Roseland (film)

1977 film by James Ivory

Roseland

film poster

Directed by| James Ivory
Written by| Ruth Prawer Jhabvala
Produced by| Ismail Merchant
Starring| Teresa Wright
Geraldine Chaplin
Cinematography| Ernest Vincze
Edited by| Humphrey Dixon
Richard Schmiechen
Music by| Michael Gibson

Release date

* 1977 (1977)

Running time

| 104 minutes
Country| United States
Language| English
Budget| $375,000

Roseland is a 1977 Merchant Ivory Productions' anthology film with a screenplay by Ruth Prawer Jhabvala. It was directed by James Ivory and produced by Ismail Merchant.

The film is made up of three connected short features: The Waltz, The Hustle and The Peabody. All three stories share a theme of the protagonists trying to find the right dance partner, and all are set in the Roseland Ballroom in New York City.

## Plot

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At Roseland, an older lady, May (Wright), with a light step, looks for the memory of her husband in the ballroom's mirrors. Stan (Jacobi), a cheerful older man steers May to brandy alexanders and away from her past.

Pauline (Copeland) is a middle-aged widow with the means to pay for the services of a younger gigolo, Russell (Walken) and share champagne with her Roseland friends, the dance teacher Cleo (Helen Gallagher) and the shy divorcee, Marilyn (Chaplin). Both Marilyn and Cleo fail to break Russell's attachment to the lifestyle that Pauline provides.

Rosa (Skala), a former Schrafft's cook and aspiring dance superstar makes it her mission to win the peabody prize with her older partner, Arthur (Thomas) who is desperate to marry her.[1]

## Cast

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### The Waltz

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* Teresa Wright (May)
* Lou Jacobi (Stan)
* Don De Natale (Master of Ceremonies)
* Louise Kirkland]] (Ruby)
* Hetty Galen (Red-Haired Lady)
* Carol Culver (Young May)
* Denny Shearer (Eddie)

### The Hustle

[edit]

* Geraldine Chaplin (Marilyn)
* Helen Gallagher (Cleo)
* Joan Copeland (Pauline)
* Christopher Walken (Russell)
* Conrad Janis (George)
* Jayne Heller (Bella)
* Annette Rivera and Floyd Chisolm (Hustle Couple)
* Jeanmarie Evans (Cloakroom Attendant)

### The Peabody

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* Lilia Skala (Rosa)
* David Thomas (Arthur)
* Edward Kogan (Bartender)
* Madeline Lee (Camille)
* Stan Rubin (Bert)
* Dortha Duckworth (Ladies' Room Attendant)

## Crew

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* Director: James Ivory
* Producer: Ismail Merchant
* Screenplay: Ruth Prawer Jhabvala
* Photography: Ernest Vincze
* B Camera Operator: Chuck Clifton
* Assistant Camera: Rudy Boyer
* Audio Recordist: Cabell Smith
* Music: Michael Gibson
* Dance director: Patricia Birch
* Associate producers: Dennis J. Murphy, Macy Wall
* Executive producers: Michael T. Murphy, Ottomar Rudolf
* Casting: Judy Abbott
* Film editors: Humphrey Dixon, Richard Schmiechen

## Production

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### Filming

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Roseland was filmed in an almost pseudo-documentary style as an exploration of the lives of Roseland's customers. The vignettes are also purportedly based on true stories. Filming took place almost entirely in the Roseland Ballroom.[1]

## Reception

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The Washington Post explained that the film shows what "is mostly the sadness and faded dreams of dancers who look like they were around the day the doors first opened". The review praised how Ivory "effectively uses three romantic vignettes" as well as the "realistic" dialogue.[1] John Simon called Roseland a piece of vulgar and inept filmmaking.[2]

## References

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1. ^ a b c Harris, Art. The Lives and Times Of Roseland Ballroom. The Washington Post. 13 January 1978
2. ^ Simon, John (1982). Reverse Angle: A Decade of American Film. Crown Publishers Inc. p. 338.

## External links

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* Merchant Ivory
* Roseland at IMDb
* Roseland at the TCM Movie Database
* Roseland at the AFI Catalog of Feature Films

* v
* t
* e

Merchant Ivory Productions

* Ismail Merchant
* James Ivory

* The Householder (1963)
* Shakespeare Wallah (1965)
* The Guru (1969)
* The Night of Counting the Years (1969)
* Bombay Talkie (1970)
* Savages (1972)
* The Wild Party (1975)
* Autobiography of a Princess (1975)
* Roseland (1977)
* Hullabaloo Over Georgie and Bonnie's Pictures (1978)
* The Five Forty-Eight (1978)
* The Europeans (1979)
* Jane Austen in Manhattan (1980)
* Quartet (1981)
* The Courtesans of Bombay (1983)
* Heat and Dust (1983)
* The Bostonians (1984)
* A Room with a View (1985)
* Maurice (1987)
* The Deceivers (1988)
* The Perfect Murder (1988)
* Slaves of New York (1989)
* Mr. & Mrs. Bridge (1990)
* The Ballad of the Sad Cafe (1991)
* Howards End (1992)
* The Remains of the Day (1993)
* In Custody (1994)
* Feast of July (1995)
* Jefferson in Paris (1995)
* The Proprietor (1996)
* Surviving Picasso (1996)
* Side Streets (1998)
* A Soldier's Daughter Never Cries (1998)
* Cotton Mary (1999)
* The Golden Bowl (2000)
* The Mystic Masseur (2001)
* Le Divorce (2003)
* Heights (2005)
* The White Countess (2005)
* Before the Rains (2008)
* The City of Your Final Destination (2009)

* v
* t
* e

Films directed by James Ivory

* The Householder (1963)
* The Delhi Way (1964)
* Shakespeare Wallah (1965)
* The Guru (1969)
* Bombay Talkie (1970)
* Adventures of a Brown Man in Search of Civilization (1972)
* Savages (1972)
* Autobiography of a Princess (1975)
* The Wild Party (1975)
* Roseland (1977)
* Hullabaloo Over Georgie and Bonnie's Pictures (1978)
* The Five Forty-Eight (1978)
* The Europeans (1979)
* Jane Austen in Manhattan (1980)
* Quartet (1981)
* Heat and Dust (1983)
* The Bostonians (1984)
* A Room with a View (1985)
* Maurice (1987)
* Slaves of New York (1989)
* Mr. & Mrs. Bridge (1990)
* Howards End (1992)
* The Remains of the Day (1993)
* Jefferson in Paris (1995)
* Lumière and Company (1995)
* Surviving Picasso (1996)
* A Soldier's Daughter Never Cries (1998)
* The Golden Bowl (2000)
* Le Divorce (2003)
* The White Countess (2005)
* The City of Your Final Destination (2009)

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