Grey Gardens
Brief Synopsis
Cast & Crew
Ellen Hovde
Edith Bouvier Beale
Edith Bouvier Beale
Jerry Torre
Lois Wright
Jack Helmuth
Film Details
Technical Specs
Synopsis
The unbelievable but true story of Mrs. Edith Bouvier Beale and her daughter Edie, the aunt and first cousin of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis. Mother and daughter live in a world of their own behind the towering privets that surround their decaying 28-room East Hampton mansion known as "Grey Gardens," a place so far gone that the local authorities once threatened to evict them for violating building and sanitation codes. Mrs. Beale, a.k.a. "Big Edie," was born an aristocrat, sister of "Black Jack" Bouvier, Jackie O's father. "Little Edie" was an aspiring actress of striking beauty who put her New York life on hold to care for her mother--and never left her side again. Together they descended into a strange life of dependence and eccentricity that none had ever shared until the Maysles Brothers arrived with their camera and tape recorder in hand.
Directors
Ellen Hovde
Albert Maysles
Muffie Meyer
David Maysles
Susan Froemke
Cast
Edith Bouvier Beale
Edith Bouvier Beale
Jerry Torre
Lois Wright
Jack Helmuth
Brooks Hyers
Crew
Edith Bouvier Beale
Edith Bouvier Beale
Lee Dichter
Susan Froemke
Susan Froemke
Ellen Hovde
Albert Maysles
Albert Maysles
Albert Maysles
David Maysles
David Maysles
David Maysles
Muffie Meyer
Adrian Mosser
Morris Schlein
Videos
Movie Clip
Trailer
Hosted Intro
Film Details
Technical Specs
Articles
Grey Gardens
When the Maysles eventually showed a rough cut of their footage of the Beales to Lee Radziwell, she was appalled and immediately demanded the negative which they gave her. Regardless of whether she destroyed it or not, it was obvious that Radziwell did not want the public to know about her aunt and cousin. Ironically, Edith Beale (Big Edie) and Edie (Little Edie), had so enjoyed being filmed by the Maysles that they invited them to come back a year later and continue their project which became the feature documentary, Grey Gardens (1975).
An intimate portrait of two women living an insular existence, Grey Gardens explores a relationship that alternates between extremes of love and hate. Big Edie and Little Edie pick fights with each other, make up, sing, eat together, reminisce about the past and philosophize about life. Despite Little Edie's continuing threats to leave "Grey Gardens" for a career as a dancer, the two women never complain about or address the filthy living conditions they endure. The mother and daughter appear to live in some sort of timeless bubble, with the concept of time or what year it is being completely irrelevant. When you are in "Grey Gardens", you are in a Beale-created time warp. The house, a 28-room mansion, can be considered a character unto itself. With its dilapidated appearance, rooms with free-roaming cats and raccoons, and the main grounds overgrown with foliage, the estate is like an island, separated from the rest of the world. Certainly, in the minds of our two protagonists, it is.
The lives of Big Edie and Little Edie could have been conjured up by writer Tennessee Williams, whose stories of faded, withered glory and often grotesque eccentricities are trademarks of his style. The truly unique and often startling physical appearance of the Beales also brings to mind the work of photographer Diane Arbus, an artist whose work celebrated the bizarre, the strange and the unique. Like many of Arbus's subjects, the Beales seem completely unaware of how they will be perceived by others. They are totally comfortable with themselves though some viewers may not ever find a comfort zone at "Grey Gardens." Hilton Als, in his liner notes for the Criterion DVD of Grey Gardens, aptly described the Maysles Brothers' approach to their subject: "Its haunting subtext is this: the truth is best presented through metaphor. The Beales are themselves, born into a particular class at a particular time. But they are also the selves they've created: a singer, a dancer, whose florid self-preservation cannot be eclipsed by hard times, bad times - so-called real life...The Maysles' interest in the ephemeral, the passing of time in a sea of leaves, tells us that masks are all we have; people would not know who they are or what to say without them. Time is cruel, but we can overcome it a bit by insisting on self expression."
The biggest challenge facing the Maysles Brothers in organizing their countless hours of footage for Grey Gardens was how to structure it. What was the story they were trying to tell? Co-director and co-editor Ellen Hovde recalled that the best way to engage an audience with the Beales' story was with a psychological structure: "It's the development in the nuances of how they repeat a story. One day they laugh about it, the next day they cry about it and in the end, the way it's structured you come to understand I think why Little Edie is there and why Big Edie wants her there so the relationship is set up in that first scene between the Beales and the Maysles."
Over the years, Grey Gardens has been scrutinized, over-analyzed and viewed repeatedly by fervent fans. But for detractors of the movie, the most common criticism has been that it is nothing more than exploitation and in bad taste. In many cases, the Maysles were accused of taking advantage of two sad, deluded women. One critic, complained about the Maysles' disregard for the Beales's privacy or personal dignity, "Like the shots of 'Little' Edith Bouvier Beale, a large 56-year-old, taken from below as she climbs upstairs in a miniskirt, rambling to herself; or 'Big' Edith, the demanding 79-year-old mother, with her towel falling off her withered, naked body." What the Maysles realized in most of these attacks was that the reviewer was reflecting his own fears of aging and death. Viewers with any empathy for the human condition, however, can see moments of truth and beauty in Grey Gardens. While it is important to note that although the Beales were certainly playing to the camera to a degree, their interaction with each other accurately mirrored their day-to-day existence. Albert Maysles confirmed this when he described the filming process: "Each day we would pause nearby, get out of our car to change our clothes or whatever, we could hear their conversations in the distance and it was the same statements of love and resentment and arguing and so forth - exactly the same character we got on film."
