Funny Girl (Columbia 1968, Barbra Streisand, Omar Sharif)

In Funny Girl Barbra Streisand plays real life 1920s celebrity Fanny Brice. Born to loving Jewish mother Rosa (Kay Medford), gawky Fanny is determined to bust her way out of the Brooklyn slums. She has the tools to do it, too, blessed as she is with belting musical talent, show-stopping chutzpah and bloody-minded determination. Her unorthodox looks, however, hinder her progress in a two-bit chorus line. But opportunity knocks when she’s spotted by Follies impresario Florenz Ziegfeld (Walter Pidgeon) during a disastrous roller-skating number. Recognizing a rare, spirited, comic performer, he hires Brice on the spot.

Fanny’s routines prove the Follies’ biggest draw, but her rocketing success is tempered by the failure of her marriage to Nick Arnstein. Played with doleful charm by Omar Sharif, Arnstein is a professional gambler whose pride won’t allow him to share in Fanny’s success, and a series of disastrous bets and business deals, mixed with his growing alcoholism, push the couple apart until, eventually, embezzlement gets him 18 months in the slammer. But for Fanny, the show must go on.

Produced by the real Brice’s son-in-law, Ray Stark, Funny Girl is an adaptation of Isobel Lennart’s hugely successful stage show. The original lead in the musical (featuring songs by Jule Styne and Bob Merrill) had been Streisand who, for three years (including one in London’s West End), was Fanny Brice.

A successful recording artist and subject of CBS TV specials in the mid-60s, Streisand’s fame was already considerable. But as she’s always said, ‘A star is a movie star’, and when the chance arose to take Fanny onto screen, she seized it with both hands. As James Price wrote in the Financial Times, ‘She is simply, totally triumphantly the part.’ Streisand’s talent was recognised when she picked up a Best Actress Oscar for her performance (tying with Katherine Hepburn for her role in Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner).

Funny Girl was the only musical William Wyler ever directed. It was also the top-grossing picture of 1968, earning more than $26 million.

Academy Award Nominations: 8, including Best Picture; Best Supporting Actress: Kay Medford; Best Cinematography; Best Editing.

production details
Country: USA | Columbia | 169 minutes
Release Year: 1968

Director: William Wyler
Producer: Ray Stark
Cinematography: Harry Stradling
Editors: William Sands, Maury Winetrobe
Music: :Robert Merrill, Jule Styne
Script: Isobel Lennart
Production Design: Gene Callahan
Costume Designer: Irene Sharaff
Set Design: William Kiernan
Art Direction: Robert Luthardt
Choreography: Herbert Ross

cast
Barbra Streisand as Fanny Brice
Omar Sharif as Nick Arnstein
Kay Medford as Rose Brice
Anne Francis as Georgia James
Walter Pidgeon as Florenz Ziegfeld
Lee Allen as Eddie Ryan
Mae Questel as Mrs. Strakosh
Gerald Mohr as Branca
Frank Faylen as Keeney
Alena Johnston as Ziegfeld Girl
Thordis Brandt as Ziegfeld Girl
Arthur Tovey as First Nighter