1776 Film Question

[husk_charmer]

Posted: 7/28/10 at 1:08am

Why didn't Buckley do the film? Anyone know?

[allofmylife]

Posted: 7/28/10 at 1:47am

Typical Hollywood casting. In 1971-2, Betty Buckley was a relative unknown (although she got the role in 1776 on her very first day, at her very first audition on Broadway.)

Blythe Danner, on the other hand, was a well-know commodity, having made other films and having won The Tony Award for "Butterflies Are Free."

A Hollywood studio simply picked the bigger, better name.

Updated On: 7/28/10 at 01:47 AM

[CarlosAlberto]

Posted: 7/28/10 at 3:36am

Ironic then that her Tony Award winning role of "Jill" in Butterflies are Free went to the even hotter commodity Goldie Hawn when it was made into a film.
Updated On: 7/28/10 at 03:36 AM

[nobodyhome]

Posted: 7/28/10 at 4:13am

I've read that Lindsay Wagner was originally cast as Martha in the film but had to be replaced for some reason.

[best12bars]

Posted: 7/28/10 at 8:27am

I know they had to fight to get Virginia Vestoff in the movie as Abigail.

I'm not even sure if they tested Buckley for the role. I have always assumed that it had less to do with her recognizability (since so many in the cast were Broadway vets but Hollywood unknowns), and more to do with her being considered too "big" for the screen. Her voice was huge and belty, and while she was pretty (a former Miss Texas or something), I don't think they considered her to have "movie" looks. She had angular features. Bythe Danner was better known in Hollywood (not by much), but she also was beautifully photogenic and had a softer, more seductive voice for the part. It wouldn't have worked well on stage, but it did on film.

[doodlenyc]

Posted: 7/28/10 at 9:35am

I think it makes so much sense, yet I regret the decision so much as Danner is not a favorite of mine and Buckley's "Violin" is one of my earliest favorite showtunes. I can certainly see, however, that she may have come across too harsh in closeup and her voice too strong.

I do think she shouldve been an oscar contender for another singing role in "Tender Mercies"....she was wonderful in that film, and talk about a strong vocal performance!

[ObiHave]

Posted: 7/28/10 at 9:37am

I was thinking the same thing about her face being too angular. Works well on stage but on film not so much. I think they both went on to do pretty well.

[best12bars]

Posted: 7/28/10 at 10:33am

Dueling Marthas ...

[best12bars]

Posted: 7/28/10 at 10:44am

By the way, Buckley left the Broadway show very early (presumably to do the London "Promises, Promises") and was replaced by Mary Bracken Phillips in August of '69.

She went back into "1776" in October of 1970. But her initial stint as Martha on Broadway was only 5 months.

[husk_charmer]

Posted: 7/28/10 at 10:46am

Comparing the pictures, I totally understand the decision.

Gotta love Buckley's 60s eyeliner.

She's still a very striking woman, and has held her looks well, and she was never a Miss Texas, she was the runner-up, I believe.

[best12bars]

Posted: 7/28/10 at 10:47am

Having Googled around to find that photo, she was Miss Fort Worth, losing out as a runner up in the state pageant for Miss Texas. They still invited her to sing at the Miss America Pageant in 1967.

Updated On: 7/28/10 at 10:47 AM

[MTVMANN]

Posted: 7/28/10 at 7:04pm

I was about to ask how Virginia Vestoff could get cast and not Buckley...oh well.

[juliethejarhead]

Posted: 7/28/10 at 8:12pm

"I know they had to fight to get Virginia Vestoff in the movie as Abigail."

Thank goodness they did. Ms. Vestoff left us much too soon. She passed away in December 1982.