Released originally in 1968 by Warner-Pathe, 'Sweet November' seemed to pose problems for the British cinema. With changing styles and tastes how would an old fashioned yet, unconventionally different, fair against the gore or Hammer horror movies or the bawdy humour of the 'Carry On' series? Love stories were not the only casualty. Musical's too were becoming dated and no longer in vogue. (Dr Dolittle had been ill received just months earlier!) American audiences had enjoyed the movie thanks to the pulling power of it's two stars - Newley was the darling of the American public and Sandy Dennis was a much loved, Oscar winning actress - but a romantic weepie set in New York with no action scenes was posing a problem for the Cinematograph Exhibitors' Association of Great Britain. In its film report of July 1968 it gave this dictation to the film circuit bosses;

"A women's magazine type of love story, this is a tender and moving though not always convincing tale of a young girl under the sentence of death. Laced with humour throughout is often amusing but the sad ending is not convincing enough as it is hard to believe that the girl is really in love with her November man, though nevertheless it cannot fail to produce tears from female audiences. The interest resides primarily in dialogue between the two main leads. A polished production, the picture makes good "weepie" entertainment for women. 8 marks for average audiences."

The movie was to be unappreciated until Warner's sold the rights to TV screenings in the Seventies in Britain and the States. With soap operas now the "in" thing with daytime television this wonderfully underrated movie began to achieve the semi-cult status it has reached today. The film was given the remake treatment last year and released in February 2001 in America. Despite a top star cast the film initially appears to be a flop, due to the fact that the original is much-loved by fans of both Newley and Dennis. In fact it was the voted the most wanted movie to be released on video many times. It seems appropriate that at this time we revisit the movie and whilst making comparisons with the remake, shed light onto why this simple love story has stood the test of time.

The Leads.

Sandy Dennis plays Sara Deever. Born in Nebraska in 1937, Sandra Dale Dennis was an accomplished actress of stage - A Thousand Clowns and Any Wednesday Tony Award Winner - and screen. Her Oscar winning performance for her role in Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf for Best Supporting Actress in 1967 led her to Sweet November and the role many would remember her for! She is a superb actress with a very natural yet eccentric style. Her voice and the haltingly rhythmic way she delivers lines are totally unique, making her a perfect match to Newley's character of Charlie Blake.

Newley plays the English business man with comic awkwardness but without appearing stupid. Critics failed to realise that his role of the cardboard box executive who eventually finds bittersweet love was not weak performance on Newley's part but exactly what the role required of him, in order to fit into the story which would unfold. His acting has been described as "uneven" but in hindsight, his interpretation was correct for the alterations that his life was taking within the short space of a month.

In the remake the role of Sara is played by Charlize Theron. Should you not be familiar with the original then Charlize's performance is acceptable, but Sandy's is hard to top. She managed to be quirky without appearing dumb and invoked sympathy without sinking to maudlin. Keanu Reeves takes on Newley's role for the new version. He is a young woman's idol, but his acting in this film is two dimensional and wooden making his character appear cold and too businesslike without the wit and sarcasm that Newley's Britishness achieved in the original. No longer is the role an Englishman in America, nor a manager of a box firm. He is now called Nelson Moss and is an American advertising executive who's main client is 'Diggity Dog Hotdogs'.

Synopsis and Remake Comparisons.

Sara Deever is a quirky, independent woman, a true free spirit. She manages several apartment buildings, doing all tenants' plumbing and TV repair work with flare. Sara makes a practise of taking one man per month into her life, offering affection, love and guidance. Her goal is to help each man with his 'problem' during a one month stay - one calendar month with no exceptions! This therapy programme of Sara's has been a working project for about a year. When the movie opens, it is late October and we find the two leads in the Department of Motor Vehicles taking a license exam.

Sara whispers to Charlie for the answer to a question and he is thrown out for cheating. (The new version sees Charlie as the cheat, not Sara. She is appalled by his cheating besides the fact that she is supposed to be the rule bending free spirit!)

Finding him rearranging his rushed life on the pay phone outside, Sara insists on buying Charlie lunch and reluctantly he accepts. As they eat hotdogs on a park bench Sara engages in conversation, most of which Charlie finds illogical and irrelevant to the situation or his life style.

Sara - I always carry bicycle tape. Aren't you impressed by

Bicycle tape?

Charlie - Oh I'm bowled over by a band aid!

His answers show his dry, British humour and the questions now become more personal, ranging from tattoos to his business. When asked if he has a battleship tattoo emblazoned on his chest, he replies, "No, I'm not big enough for a battleship. The most I could hope for would be a gun boat!" (There is little humour in the remake version, giving a much darker feel to the picture and loses the almost fairy tale charm of the original). Charlies problem is, as Sara puts it, "hurry hurry ding ding", since this first meeting proper is interrupted when his wristwatch alarm goes off. We later learn that Charlie has the soul of a poet and that he has always wanted to write poetry.

Sara - Are all the boxes you make six sided?

Charlie - (Obviously) Yes, of course!

Sara - What will happen when a competitor produces a seven

Sided box?

