Tell Me That You Love Me, Junie Moon

Three hurting people -- facially disfigured Liza Minnelli, paraplegic Robert Moore, and epileptic Ken Howard in his movie debut -- set up housekeeping.

Otto Preminger's well-meaning movie suffers from the same problems that afflicted his other late movies: a bit bloated, a bit clumsily edited (Kay Thompson shows up early, has an interesting couple of scenes, then disappears; Pete Seeger intermittently wanders around redwood trees singing "Old Devil Time"). Like D. W. Griffith and Cecil B. Demille before him, Preminger was not about to make small, intimate pictures -- not that he seemed to have any taste for those -- and that appears to be what Marjorie Kellogg's source novel called for. Instead, the audience is confronted with perfectly executed sequences that offer a cold, impatient and dispirited view of these three.

Moving film about three quirky characters (an epileptic, a paraplegic homosexual, and a facially-scarred party girl) living together in Massachusetts and the fish-market salesman who comes to love them. Otto Preminger directed, and he shows unexpected sensitivity towards just about everyone here, especially epileptic Ken Howard, a little boy in a man's body who gets great care by the filmmaker. Liza Minnelli is the film's star, and if she occasionally falls back on her trademark razzmatazz (with a little Broadway inflection), that's OK because Junie Moon is supposed to be wild and goosey, and Liza's theatrics are suitable. A sweet, slowly-paced story with humor and pathos picks up when the gang vacations at the beach and the gay man (celebrated stage director Robert Moore) falls for a stunning black beach boy (Fred Williamson, making a strong impression)--and yet ends up making love to an equally stunning black woman?? It doesn't all come together, but it does feature superb performances, melancholy folk music (which grows on you) and some extremely well-written and well-directed moments. Marjorie Kellogg penned the script from her own novel, and it is nearly verbatim (if you like one, try the other). An interesting attempt at something a little different--and it works. ***1/2 from ****

This movie may not be on a list somewhere of Liza Minnelli's best films or Otto Preminger's or one of Kay Thompson(Liza's Godmom)or James Coco's best efforts. I do think it ranks high on a list of one of the best movies about introverts ever made. That it wasn't a box office or critical success doesn't matter. Nor that it did nothing to advance the careers of anyone connected to it.

But I think TELL ME THAT YOU LOVE ME, JUNIE MOON deserves a special place with audiences who love quirky movies that go where other movies dare not go. Think of Altman's BREWSTER McCLOUD or Hal Ashby's HAROLD AND MAUD, for instance. Movies that deal with characters most others would call misfits because they are different or eccentric.

One, for example, is a gay man. For a 1970 film, this is rare to say the least. But to make him a disabled gay man trapped in a wheel chair due to an accident is a revelation. I can't imagine another such character either before or since this film came along. Another revelation is a disfigured woman, played by Minnelli, and not seen on the screen in a leading role since Joan Crawford in Cukor's A WOMAN'S FACE. Both of these characters completely dominate JUNIE MOON. They are truly amusing in using their wit to cope with an unkind world. The third eccentric is an epileptic, played by Ken Howard. His performance is the weakest of the three and this, unfortunately, weakens the overall impact. Had this part been cast better, honors would have come its way to be sure. The scene where the handicapped guy can't negotiate the smallness of his bathroom is a gem. Another is the vacation scene where these three descend on a hapless hotel staff. Another where a naive woman is seduced by three hunky members of an art colony is captivating.

This movie sparked controversy because of a scene where two people are having sex in a cemetery. A real graveyard is used and relatives of the dead buried there balked and so a lawsuit ensued. But knowing this to be an Otto Preminger film...that is not so strange(recall THE MOON IS BLUE and MAN WITH THE GOLDEN ARM). Preminger ate up such controversy. No doubt such headlines added to his film's box office. JUNIE MOON is his weirdest movie, but far from his worst. None of the films after this one are even half as good. Even Saul Bass, whose title drawings are a trade mark for Preminger films, excels in it.

Judy Garland died while Liza was filming her part in this. A year later she began work on her greatest role, that of Sally Bowles in Fosse's CABARET. While both her roles in these films are about introverted and unstable vulnerable women...CABARET is the first where she gets to show her strongest suit: that of a musical performer whose star power is as good as her mother's. Her work in CABARET solidified her image as a singer and dancer the way FUNNY GIRL did it for Streisand. While TELL ME THAT YOU LOVE ME, JUNIE MOON may not be legendary, it still boasts having a legend in it.

Junie Moon is an interesting friendship movie. Great unusual characters that band together and help each other. Junie becomes terribly disfigured from a mean man. She finds herself relying on other people with there own special problems. The characters will grow on you. Good acting, directing, and decent sets. It has been years since I saw it at the theater. I still have never forgot it because of the types of people and how they dealt with their personal problems. I would definitely buy it if it was available on DVD. Not appropriate for young children. Some adult situations. To bad it isn't out on video of any kind. Until it is check out "The Station Manager", another great unusual friendship movie.

Since I found out today that Pete Seeger died, I have been watching much of his work here on the internet. Earlier today, I watched a couple of his short films on Internet Archive. Now, I just watched this obscure major studio feature film from 1970 in which he appeared at the beginning and end singing the film's theme, "Old Devil Time". Those were his only appearances. The movie proper concerns the title character (Liza Minnelli) whose face is scarred and her friendship with a paraplegic (Robert Moore) and an epileptic (Ken Howard). I admit to being partially confused by much of the beginning especially when they did flashbacks and dream sequences. But, by the time they went on vacation, I was glad I stayed in viewing this. There are quite some funny and touching moments in those vacation scenes. It's too bad it's not available on DVD. I managed to watch this on YouTube. Directed by Otto Preminger and written by Marjorie Kellogg from her novel. So on that note, I recommend Tell Me That You Love Me, Junie Moon. R.I.P. Mr. Seeger