Tea and Sympathy (film)
Encyclopedia
Tea and Sympathy is an adaptation of Robert Anderson's 1953 stage play
directed by Vincente Minnelli
and produced by Pandro S. Berman
for MGM. The music score was by Adolph Deutsch
and the cinematography by John Alton
. Deborah Kerr
, Leif Erickson
, and John Kerr
recreated their original stage roles. Also in the cast were Edward Andrews
, Darryl Hickman
, Norma Crane
, Tom Laughlin
, and Dean Jones
. It was released on DVD as part of the Warner Archive Collection
on January 18, 2011.
, is at odds with the other boys who like sports, talking about girls, and listening to pop music. Tom prefers classical music, reads books, can sew, goes to the theater, and generally seems to be more at ease in the company of women.
The other boys torment him for his "unmanly" qualities and call him "sister boy", and he is treated ruthlessly by his father, Herb Lee, who believes a man should be manly. Only Al, also a student at the prep school, treats Tom with any decency, perceiving that being different is not the same as being emasculate. This turbulence is noticed by Laura Reynolds, the young wife of the House Master Bill Reynolds. She tries to build a connection with the young man, eventually even falling in love with him, presumably because of his similarity to her first husband John, who was killed in World War II
.
The situation escalates when Tom visits the local prostitute to dispel the rumors about his sexuality, but is unable to have intercourse with her. This failure prompts him to attempt suicide
and leads to his departure from the school. In an effort to demonstrate to Tom that masculinity is not contingent upon machismo, Laura comforts Tom by drawing him into a sexual liaison. The audience learns that she eventually leaves Bill as a result of what the encounter reveals to her about her own emotional and sexual needs. The film is noted for its memorable line, spoken by Laura: "Years from now when you talk about this, and you will, be kind."
The film opens and closes ten years into the future, when the adult Tom, who is now a successful writer and married, visits his college at a reunion.
Tea and Sympathy
Tea and Sympathy is a 1953 stage play in three acts by Robert Anderson.-Broadway premiere:It received its premiere on Broadway at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre on September 30, 1953 in a production by The Playwrights' Company, directed by Elia Kazan and designed by Jo Mielziner. The play starred...
directed by Vincente Minnelli
Vincente Minnelli
Vincente Minnelli was an American stage director and film director, famous for directing such classic movie musicals as Meet Me in St. Louis, The Band Wagon, and An American in Paris. In addition to having directed some of the most famous and well-remembered musicals of his time, Minnelli made...
and produced by Pandro S. Berman
Pandro S. Berman
Pandro Samuel Berman , was an American film producer.-Biography:His father, Henry Berman, was general manager of Universal Pictures during Hollywood's formative years. The younger Berman, Pandro Samuel, was an assistant director during the 1920s under Mal St. Clair and Ralph Ince...
for MGM. The music score was by Adolph Deutsch
Adolph Deutsch
Adolph Deutsch was a composer, conductor and arranger. He won Oscars for his background music for Oklahoma! , and for conducting the music for Seven Brides for Seven Brothers and Annie Get Your Gun...
and the cinematography by John Alton
John Alton
John Alton A.S.C. , born Johann Altmann, in Sopron/Ödenburg, Kingdom of Hungary, Austria-Hungary, was an American cinematographer...
. Deborah Kerr
Deborah Kerr
Deborah Kerr, CBE was a Scottish film and television actress from Glasgow. She won the Sarah Siddons Award for her Chicago performance as Laura Reynolds in Tea and Sympathy, a role which she originated on Broadway, a Golden Globe Award for the motion picture The King and I, and was a three-time...
, Leif Erickson
Leif Erickson
Leif Erickson was an American film and television actor.-Background:Leif Erickson was born William Wycliffe Anderson in Alameda, California. His father was commander of a fleet of ships and his mother was a noted newspaperwoman and writer...
, and John Kerr
John Kerr (actor)
John Kerr is an American actor from a family rooted in British and Broadway stage, and a lawyer.- Early life :Kerr's parents, Geoffrey Kerr and June Walker, were both stage and film actors, and his grandfather was Frederick Kerr, a famed British trans-Atlantic character actor in the period...
recreated their original stage roles. Also in the cast were Edward Andrews
Edward Andrews
Edward Andrews was an American actor, one of the most recognizable character actors on television and films between the 1950s and the 1980s...
, Darryl Hickman
Darryl Hickman
Darryl Gerard Hickman is an American film and television actor, former television executive, and child star of the 1930s and 1940s.-Early life:...
, Norma Crane
Norma Crane
Norma Crane was an actress of stage, film and television. Among her best known roles was that of Golde in the 1971 film adaptation of Fiddler on the Roof. She also starred in They Call Me MISTER Tibbs! and Penelope...
, Tom Laughlin
Tom Laughlin
Tom Laughlin is an American actor, director, screenwriter, author, educator and political activist. Laughlin is best known for his series of Billy Jack films. He has been married to Delores Taylor since 1954. Taylor has also co-produced and acted in all four of the Billy Jack films...
, and Dean Jones
Dean Jones (actor)
Dean Carroll Jones is an American actor. Jones is best known for his light-hearted leading roles in several Walt Disney movies between 1965 and 1977, most notably The Love Bug.-Early years:...
. It was released on DVD as part of the Warner Archive Collection
Warner Archive Collection
The Warner Archive Collection is a manufactured-on-demand DVD series. It was started by Warner Home Video on March 23, 2009 with the intention of putting previously unreleased back catalog films on DVD for the first time ever. Using recordable DVDs, they custom burn discs for each order rather than...
on January 18, 2011.
Plot
Tom Robinson Lee, a 17-year old student at a boy's prep schoolUniversity-preparatory school
A university-preparatory school or college-preparatory school is a secondary school, usually private, designed to prepare students for a college or university education...
, is at odds with the other boys who like sports, talking about girls, and listening to pop music. Tom prefers classical music, reads books, can sew, goes to the theater, and generally seems to be more at ease in the company of women.
The other boys torment him for his "unmanly" qualities and call him "sister boy", and he is treated ruthlessly by his father, Herb Lee, who believes a man should be manly. Only Al, also a student at the prep school, treats Tom with any decency, perceiving that being different is not the same as being emasculate. This turbulence is noticed by Laura Reynolds, the young wife of the House Master Bill Reynolds. She tries to build a connection with the young man, eventually even falling in love with him, presumably because of his similarity to her first husband John, who was killed in World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
.
The situation escalates when Tom visits the local prostitute to dispel the rumors about his sexuality, but is unable to have intercourse with her. This failure prompts him to attempt suicide
Suicide
Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Suicide is often committed out of despair or attributed to some underlying mental disorder, such as depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, alcoholism, or drug abuse...
and leads to his departure from the school. In an effort to demonstrate to Tom that masculinity is not contingent upon machismo, Laura comforts Tom by drawing him into a sexual liaison. The audience learns that she eventually leaves Bill as a result of what the encounter reveals to her about her own emotional and sexual needs. The film is noted for its memorable line, spoken by Laura: "Years from now when you talk about this, and you will, be kind."
The film opens and closes ten years into the future, when the adult Tom, who is now a successful writer and married, visits his college at a reunion.