How Do I Love Thee? (1970)
GP | 98 mins | Comedy | 1 October 1970
Director:
Michael GordonWriters:
Everett Freeman, Karl TunbergProducers:
Everett Freeman, Robert EndersCinematographer:
Russell MettyEditors:
Ronald Sinclair, Jerry Irvin, Steve CuiffoProduction Designer:
Walter M. SimondsProduction Companies:
Freeman--Enders Productions, ABC Pictures Corp.Working titles included How Do I Love You? and Let Me Count the Ways, after Peter de Vries’s 1965 novel upon which the film was based.
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer initially backed How Do I Love Thee? as part of a three-picture deal with writer-producer Everett Freeman, according to an 18 May 1967 DV brief. Several months later, the 15 Aug 1967 DV noted that Jackie Gleason and Angela Lansbury were being sought for two of four leading roles. Gleason’s official casting was announced over a year later in the 28 Jan 1969 LAT, which stated that Maureen O’Hara would star opposite him. Rosemary Forsyth’s casting was noted in the 10 Feb 1969 LAT. Forsyth reportedly wanted her then boyfriend, David Janssen, to be included in the cast, and Everett Freeman was attempting to add a role for him.
Three weeks of filming in Miami, FL, had initially been planned, to be followed by seven weeks at MGM’s studio lot in Los Angeles, CA, the 3 Dec 1967 NYT stated. Miami was chosen as the location since Gleason’s variety show, The Jackie Gleason Show (CBS, 20 Sep 1952—12 Sep 1970), was already shooting there. An item in the 18 Mar 1968 DV indicated the actor would be working sixteen-hour days, between the two projects.
Principal photography did not begin until the following year. In the meantime, ABC Pictures Corp. took over the project from MGM, with Cinerama Releasing Corp. set as distributor. A production chart in the 6 Jun 1969 DV cited a 2 Jun 1969 start date ...
Working titles included How Do I Love You? and Let Me Count the Ways, after Peter de Vries’s 1965 novel upon which the film was based.
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer initially backed How Do I Love Thee? as part of a three-picture deal with writer-producer Everett Freeman, according to an 18 May 1967 DV brief. Several months later, the 15 Aug 1967 DV noted that Jackie Gleason and Angela Lansbury were being sought for two of four leading roles. Gleason’s official casting was announced over a year later in the 28 Jan 1969 LAT, which stated that Maureen O’Hara would star opposite him. Rosemary Forsyth’s casting was noted in the 10 Feb 1969 LAT. Forsyth reportedly wanted her then boyfriend, David Janssen, to be included in the cast, and Everett Freeman was attempting to add a role for him.
Three weeks of filming in Miami, FL, had initially been planned, to be followed by seven weeks at MGM’s studio lot in Los Angeles, CA, the 3 Dec 1967 NYT stated. Miami was chosen as the location since Gleason’s variety show, The Jackie Gleason Show (CBS, 20 Sep 1952—12 Sep 1970), was already shooting there. An item in the 18 Mar 1968 DV indicated the actor would be working sixteen-hour days, between the two projects.
Principal photography did not begin until the following year. In the meantime, ABC Pictures Corp. took over the project from MGM, with Cinerama Releasing Corp. set as distributor. A production chart in the 6 Jun 1969 DV cited a 2 Jun 1969 start date in Miami, where two months of filming were scheduled to be headquartered at the Ivan Tors Studios in North Miami. On the first day of shooting, local scenic artists picketed, as reported in the following day’s DV. Gleason and Shelley Winters reportedly refused to cross the picket lines until the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) gave them a go-ahead. Location shooting was done “in and around Miami and South Broward County,” as stated in the 4 Jun 1969 Var. An advertisement for the Dade County Development Department in the 15 Jan 1969 DV noted that some filming would take place at Hilton Plaza hotel in Miami. Local comedy partners Lou Marsh and Tony Adams were named as cast members in the 9 Jul 1969 Var; the 4 Jun 1969 Var also listed local talent “Aztec Motel” as a performer; and casting announcements for Evelyn King, Mel Pape, and Al Saxe were published in the 10 Jun 1969 DV.
