Three into Two Won't Go
| Three into Two Won't Go | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Peter Hall |
| Written by | Andrea Newman Edna O'Brien |
| Produced by | Julian Blaustein |
| Starring | Rod Steiger Claire Bloom Judy Geeson |
| Cinematography | Walter Lassally |
| Edited by | Alan Osbiston |
| Music by | Francis Lai |
Release date |
|
Running time | 92 minutes |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $1.5 million[1] |
Three into Two Won't Go is a 1969 British drama film directed by Peter Hall, and starring Rod Steiger, Claire Bloom and Judy Geeson. The film was entered into the 19th Berlin International Film Festival.[2]
Plot
Steve and Frances Howard are a middle-aged, married couple unable to have children together. They have discussed adoption but made no decision: the subject is clearly difficult for them. They have purchased a large detached house on a newly-built luxury estate in Middlesex, England, and are starting to furnish and decorate it. Also to attend to the extensive, but empty, garden. She teaches English to GCE A-level students, he is a sales executive in an electrical appliance company, enjoying the regular driving his job entails.
Steve picks up a free-spirited teenage hitchhiker, Ella, and has a brief affair. To his considerable shock and surprise Ella turns up at his home whilst he is away and introduces herself to his wife Frances. After they become acquainted over several bottles of wine, she claims to be pregnant by another man. Calculating and manipulative, when Steve returns and Frances is away Ella threatens to abort the baby, which she reveals is his. He begs her not to, but she refuses. Torn between his faltering love for his wife, his infatuation with Ella, and his unborn child, Steve finally agrees to leave his wife and set up home with Ella to have the baby together. Ella calmly agrees, but specifies he should tell his wife when she (Ella) is not present. Frances clearly suspects a secret relationship; her situation is further complicated by visits to her elderly mother, an emotionally repressed women who reveals the philandering nature of Frances' father, her husband. And how she endured their lifetime of marriage, and his habit of bringing lady 'friends' to their home, by shutting her mind to it. Frances discloses somebody her husband met, a young girl, is now staying with them. Resignedly, her mother tells her, 'You'll learn to live with it...'.
Steve meets Francis to tell her of his decision, but before he can she - knowing what he is about to say, and telling him not to - says she wants to adopt Ella's unborn baby. A sudden opportunity for Steve to save his marriage and have a child; likewise for Frances. But he rejects the offer and says he is leaving to live with Ella. 'You bloody fool' she says, softly, as she walks away and leaves him. The situation further demonstrates the loveless nature of the couple's marriage.
Cast
- Rod Steiger as Steve Howard
- Claire Bloom as Frances Howard
- Judy Geeson as Ella Patterson
- Peggy Ashcroft as Belle
- Paul Rogers as Jack Roberts
- Lynn Farleigh as Janet
- Elizabeth Spriggs as Marcia
- Sheila Allen as Beth
- Diana Webster
Reception
Box Office
The film was the 19th most popular film at the UK box office in 1969.[3]
US version
In 1970 a version of the film screened on NBC in the US. Hall, O'Brien and Newman demanded their names be taken off the film alleging 20 minutes of new footage had been shot and added.[4]
References
- ^ Alexander Walker, Hollywood, England, Stein and Day, 1974 p345
- ^ "IMDB.com: Awards for Three into Two Won't Go". imdb.com. Retrieved 7 March 2010.
- ^ "The World's Top Twenty Films." Sunday Times [London, England] 27 Sept. 1970: 27. The Sunday Times Digital Archive. accessed 5 Apr. 2014
- ^ British Film Bowdlerized: Creators Demand Credits Removed By Alfred Frierdly. The Washington Post, Times Herald (1959-1973) [Washington, D.C] 28 Oct 1970: B1.
External links
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