Summaries

In this comedy-satire on conformity, Dick Van Dyke plays a Manhattan bank teller who grows a beard when he develops a rash from a bee sting. He is promptly fired from his job while his co-workers stand behind him. Angie Dickinson plays his wife. Written and directed by Garson Kanin ("Born Yesterday").—alfiehitchie

New Yorkers Fred and Rachel Amidon will soon be divorced. Fred considers Rachel controlling, while Rachel finds Fred doesn't take chances. Having moved on with their lives without the other, they no longer see or speak to each other. Two days after the finalization of the divorce, Fred plans to marry his girlfriend Pamela Anderson, but as a spouse does not want her to be anything like Rachel. Fred and Pamela both work as tellers at the very conservative Metropolitan Guaranty Trust Company, their branch managed by the equally conservative Mr. Defoe who will not tolerate anything outside of his conservative mentality. One such item outside of Mr. Defoe's allowance is the large white instead of small flesh colored bandage on Fred's chin, which is covering a bee sting. On a three week vacation with Pamela, Fred decides to grow a beard instead of shave around the sting. By the time the sting has healed at the end of the vacation, Fred decides that he'd like to maintain a beard of some sort rather than shave it off. Mr. Defoe threatens to fire Fred if he doesn't shave off the beard, a move supported by the executives at corporate headquarters, who view Fred's act as being either smart-alecky, subversive, and/or radical. In deciding how to respond to the threat, Fred turns to varying different sources for some sort of validation, or at least validation that he isn't some kind of nut. Through the process, Fred discovers that he has always done what other people have told him to do or what was expected of him, and he finds that among his social circle there is one unexpected person who supports him in whatever he wants to do, which makes him reevaluate his recent life decisions.—Huggo

Details

Keywords
  • subjective camera
  • bank teller
  • scene during opening credits
  • bee
  • van dyke and dickinson
Genres
  • Comedy
Release date Sep 13, 1970
Motion Picture Rating (MPA) M
Countries of origin United States
Language English
Filming locations Central Park Zoo, Central Park, Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA
Production companies The Mirisch Corporation DFI TFT Productions

Box office

Tech specs

Runtime 1h 30m
Color Color
Aspect ratio 1.85 : 1

Synopsis

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