Back at the office Charlie's thoughts are on Sara and her unique look on life and meeting her again he learns of her monthly project and accepts her offer to be her "November", and at the strike of midnight on the first day of that month he moves in. (There are several 'love' scenes in the original but most of the updated 'sex' scenes filmed for the remake were cut from the final print before release!)

The movie then uses an interesting narrative device voiced by Newley and Dennis, in the form of their diary jottings to move the month - and the story on. The passage of time, (which is crucial to the story) is accompanied by the cinematography of the New York location exteriors from a warm, leaf-laden late October to an icy late November.

The films small cast includes vegetarian sign writer, Alonzo (Theodore Bikel), who supervises Sara at a distance. Other roles are minor and add little to the plot. (In the new version there are several new roles written for the film including that of young boy who interacts with the Keanu Reeves character a lot. Non of the other minor roles have been kept from the original).

Charlie - Who's that?

Sara - Oh that's Alonzo. He's a wonderful person, but rather intense.

Parsley will do that to a person.

Charlie - Oh, yes, any soup green!

Although not mentioned directly, the movie gives us several indications that Sara is ill - her sweaty face, her tiredness, slight cough, locked pill cabinet - and this in turn prompts Charlie to turn to Alonzo for some answers. By this time Charlie has fallen in love with Sara. (More emphasis is given to the illness in the new version). Sadly he learns to worst. Sara is dying and there is nothing that can stop it from happening. This is why Sara has adopted this strange lifestyle. Charlie tries to get Sara to halt her project and spend the rest of her time with him, but she stubbornly continues to talk of her next candidate for December, pumpkin pie and thanksgiving, until Charlie can bear it no more and leaves.

He returns on Thanksgiving night and gives Sara everything her heart desires - 1500 yards of bicycle tape, overalls with a loop, a seven sided box and a poem that rhymes entitled 'Sweet November'. In conclusion he spreads a thousand November sheets from a thousand calendars at her feet telling her that he will never leave her in the most tear jerking scene of all time! But close to midnight on November 30th Sara packs up Charlie's things and tells him that he must go.

Sara - Everything after now is wrong, I know because I have an

Instinct for time, it's all around me. What I have of it is mine.

I have to use it my way.

Charlie - Time doesn't count, you taught me that.

We hear the tolling chimes of midnight as Gordon (the December candidate) arrives speaking useless, empty dialogue while Sara and Charlie stare at each other. A multitude of emotions pass over Charlie's face until final bittersweet acceptance smiles and Sara turns away, not wanting Charlie to see her emotion.

Charlie - I'm brimful Sara. I've got you for the rest of my life. Staying

Longer would only run me into the hereafter.

As Charlie closes the door, Sara turns for one last glimpse but instead sees Gordon and the cycle begins again. The credits roll as we see Charlie walking in the New York snowfall.

Trivia.

The poem that Newley's character reads to Sara is an actual Bricusse and Newley song lyric, also called 'Sweet November' and can be heard over the final end credits sung by Anthony Newley. The song was also recorded for a single release backed with the orchestral 'Sara's Theme' from the picture. However as the song ran for a mere one and a half minutes, the single was pulled before release and promotional copies of the single, normally sent to radio stations are collectors pieces today.

The soundtrack music for the original was supplied by Michel Legrand and ranged from "cue each emotion" strands to lilting piano themes based on the 'Sara Theme' and Bricusse and Newley's 'Sweet November'. (The new version has retained nothing of the original themes, instead opting for a more commercial collection of modern rock and pop with just a nod into nostalgia via a couple of Jackie Wilson tracks).

The film has never been released in the UK on video. In the USA it appeared briefly in the early eighties and in January 2001 it was officially reissued in the States with a little help of the Anthony Newley Society's lobbying input. There are still no firm plans to release the film on video or DVD in the UK at the time of writing, but the Society will continue to fight for it's release. It is a oft shown movie on TV in America and last year was shown in a slightly cut format on the UK's Channel Five.

In 1993 during an interview with Paul Goodhead, Anthony Newley spoke about Sandy Dennis and his filming of this fondly remembered film. He explained that the film was shot on location in New York for all of the exterior shots and only returned to the Warner studios for the interiors. When asked whether he had any memories about his co-star he took a deep breath and replied that filming was not the easiest of jobs he had undertaken.

"I like ladies. I have a problem with ladies who don't behave like ladies. Sandy was a toughie. We didn't always see eye to eye. I say this only because I know how interesting it is for some people. She's gone ahead now of course but, yes she was a toughie."

In real life Sandy Dennis was a lesbian who preferred animals to people. To those animals and people who shared her beliefs she was warm and compassionate. She was completely unaffected by the public adoration bestowed on her for her acting work, preferring to spend time with her beloved cats and dogs. She lost her fight against ovarian cancer in 1992. She was fifty four.

In her autobiography - a slim volume called 'A Personal Memoir' - Sandy Dennis mentions nothing of Anthony

Newley or 'Sweet November'.

Whatever their off screen thoughts or beliefs, together they created a wonderful on screen relationship that may seem a little dated in 2001 but still has the ability to stir the most staid of hearts.

Paul Goodhead C 2001

Images courtesy of Warners/Severn Arts and Paul Goodhead.