47 years ago today "The Turning Point" starring MacLaine and Bancroft was released
The movie was inspired by the real life story of friends of director Herbert Ross and his ex-ballerina wife Nora Kaye. Ross has said: [They were] "A dancer named Kelly Brown, who was so marvelous in "Seven Brides for Seven Brothers" (1954), and a ballerina named Isobel Miro, a distant relative of Nora's. They met, married, gave up ballet, and opened a dance school in Phoenix. They had four children. The marriage eventually dissolved (though it doesn't in the film), and Isobel and the kids moved to New York, where they could study ballet. Over the years, she'd send us pictures of the kids, and Nora and I would talk about the family."
Grace Kelly was on the board of directors at 20th Century-Fox and the script treatment was sent to her for her reaction. Director Herbert Ross said: "Grace loved the story, and said she'd come out of retirement to play the ballet dancer who opts for marriage. Then Grace showed the script to Prince Rainier and he told her he didn't want her to go back to work."
In one scene, Anne Bancroft throws a drink in Shirley MacLaine's face. The moment was scrupulously rehearsed by director Herbert Ross, up to the point where Bancroft throws the drink into MacLaine's face. During rehearsal he had the actress set the glass down on the counter without tossing its contents every time; then continuing with the scene. When everything was ready, Ross took the shot in one take -- the scene you see on film, where Bancroft throws the drink into MacLaine's face. Having only been hit the one time, the look of shock on MacLaine's face is real.
"The Turning Point" was the first of two Academy Award Best Picture nominees to receive 11 nominations without winning any Oscars. This film jointly holds the record with "The Color Purple" (1985) for the film with most Oscar nominations without a single win.
| by Anonymous | reply 21 | April 29, 2024 2:34 AM
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Mikhail Baryshnikov was gorgeous.
| by Anonymous | reply 1 | April 27, 2024 11:18 PM
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Didn't we do this just recently?
| by Anonymous | reply 2 | April 27, 2024 11:20 PM
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I watched the movie for the first time last summer (it was streaming somewhere). I didn't think it was all that wonderful, and couldn't figure out why it got 11 Oscar noms.
| by Anonymous | reply 3 | April 27, 2024 11:22 PM
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R2 A thread from nine years ago is 'recently' to you ? Have you no sense of time ?
| by Anonymous | reply 4 | April 27, 2024 11:23 PM
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I loved it when I was in college—now it seems like a big budget Lifetime movie. Bancroft and Tom Skeritt (who should have gotten the BSA nomination instead of Baryshnikov) were the best things about. MacLaine indicates all over the place and Leslie Browne, while pretty and an able dancer, gave a nothing performance. James Mitchell and Martha Scott were fun, if underused. Herbert Ross was a cheesy director—The Goodby Girl felt like a Love American Style skit stretched out too long.
| by Anonymous | reply 6 | April 27, 2024 11:30 PM
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Jenifer Aniston should remake this film instead of '9 to 5'. Think about it...
Aniston takes the MacLaine role. She is married to Will Smith, with two adorbs children - the non-binary one is the dancer. Courtney Cox in the Bancroft role. Billy Porter in the Baryshnikov role.
It will be a real tear-jerker if ever there was on - it will sweep the Oscars !
| by Anonymous | reply 7 | April 27, 2024 11:59 PM
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Dance was a big deal in the late70s/early 80s, so a glossy dance film was going to get Oscar attention. Yes, it’s a soap fest and the fight scene with Bancroft and MacLaine is cheesy. Leslie Browne had absolutely no acting ability and sucked the life from all of her scenes. The dance fans came for the dancing.
| by Anonymous | reply 8 | April 28, 2024 12:54 AM
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It was grade A soap and classily done, the very backbone of American cinema, so of course it received alot of attention
| by Anonymous | reply 9 | April 28, 2024 1:16 AM
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Unbelievable - 11 academy award nominations? I've heard of it - but it really fell off the map and is almost unheard of now.
| by Anonymous | reply 10 | April 28, 2024 2:41 AM
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R10 11 nominations and 0 wins. It was later tied in 1985 with Spielberg's 'The Color Purple' which had the same fate.
| by Anonymous | reply 11 | April 28, 2024 3:41 AM
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The entire Emilia storyline was based on Gelsey Kirkland's career who was to have played her. Kirkland hated the part and the movie and starved herself down to around 80 pounds and was fired.
| by Anonymous | reply 13 | April 28, 2024 4:02 AM
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Should Jen Aniston do a remake (as I proposed above), can Jaden Smith play the non-binary role of the dancing child ? Instead of Emilia or Emilio, he can be Emilix ?
| by Anonymous | reply 14 | April 28, 2024 4:04 AM
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4 of the nominations were for acting ...that’s how it got to 11 so easily.
| by Anonymous | reply 15 | April 28, 2024 4:08 AM
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Oh, why can’t they show The Turning Point in heavy rotation on weekend afternoon TV instead of all the action/adventure comic book nonsense!
| by Anonymous | reply 16 | April 28, 2024 4:10 AM
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R16 Because the Millennial and Zoomer incels would never watch it. They need their action / adventure comic book nonsense.
| by Anonymous | reply 17 | April 28, 2024 9:56 PM
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R16: Because as bad as it seemed in 1977, it will seem worse now.
| by Anonymous | reply 18 | April 28, 2024 9:59 PM
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It was worse than that R13. Gelsey Kirkland was upset because her character was relegated to basically nothing and she’d been told it would be a great role. She was the reigning prima at the time and I think she and Baryshnikov had just recently broken up as partners. She also had a raging coke addiction and showed up tremendously underweight with a bloody running nose shaking like a leaf. They fired her pretty much immediately. Do others have clearer details on this? I watched a couple of interviews on YouTube. She was a star and a galvanizing presence and a fearless dancer. It’s unfortunate they weren’t able to get that on screen.
| by Anonymous | reply 19 | April 28, 2024 10:40 PM
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R19, her character was exactly as shown in the movie. It was a huge role. But she was a ridiculous snob. She felt appearing in a movie was beneath her, especially one as soap opera-ish as The Turning Point. Her dad wrote Tobacco Road so her high mindedness was pretty funny.
| by Anonymous | reply 20 | April 29, 2024 1:51 AM
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In my family, "let's play TURNING POINT" meant getting a drink tossed in your face. Act fast.
| by Anonymous | reply 21 | April 29, 2024 2:34 AM
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