RIP George Segal (February 13, 1934 - March 23, 2021), aged 87 RIP Glenda Jackson (May 9, 1936 - June 15, 2023), aged 87 RIP Paul Sorvino (April 13, 1939 - July 25, 2022), aged 83 You will be remembered as legends.
George Segal, never a Oscar Winner but deserving of a Emmy Award for 'just shoot me', does no doubt deserve a Hollywood salute, for his many romantic comedies like Owl & the Pussycat, Touch of Class, and Last Married Couple in America with Natelie Wood.
I remember how funny this was when I saw it in the theatre. How wonderful the chemistry was between these two. And how much I enjoyed it. The phrase 'touch of class' inspired a car commercial, with of all lovely people, Catherine Deneuve...
I have to agree with the comment below re: the quality of this film and the performances. I like George Segal; I think he deserves far more acclaim than he ever got. I like Glenda Jackson. Alot. In the 70s I admired her to no end. I liked this film when I saw it - which was only about 6 or 7 years ago (I thought it was at times amusing and essentially well acted) - but seeing this preview I realize how little of it I remember. and that brings me to my point: Ms. Jackson winning an Oscar for this performance (it was almost as if she came out of nowhere in 'Women in Love', her first win - so different was she, such a new vision of what an actress is). A s said below, she's good in the role but its not a great performance (I'm not sure it COULD be in the hands of anyone, so that's not a reflection of Jackson's skill). It just seems out of step with the caliber of the roles of the other nominees: Joanne Woodward who is superb in 'Summer Wishes, Winter Dreams', Ellen Burstyn - who makes the unravelling mother of a demonically possessed girl look easy in 'The Excorcist', Streisand, in her best performance this side of 'What's Up, Doc' in 'The Way We Were', and Marsha Mason making a big splash debut in 'Cinderella Liberty'. Sometimes the Academy's reasoning is beyond reason.
*Glenda Jackson (in this Role) Beat out ...ELLEN BURSTYN-The Exorcist- MARSHA MASON-Cinderella Liberty ,,,BARBRA STREISAND-The Way We Were...and -JOANNE WOODWARD-Summer Wishes, Winter Dreams???*
Poor Manuel at the end there getting pummeled..well he'll be off to England in a couple years to work at a hotel in Torquay ..sure he'll get some respect and rest there 😆😉
I found A TOUCH OF CLASS to be droll and uneven. It features good chemistry between the two leads, sharp dialogue (which, for me, evoked the screwball comedies of the 1930's) and good use of London locales. But its dramaedy (drama/comedy) structure felt as bumpy as the Fiat Vickie and Steve drive during their Spanish excursion. Glenda Jackson's performance is good but not great; I'm not sure it deserved an Oscar. Perhaps she won because in her perf. she showed emotional range and infused Vickie w/multi-dimensional verve. Overall: More like A TOUCH OF UNSTEADINESS than CLASS.
An absolute 1973 insult to Barbara Streisand, Ellen Burstyn, and in particular Marsha Mason who through technical acting excellence alone, should have walked away with the prize.
True--but she really won for Mary Queen of Scots and Sunday Bloody Sunday and even Elizabeth R, yes, that is television, but it was movie quality and showed maybe for the first time that acting on the small screen could be as great as the big screen. And her latter performance in "Stevie" was incredible and Oscar worthy..