There's a Girl in My Soup

There's a Girl in My Soup is a 1970 British romantic comedy film based on the long running stage play, directed by Roy Boulting and starring Peter Sellers and Goldie Hawn.[2][3] It was Sellers' last commercial success for several years.[4]

For the original stage version, see There's a Girl in My Soup (play).

There's a Girl in My Soup
Original film poster
Directed byRoy Boulting
Produced byJohn Boulting
Mike J. Frankovich
Written byTerence Frisby
(play & screenplay)
Peter Kortner
(additional dialogue)
StarringPeter Sellers
Goldie Hawn
Music byMike D'Abo
CinematographyHarry Waxman
Edited byMartin Charles
Distributed byColumbia Pictures
Release date
15 December 1970 (US)
21 December
(London premiere)
Running time
95 minutes
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish, French
Box office$4.5 million (rentals)[1]

Plot

Robert Danvers is a vain, womanizing and wealthy host of a high-profile television cooking show. He meets Marion, a no-nonsense 19-year-old American hippie who has just broken up with her British rock musician boyfriend Jimmy. After a halting start, they begin an affair, and she accompanies him on a trip to a wine-tasting festival in France, where she embarrasses him by getting extremely drunk, but they enjoy their time together on the coast in the South of France. However, when they return to London, Marion makes up with Jimmy and turns down a desperate proposal of marriage from Danvers. Throughout the film, Danvers' favourite line with women is: "My God, but you're lovely"—which, in the final scene after Marion has gone back to Jimmy and Danvers has made a date with another woman, he says to his own reflection.[5]

Cast

Production

The film is based on the stage comedy There's A Girl In My Soup, written by Terence Frisby, produced by Michael Codron, directed by Bob Chetwyn and starring Donald Sinden, Barbara Ferris and Jon Pertwee.[6] It ran for six and a half years in the West End, from 1966 to 1973, including three years at the Globe Theatre (now The Gielgud), breaking records to become London's longest-running comedy.[3][4] This record was later broken by No Sex Please, We're British and then Run for Your Wife.[7][8]

Film rights were bought in 1967 by Columbia and Nat Cohen.[9] Eventually Mike Frankovich became producer and the Boultings directed.[10]

Goldie Hawn signed in January 1969.[11] The movie introduced Christopher Cazenove, who later co-starred on Dynasty, and Nicola Pagett, who played Elizabeth Bellamy on Upstairs, Downstairs.[12][13]

It was one of a series of support roles from Diana Dors that revived the latter's career.[14]

A novelisation of the film, written by Raymond Hitchcock, was published in 1971.[15]

Reception

Box office

There's a Girl in My Soup ranked as the seventh film in takings at the British box office in 1970.[16][17]

Critical response

Variety found the film "a delightful surprise: a rather simple legit sex comedy (by Terence Frisby) transformed into breezy and extremely tasteful screen fun";[18] Roger Greenspun in The New York Times, dismissed the film as "without illumination or wit or good humor or good sense", and concluded "The only performance to praise is that of Tony Britton, who, as Danvers's very much married publisher and friend, achieves a level of sophisticated pleasantness that actually, suggests comedy. Peter Sellers, on the other hand, is at his least inventive. And Goldie Hawn, who I think might be fun in another part, mostly indulges in bad habits with her too-expressive eyes. In fairness, both Miss Hawn and Mr. Sellers are handicapped by roles in which any attempt at a characterization must seem an imposition."[19] Gene Siskel of the Chicago Tribune gave the film 1.5 stars out of 4 and wrote that Sellers had "his first decent role in several years" and gave a "completely sympathetic performance", but "no amount of humor is able to wake up the film's tired story premise."[20] Kevin Thomas of the Los Angeles Times was positive, writing "Escapist entertainment it assuredly is, yet Frisby has wisely provided enough quiet moments between his gags to allow his characters to become real enough to care about."[21] Tom Milne of The Monthly Film Bulletin stated that Sellers was "hopelessly miscast" and that the film "would have been much better served by a straight romantic lead."[22]

The website Allmovie comments that "Soup was different in its day, as the heroine of the piece was not a Doris Day-type eternal virgin, but a sexual being who not only gives herself freely to a man but is upfront and unapologetic about her willingness. The movie has little going for it beyond this premise, and it wanders rather aimlessly, if agreeably, before abruptly resolving its insignificant conflicts."[23]

Awards

Frisby's script won The Writers' Guild of Great Britain Award for Best Screenplay in 1970.[24]

Goldie Hawn was nominated for Best Actress at the BAFTA's for her work in this and Cactus Flower.[25]

References
  1. "All-Time Film Rental Champs", Variety, 7 January 1976, pg 48.
  2. "There's a Girl in My Soup (1970) – BFI". BFI. Archived from the original on 20 July 2012.
  3. "There's a Girl in my Soup".
  4. "There's A Girl In My Soup". Turner Classic Movies.
  5. Guide, British Comedy. "The British Comedy Society". British Comedy Guide.
  6. Goble, Alan (8 September 2011). The Complete Index to Literary Sources in Film. ISBN 9783110951943.
  7. "Anthony Marriott: Playwright best known for the farce No Sex Please". 2 May 2014.
  8. Gore-Langton, Robert (23 February 2017). "Comedy playwright Ray Cooney celebrates 85th birthday and 70 years in showbusiness".
  9. Martin, Betty (19 November 1966). "MOVIE CALL SHEET: Garas Loaned to Paramount". Los Angeles Times. p. 23 – via ProQuest.
  10. "There's a Girl in My Soup (1970) – Overview". Turner Classic Movies.
  11. Bradford, Jack (13 January 1969). "Hollywood". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
  12. "Christopher Cazenove – Movies and Filmography". AllMovie.
  13. "Upstairs, Downstairs: Series 01 (1971) – – Cast and Crew – AllMovie". AllMovie.
  14. Vagg, Stephen (7 September 2020). "A Tale of Two Blondes: Diana Dors and Belinda Lee". Filmink.
  15. "There's a Girl in my Soup". trashfiction.co.uk.
  16. Peter Waymark (30 December 1971). "Richard Burton top draw in British cinemas". The Times. London. p. 2 – via The Times Digital Archive.
  17. Harper, Sue (2011). British Film Culture in the 1970s: The Boundaries of Pleasure: The Boundaries of Pleasure. Edinburgh University Press. p. 269. ISBN 9780748654260.
  18. Variety Staff (1 January 1971). "There's a Girl in My Soup". Variety.
  19. Greenspun, Roger (16 December 1970). "Screen: Frisby's 'There's a Girl in My Soup' Opens". The New York Times: 54.
  20. Siskel, Gene (December 29, 1970). "Girl in My Soup". Chicago Tribune. Section 2, p. 3.
  21. Thomas, Kevin (December 15, 1970). "Sellers, Goldie in 'Soup'". Los Angeles Times. Part IV, p. 1.
  22. Milne, Tom (February 1971). "There's a Girl in My Soup". The Monthly Film Bulletin. 38 (445): 33.
  23. "There's a Girl in My Soup (1970) – Roy Boulting – Review". AllMovie.
  24. "Writers' Guild Awards 1970 – Writers' Guild of Great Britain".
  25. "BAFTA Awards". awards.bafta.org.
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