Funny Girl (1968)
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A stage-struck Jewish teenager's rise to stardom is intertwined with a tumultuous romance with a suave gambler.
The story
Set in and around New York City just before and following World War I, the story opens with Ziegfeld Follies star Fanny Brice awaiting her husband Nicky Arnstein to arrive at the theater. The narrative then moves into an extended flashback focusing on their meeting, marriage, and Fanny's rise to stardom. Fanny, a stage-struck Jewish teenager, lands her first job in vaudeville despite her mother's friends' doubts. After a series of mishaps in a roller-skating act, she finds success and eventually lands a role in the Ziegfeld Follies. It is there that she meets the suave Nicky Arnstein, beginning a complex journey of fame and personal struggle.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
Set in and around New York City just before and following World War I, the story opens with Ziegfeld Follies star Fanny Brice awaiting her husband Nicky Arnstein to arrive at the theater, then moves into an extended flashback. Fanny is a stage-struck Jewish teenager who lands her first job in vaudeville. After a failed roller-skating act is perceived as hilarious, she meets the suave Nicky Arnstein. Fanny eventually joins the Ziegfeld Follies, where she adds a comic twist to a wedding gown performance. Within a year, she becomes a Broadway star. While on tour, she and Nicky declare their mutual romantic feelings, but he is left broke after a racehorse loses. Nicky travels to Europe to gamble, and Fanny impulsively joins him, where he wins a fortune. They marry and have a daughter, but Nicky's gambling addiction eventually causes him to miss Fanny's premiere and leads to his arrest for embezzlement. After serving an 18-month sentence, Nicky returns to Fanny, and the two agree to separate, leaving Fanny heartbroken.
- First release year
- 1968
- Runtime (minutes)
- 149
- Production countries
- United States
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- William Wyler
- Writers
- Isobel Lennart · screenplay
- Cast and characters
- Barbra Streisand · Fanny Brice; Omar Sharif · Nicky Arnstein; Kay Medford · null; Anne Francis · null; Walter Pidgeon · null; Lee Allen · null; Mae Questel · null
- Genres
- musical; biographical; comedy-drama; romantic
- Themes
- fame; success vs. suffering; Jewish identity; marriage
- Tone and mood
- melodramatic; musical; tragic-comic
- Setting
- New York City and Baltimore during the early 20th century (pre- and post-World War I).
- Premise and plot tags
- biographical; musical; based on real events; romance
- Source material / true-story basis
- Adapted from Isobel Lennart's book for the stage musical of the same title.
- Reception
- A major critical and commercial success, the film was the highest-grossing film of 1968 in the United States and is considered one of the greatest musical films ever made. It received universal acclaim, particularly for Barbra Streisand's performance.
- Reported review scores
- Rotten Tomatoes · score: 95% · review count: 55
- Awards and nominations
- Academy Award · Best Actress · 41st Academy Awards · win
- Production trivia
- The line 'Hello, gorgeous' was the first words uttered by Streisand in the film.; The film was selected for preservation in the National Film Registry in 2016.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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