited byAlan Toomayan
Music byJohn Meyer
Production
company
Distributed by The Samuel Goldwyn Company
Release date
  • November 1, 1984 (1984-11-01)
Running time
87 minutes [1]
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$3 million [2]

Not for Publication is a 1984 screwball comedy film directed by Paul Bartel and starring Nancy Allen, David Naughton, Laurence Luckinbill, Alan Rosenberg, and Alice Ghostley. [3] The film premiered on November 1, 1984 and was also screened at the 1985 Sundance Film Festival, where it was acquired for distribution by Thorn EMI Screen Entertainment. [4]

Contents

Plot

Lois Thornedyke is an ambitious journalist who works for The Informer, a tabloid newspaper in New York City. Though her editor Troppogrosso wants her to focus on "sex, scandal, and sin", Lois longs for the days when the newspaper was called The Enforcer, which was then run by her father and had a more respected image. At The Informer, Lois writer under the pen name "Louise Thorne". She also moonlights as a volunteer for the re-election campaign of Mayor Claude Franklyn. Franklyn, attracted to Lois and unaware of her affiliation with The Informer, recruits her as his personal assistant. Lois hires Barry Denver as a photographer for Franklyn's campaign, though Barry's previous experience was in ornithological photography.

Troppogrosso assigns Lois to investigate a sex club called The Bestiary after he gets a tip that the mayor will be in attendance. Barry and Lois are able to sneak into the club dressed in animal costumes. Though they do not see the mayor, the party is interrupted when a gang of burglars storms the club. Posing as thieves themselves in order to get a scoop, Lois and Barry end up in the thieves' hideaway, where Barry discovers to his dismay that Lois is actually "Louise Thorne" of The Informer, and that he has inadvertently been working for the tabloid the whole time.

It is revealed that Franklyn is actually the boss of the crime syndicate that was involved in the club robbery, and he had hired Troppogrosso to orchestrate the robberies as well as to run the tabloid, which is fifty percent owned by Franklyn. Franklyn admits this to Lois and Barry while they are on a plane en route to a campaign event. Unbeknownst to the mayor, Lois has surreptitiously recorded his confession. In exchange for not releasing the incriminating evidence to the public, Lois makes a deal with the mayor to have the name of The Informer changed back to The Enforcer. Later, the front page of the revamped newspaper announces that the mayor has won re-election and Lois and Barry are engaged.

Cast

Production

Paul Bartel and co-writer John Meyer's script was influenced by 1930s and 1940s screwball comedies. [5] Bartel based the character name "Lois Thorndyke" on heroines from Frank Capra films and the comic book character Lois Lane. [5]

Bartel's success from his previous film, Eating Raoul, enabled him to raise $3 million for this film, ten times the budget of Raoul. $2.5 million of the film's budget came from EMI. [6] Bartel said the increased budget allowed for him to use a camera crane, hire relatively well known actors like Nancy Allen and David Naughton, and to produce a musical number in the film. [2]

Filming began in New York City on October 3, 1983. [5] [7] After a week of filming in New York, the production relocated to Texas where Dallas stood in for New York. Filming concluded on November 22. [5] [8]

Reception

Box office

The film was not a financial success, and Bartel later suggested the lack of bigger name actors was part of the reason for its low box office. [6]

Critical response

TV Guide wrote, "The story is wildly improbable and sometimes hilariously funny. The dialog is inventive and the characters bizarre, and it all smacks of those cult movies that will have a long life in the Saturday night midnight shows around the country." [9] Vincent Canby of The New York Times said, "Like all of Mr. Bartel's films, Notfor Publication has a number of comic conceits that more often prompt knowing smiles than knee-slapping laughter", adding, "You have to work to find it funny, though the rewards are there, especially in the [film's] intensely sincere performances." [10] Canby opined that while the film has "too much plot", it would make for a great "midnight [screening] on a Saturday, after an evening of good food, good drink and whatever else it takes to lower one's resistance to something so cheerfully if intentionally slapdash." [10]

Home media

On June 30, 2020, Not for Publication was released as a restored 4K Blu-ray disc by Kino Lorber. [11] The release includes audio commentary by Allan Arkush, Bartel's fellow filmmaker and friend, and filmmaker and historian Daniel Kremer. [12] [11]

Related Research Articles

<i>Silkwood</i> 1983 film by Mike Nichols

Silkwood is a 1983 American biographical drama film directed by Mike Nichols, and starring Meryl Streep, Kurt Russell, and Cher. The screenplay by Nora Ephron and Alice Arlen was adapted from the book Who Killed Karen Silkwood? by Rolling Stone writer and activist Howard Kohn, which detailed the life of Karen Silkwood, a nuclear whistle-blower and a labor union activist who investigated alleged wrongdoing at the Kerr-McGee plutonium plant where she worked. In real life, her inconclusive death in a car crash gave rise to a 1979 lawsuit, Silkwood v. Kerr-McGee, led by attorney Gerry Spence. The jury rendered its verdict of $10 million in damages to be paid to the Silkwood estate, the largest amount in damages ever awarded for that kind of case at the time. The Silkwood estate eventually settled for $1.3 million.