A preview screening was held on 16 Jan 1970 in Phoenix, AZ. In a letter to the editor published in the 21 Jan 1970 DV, Freeman responded to some negative criticism that the film, not yet rated, had been shown with a G-rated picture despite containing a nude scene. Freeman apologized and added that the nude scene was being removed prior to theatrical release, “not…because of negative comment, but because the scene is wholly unnecessary to the quality and integrity of the motion picture.” Freeman went on to explain that two versions of the scene in question had been shot as a preemptive measure.
How Do I Love Thee? opened on 1 Oct 1970 in Los Angeles and Van Nuys, CA. It was met with a negative critique in that day’s LAT, and the 17 Sep 1970 DV.
Tom Waltz learns that his father, Stanley, is suffering from a mysterious malady in the French town of Lourdes. He immediately boards the next plane to France, despite the objections of his wife, Marion, who blames Tom's father for ruining his life. During the flight, Tom recalls his traumatic past: As a child, Tom witnesses many a conflict between his atheistic father, a Polish-American furniture mover, and fundamentalist mother. After a particularly heated domestic spat, Stanley becomes infatuated with Lena, a freewheeling artist, but their "affair," a series of sexual blunders, never develops and Lena leaves town, giving Stanley a romantic poem as a farewell gift. Tom grows up to become a philosophy teacher at the local college, and he marries Marion, a philosophy student. Stanley enters Lena's poem in a literary contest and wins the grand prize of $10,000, which he announces he will donate to Tom's department. The prize is withdrawn, however, when a live television broadcast reveals that Stanley's "original" poem is actually an Elizabeth Barrett Browning love sonnet. Because of the scandal Tom is denied a promotion, which goes instead to Dr. Littlefield, Tom's longtime nemesis. Stumbling into church as a last resort, the anguished Stanley promises God that he will never again bother Tom if God will restore Tom's job. Upon learning that Dr. Littlefield has died and Tom has gotten the job, Stanley leaves the country in a panic . Arriving in Lourdes, Tom rushes to his ailing father's bedside and learns that Stanley holds himself responsible for Dr. Littlefield's death. Stanley makes a rapid recovery when Tom tells his father that ...
Tom Waltz learns that his father, Stanley, is suffering from a mysterious malady in the French town of Lourdes. He immediately boards the next plane to France, despite the objections of his wife, Marion, who blames Tom's father for ruining his life. During the flight, Tom recalls his traumatic past: As a child, Tom witnesses many a conflict between his atheistic father, a Polish-American furniture mover, and fundamentalist mother. After a particularly heated domestic spat, Stanley becomes infatuated with Lena, a freewheeling artist, but their "affair," a series of sexual blunders, never develops and Lena leaves town, giving Stanley a romantic poem as a farewell gift. Tom grows up to become a philosophy teacher at the local college, and he marries Marion, a philosophy student. Stanley enters Lena's poem in a literary contest and wins the grand prize of $10,000, which he announces he will donate to Tom's department. The prize is withdrawn, however, when a live television broadcast reveals that Stanley's "original" poem is actually an Elizabeth Barrett Browning love sonnet. Because of the scandal Tom is denied a promotion, which goes instead to Dr. Littlefield, Tom's longtime nemesis. Stumbling into church as a last resort, the anguished Stanley promises God that he will never again bother Tom if God will restore Tom's job. Upon learning that Dr. Littlefield has died and Tom has gotten the job, Stanley leaves the country in a panic . Arriving in Lourdes, Tom rushes to his ailing father's bedside and learns that Stanley holds himself responsible for Dr. Littlefield's death. Stanley makes a rapid recovery when Tom tells his father that Littlefield died before the pact with God; and he is further cheered when Marion, who has flown to Lourdes to join Tom, happily tells him he will soon be a grandfather.
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