In the Cool of the Day

Saw this one on Turner today- with a great cast: Peter Finch, Jane Fonda, Angela Lansbury- all Oscar people (I think)- it was TERRIBLE ! First off, the title seems to mean nothing whatsoever... Angela carps, Jane flirts... they are off to Greece on the flimsiest of pretenses (how dumb can Angela be ?)-- then the same cat/mouse game continues-- lots of good shots of Grecian ruins, but a travelogue would have been a lot more honest use of celluloid !

If fashion and Mediterranean scenery tend to dazzle you about a movie then you'll likely be all up in the clouds dancing over this one. For the rest of us who desire somewhat more from our hours invested in a movie, In-the-Cool-of-the-Day falls far short of the mark I'm afraid.

It's your basic "Two people married to other people fall in love on a romantic European trip, having been put together alone due to circumstances and also the situation in each of their marriages." In Fonda's character's case she's simply not in love with her doting and rather 'doormattish' husband. In Finch's character's case his wife (Landsbury) is a miserable joy-killing shrew of a woman who is playing ever the martyr and guilt-tripping him over a past tragedy in their lives. While Fonda's husband can't make the trip, Finch and Landsbury end up fighting and she walking out, leaving he and Fonda to continue on alone.

The back story on Fonda's character is that she has been sickly since early childhood, having had multiple surgeries on her lungs and nearly dying. In any normal family of the time that would mean the only sensible course of action, that being no one smokes near her. But in THIS film the production (writers, director, producer, etc) all thought it was no big deal to just have all involved puffing away like steam engines including Jane's character herself.

While the view on smoking was a little different back in '63 than it is today it is still fairly unthinkable that a physician would raise major concern over a trip by car through the mountains due to a little rain yet have no quarrel whatsoever about a girl with serious respiratory ailments smoking like a chimney.

As for the ending all I'll say is I found it abrupt, unsurprising, and disappointing, Fonda herself is absolutely gorgeous. The vistas and views of the countryside are spectacular. The acting is decent. The story and plot is where this film falls flat.

4/10

If ever there was an underrated film, In the Cool of the Day is it. I am not one to dismiss it as a soaper, nor do I share in the silly fixation on Jane Fonda's period hairstyle, which becomes her to my mind. As I see it, the film not only bears reasonable scrutiny, I would not change a thing about it.

The age-old theme of loyalty clashed with forbidden love never stales so long as it is done right, as is the case here. More than an intelligent study of sexual propriety, the film is an ode to traveling, something I might just do indefinitely if only I could. The four principal characters are well-established. Jane Fonda's Christine Bonner and Peter Finch's Murray Logan share an affinity for Greece that is evinced most compellingly. Greece itself is very well shot by Peter Newbrook, who did second unit photography on David Lean's visually amazing Lawrence of Arabia.

So, it's a match made in Graecophilic heaven. Unfortunately, he is married to the contemptibly cantankerous Sibyl (Angela Lansbury), and she to the doting, tiresomely prudent Sam (Arthur Hill). Christine's overbearing self-indulgent mother is another fly in the ointment. What's more, Christine has a serious lung condition.

All in all, a most satisfying little known film with an average rating of 5.0 on 215 votes. Frightful luck as to the few who have seen it, perhaps. It's a very small sampling, so give it a go.

Oh, and IMDb, a cover picture would be nice. Please and thank you.

If you like Jane Fonda, you will enjoy her acting in this picture and also how very young looking she looked in all her fancy looking clothes. There is also fantastic photography through out Greece and the ancient ruins, also a nice Greek dance with Peter Finch and Jane Fonda. Murray Logan, (Peter Finch) is a successful author married to Sybil Logan, (Angela Lansbury) and they are a very unhappy couple because of a tragic event in their early marriage. Sam Bonner, (Arthur Hill) is a very good friend of Murray and one day he meets his wife, Christine Bonner, (Jane Fonda). As soon as this couple look at each other, you can see in their eyes an outstanding attraction and this is what makes this film a triangle of love and romance and plenty of fights.

Christine Bonner (Jane Fonda) is getting away from her overly-protective husband Sam (Arthur Hill) and dreams of going to Greece. She is counselled by family friend Murray Logan (Peter Finch). He has his own marital issues with wife Sybil (Angela Lansbury).

Everybody is troubled and I like that aspect. I don't buy the romance in any shape or form. I'm more interested in the two characters working out their problems with their individual marriage partners. A better movie would be Murray dealing with his wife and Christine dealing with Sam. They could separate if that's for the best but at least they would be adults about it. They're just running away from their problems. It doesn't seem to matter that it's with each other. She's going to Greece either way. This has some exotic locations but the movie makes them look dour. I don't mind a sad movie but this is a movie about two people running away from their marriages without dealing with the underlying problems. It's not romantic.