<i>The Trip to Bountiful</i> 1985 American film by Peter Masterson

The Trip to Bountiful is a 1985 American drama film directed by Peter Masterson and starring Geraldine Page, John Heard, Carlin Glynn, Richard Bradford and Rebecca De Mornay. It was adapted by Horton Foote from his 1953 play of the same name. The film features a soundtrack by J.A.C. Redford featuring Will Thompson's "Softly and Tenderly" sung by Cynthia Clawson. Geraldine Page won the Academy Award for Best Actress for her performance as Mrs. Watts and Horton Foote was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nancy Meyers</span> American filmmaker

Nancy Jane Meyers is an American filmmaker. She has written, produced, and directed many critically and commercially successful films. She was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay for Private Benjamin (1980). Her film Baby Boom (1987) was nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy. She co-wrote Father of the Bride (1991), Father of the Bride Part II (1995), and directed The Parent Trap (1998), What Women Want (2000), Something's Gotta Give (2003), The Holiday (2006), It's Complicated (2009), and The Intern (2015).

Barret Spencer Oliver is an American photographer and a former child actor. He is best known for his role as Bastian Balthazar Bux in the film adaptation of Michael Ende's novel The Neverending Story, followed by roles in D.A.R.Y.L., Cocoon, and Cocoon: The Return.

<i>Superman II</i> 1980 superhero film directed by Richard Lester

Superman II is a 1980 superhero film directed by Richard Lester and written by Mario Puzo and David and Leslie Newman from a story by Puzo based on the DC Comics character Superman. It is the second installment in the Superman film series and a sequel to Superman (1978). A direct continuation of the first Superman, Christopher Reeve reprises his role as Superman. The returning cast includes Gene Hackman, Terence Stamp, Ned Beatty, Sarah Douglas, Margot Kidder, Marc McClure and Jack O'Halloran.

<i>Lust in the Dust</i> 1985 film

Lust in the Dust is a 1985 American Western comedy film directed by Paul Bartel, written by Philip John Taylor, and starring Tab Hunter, Divine, Cesar Romero and Lainie Kazan.

<i>Nothing Sacred</i> (film) 1937 film by William A. Wellman

Nothing Sacred is a 1937 American Technicolor screwball comedy film directed by William A. Wellman, produced by David O. Selznick, and starring Carole Lombard and Fredric March with a supporting cast featuring Charles Winninger and Walter Connolly. Ben Hecht was credited with the screenplay based on the 1937 story "Letter to the Editor" by James H. Street, and an array of additional writers, including Ring Lardner Jr., Budd Schulberg, Dorothy Parker, Sidney Howard, Moss Hart, George S. Kaufman and Robert Carson made uncredited contributions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alice Ghostley</span> American actress (1923–2007)

Alice Margaret Ghostley was an American actress and singer on stage, film and television. She was best known for her roles as bumbling witch Esmeralda (1969–72) on Bewitched, as Cousin Alice (1970–71) on Mayberry R.F.D., and as Bernice Clifton (1986–93) on Designing Women, for which she received an Emmy nomination for Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series in 1992. She was a regular on Nichols (1971–72) and The Julie Andrews Hour (1972–73).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paul Bartel</span> American actor and director (1938–2000)

Paul Bartel was an American actor, writer and director. He was perhaps most known for his 1982 hit black comedy Eating Raoul, which he co-wrote, starred in and directed.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Francesca Woodman</span> American photographer (1958–1981)

Francesca Stern Woodman was an American photographer best known for her black and white pictures featuring either herself or female models.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jennifer Runyon</span> American actress (1960– )

Jennifer Victoria Runyon is an American actress. She made her feature-film debut in the slasher film To All a Goodnight (1980), and went on to have supporting roles in the comedies Up the Creek (1984) and Ghostbusters (1984). She also had a lead role as Gwendolyn Pierce in the 1984 sitcom Charles in Charge during its first season. In 1988, she portrayed Cindy Brady in the television film A Very Brady Christmas.

<i>Fool for Love</i> (1985 film) 1985 American drama film by Robert Altman

Fool for Love is a 1985 American psychological drama film directed by Robert Altman, and starring Sam Shepard, Kim Basinger, Harry Dean Stanton, Randy Quaid, and Martha Crawford. It follows a woman awaiting the arrival of her boyfriend in a derelict motel in the Mojave Desert, where she is confronted by a previous lover who threatens to undermine her efforts. It is based on the 1983 stage play of the same name written by Shepard, who also adapted the screenplay.

