University of Virginia Library

'Family Way' Sensitive Movie

By Davis Howard

"The Family Way," a warm,
sensitive and funny movie, opened
this past Wednesday at the Paramount.
The motion picture, as
its title would suggest, delves into
some ordinary (and some not-so-ordinary)
problems of family
life.

Hayley Mills (Jenny) and Hywel
Bennet (Arthur) give convincing
performances in their first mature
film roles, but the true stars of
the movie are Miss Mill's father,
John, and Marjorie Rhodes, who
play Arthur's parents. It is hard,
despite her sensuous role in "The
Family Way," to forget that Miss
Mills was once a Walt Disney
heroine in such films as "Pollyanna"
and "Summer Magic." She
has not really turned into a beautiful
woman, and, in the close-ups,
her rough hands and poor complexion
are all too visible. She
also has to labor with a nose that
is somewhat bulbous.

The plot emerges from the problems
caused by Arthur's embarrassing
inability to consummate his
marriage after an effort of six
weeks and by Mr. Fitton's lack
of contact with his family. Arthur's
tastes run to the classic in music
and literature, while his father is
more earthy, his philosophy being
that, "If a thing's natural, you'll
see animals doing it."

Jenny complains to her family
about her virginity, but despite her
uncle's assurance that "there're
many women that would give a
fortune to say that," she cannot
resign herself to the fact. Word
leaks out about the young Fittons'
marital situation, and Arthur is
disgraced when his employer offers
to do the job for him. He beats
his boss insensate and storms home
to attack Jenny for allowing the
rumor to leak out.

This first heated physical contact
destroys Arthur's inhibitions about
his wife, and as the neighbors,
drawn by the commotion, watch
the bedroom window expectantly,
Arthur heralds his triumph with
a recording of Beethoven's Fifth
Symphony.

A sense of depth and understanding
saves "The Family Way"
from being the usual soap opera.
There is much of value in the
screenplay by Bill Naughton,
who also wrote "Alfie." The music
was composed by Paul McCartney
of the Beatles, and, though he does
the job well, this is far from his
best work. The picture was produced
and directed by the twin
brothers, John and Roy Boulting,
for distribution by Warner
Brothers.

As Arthur tells us, "You read
about other people's lives and you
get to wondering about your own."
The same is true of the very fine
characters in "The Family Way."