<i>Cotton Comes to Harlem</i> 1970 American action film by Ossie Davis

Cotton Comes to Harlem is a 1970 American neo-noir action comedy film co-written and directed by Ossie Davis and starring Godfrey Cambridge, Raymond St. Jacques, and Redd Foxx. The film, later cited as an early example of the blaxploitation genre, is based on Chester Himes' novel of the same title. The opening theme, "Ain't Now But It's Gonna Be," was written by Ossie Davis and performed by Melba Moore. The film was one of the many black films that appeared in the 1970s and became overnight hits. It was followed two years later by the sequel Come Back, Charleston Blue.

<i>The Promise</i> (1979 film) 1979 film by Gilbert Cates

The Promise is a 1979 American romantic drama film released by Universal Pictures which starred Kathleen Quinlan, Stephen Collins, and Beatrice Straight. It was directed by Gilbert Cates and produced by Fred Weintraub and Paul Heller. Weintraub and Heller also wrote the source story, which Garry Michael White dramatized; the resultant film was novelized by Danielle Steel. It was remade in India as the Hindi film Yeh Vaada Raha (1982).

<i>Me, Natalie</i> 1969 film by Fred Coe

Me, Natalie is a 1969 American comedy-drama film directed by Fred Coe about a homely young woman from Brooklyn who moves to Greenwich Village and finds romance with an aspiring painter. The screenplay by A. Martin Zweiback is based on an original story by Stanley Shapiro. Patty Duke, who starred in the title role, won a Golden Globe Award for her performance. The film also starred James Farentino, Salome Jens, Elsa Lanchester, Martin Balsam and Nancy Marchand. It marked Al Pacino's film debut.

<i>Savage Weekend</i> 0000 American film

Savage Weekend is a 1979 American slasher film directed by David Paulsen and starring Christopher Allport, David Gale, William Sanderson, and Caitlin O'Heaney. The film follows a woman who retreats to upstate New York with her wealthy boyfriend, her sister, and friend, only to be stalked by a killer in a disfigured mask.

<i>Little Lord Fauntleroy</i> (1936 film) 1936 film by John Cromwell

Little Lord Fauntleroy is a 1936 American drama film based on the 1886 novel of the same name by Frances Hodgson Burnett. The film stars Freddie Bartholomew, Dolores Costello, and C. Aubrey Smith. The first film produced by David O. Selznick's Selznick International Pictures, it was the studio's most profitable film until Gone with the Wind. The film is directed by John Cromwell.

<i>Youre Sleeping Nicole</i> 2014 film

You're Sleeping Nicole is a 2014 Canadian drama film directed by Stéphane Lafleur. It was selected to be screened as part of the Directors' Fortnight section of the 2014 Cannes Film Festival. The film had a limited release on 22 August 2014, followed by a general Quebec theatrical release on 29 August 2014. It was screened in the Contemporary World Cinema section at the 2014 Toronto International Film Festival.

<i>And Hope to Die</i> 1972 film

And Hope to Die is a 1972 French-Italian-Canadian crime-drama film directed by René Clément and starring Jean-Louis Trintignant, Aldo Ray and Robert Ryan. It is loosely based on the novel Black Friday by David Goodis.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chris Hansen (politician)</span> American politician

Christopher Joshi Hansen is an American politician who serves in the Colorado Senate from the 31st as a member of the Democratic Party since 2020. Prior to his service in the state senate he served in the Colorado House of Representatives from the 6th district from 2017 to 2020.

References

  1. ↑ "Not for Publication (15)". British Board of Film Classification . 1984-05-23. Retrieved 2012-11-05.
  2. 1 2 London, Michael (January 6, 1984). "Film Clips: Paramount Decides to Resist 'Temptation'". Los Angeles Times . p. G1.
  3. ↑ "Not for Publication". AllMovie .
  4. ↑ "Not for Publication". sundance.org .
  5. 1 2 3 4 "Not for Publication". AFI|Catalog. Retrieved December 16, 2022.
  6. 1 2 Thompson, Anne (June 22, 1989). "Not just kid stuff". Chicago Tribune . pp. 13C. Archived from the original on December 16, 2022. Retrieved December 16, 2022.
  7. ↑ Baltake, Joe (October 25, 1983). "'The Big Chill' Gets a Big Hand for Intelligence". Philadelphia Daily News . p. 46.
  8. ↑ Ryan, Desmond (December 11, 1983). "Disney's Production of a Sequel to 'Oz' is Now Uncertain". Philadelphia Inquirer . pp. H3.
  9. ↑ "Not for Publication Reviews". TV Guide. Retrieved August 13, 2021.
  10. 1 2 Canby, Vincent (November 1, 1984). "FILM: "Not for Publication"". The New York Times . Retrieved December 16, 2022.
  11. 1 2 "Not for Publication". Kino Lorber. Retrieved December 16, 2022.
  12. ↑ Tudor, Jim (July 26, 2020). "Not for Publication (1984) - Blu-ray review". Zeke Film. Retrieved December 16, 2020.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.