Despite an aura of tragedy that surrounds Grey Gardens, it is also surprisingly entertaining due to its endlessly quotable lines and the memorable fashion expressions of Little Edie. She ingeniously weaves together frocks and outfits made from found objects like tablecloths, towels, or any sort of fabric. Her unusual sense of style is highlighted by the wide array of head wraps that she wears throughout the film, leading the viewer to wonder if Little Edie has any hair. That's one of many questions that go unanswered but adds another intriguing but perplexing layer to the film. How did these two once-prominent women end up in such impoverished circumstances? What happened to Little Edie to make her retreat from the world and remain with her mother? Did Jacqueline Bouvier Onassis ever come to visit the Beales? What did she think of them?
Big Edie passed away shortly after the completion of Grey Gardens but lived long enough to view the film and voice her endorsement of it. As for Little Edie, when Grey Gardens had its New York premiere at the Lincoln Center, she was in attendance with the filmmakers, wearing a Jackie Onassis red velvet dress on backwards. As the lights came up and the audience burst into applause, Little Edie tossed them a bouquet of roses. The film's notoriety quickly fueled a public curiosity about the Beales and Little Edie finally realized her dream of singing and dancing before live audiences. For a brief engagement, she appeared at the now-defunct New York City cabaret, Reno Sweeney's, where she performed songs, danced, told stories about her life and even took questions from the audience. The fame was short-lived and Little Edie returned to "Grey Gardens" as her mother had requested. She eventually left there and found a new home in Florida where she lived until her death in 2001. In some ways, Little Edie had achieved her goal of entertaining and making people happy in ways that she probably never imagined.
Since its release on DVD, Grey Gardens has gained newfound attention thanks to a 2006 off-Broadway musical based on the documentary (featuring Christine Ebersole and Mary Louise Wilson as Big and Little Edie respectively). The play has gained so much positive press and audience success that the play will make the move to Broadway.
Also in 2006, Albert Maysles (brother David died in 1987) revisited the hours of unseen footage shot at "Grey Gardens" and put together another feature-length film devoted to the Beales entitled The Beales of Grey Gardens. It has also been noted that a new film version dramatizing the lives of the Beales premiered in April 2009 on HBO starring Jessica Lange as Big Edie and Drew Barrymore as Little Edie.
The Beales' influence on pop culture continues to resonate, especially on the internet where fans of the film have created music videos and homemade movies as a homage to the Beales. Many of these appear on the enormously popular media sharing website, youtube.com, and one of the most interesting videos is a re-envisioning of Little Edie dancing to the catchy, disco-inspired Madonna tune, "Hung Up".
Producer: Albert Maysles, David Maysles
Director: Ellen Hovde, Albert Maysles, David Maysles, Muffie Meyer
Cinematography: Albert Maysles, David Maysles
Film Editing: Susan Fromke, Ellen Hovde, Muffie Meyer
Cast: Edith Bouvier Beale (Herself), Edie Beale (Herself), Jack Helmuth (Birthday Guest), Brooks Hires (Gardener).
C-100m. Letterboxed.
by Eric Weber
Grey Gardens
Grey Gardens on Criterion Blu-ray
Left behind in the rush of time and alienated from most of their wealthy relatives, the two women live in reduced circumstances, isolated in a rotting house inhabited by cats and some particularly destructive raccoons. They made scandal-sheet news when the locals tried to have the house condemned as a health hazard. The garbage has been cleaned up but the place still looks like a ghost mansion. A family member stepped in to pay the property taxes, and they're living on a meager stipend.
The strong-willed, garrulous ladies have gone far beyond the boundaries of mere eccentricity. The filmmakers have only to show up and the 'Little Edie Show' begins. She appears on the rotting porch with a big smile, in yet another bizarre choice of clothing. Little Edie's speech indicates good breeding and impeccable manners. She whispers, "I've no makeup on" as if making an intimate confession; she's only seen in makeup once or twice. Little Edie parades and poses as if getting the big audition she never had.
At first the setup seems decidedly unhealthy, with both women living an isolated, fantasy existence. As good hostesses, they pause frequently to entertain the filmmakers with a favorite tune or two. Big Edie had training as a singer; when she wants to be a bully she complains that her daughter can't sing a note. The bickering pair reminds us of the delusional women in the Hollywood Gothic pictures Sunset Blvd. and What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? Little Edie adores the attention of the camera, and flirts openly with the filmmakers.
We soon realize that the Beales' behavior is not a charade -- we're seeing their real personalities. The overweight Big Edie likes to sit wearing just a towel. She writes the checks and considers herself the lady in charge. Little Edie complains that her mother is too interested in Jerry Torre, the young handyman who works on the house and drops by most every day. They privately refer to him as "The Marble Faun." Big Edie's fixation on Jerry is one of many issues that haunt the ladies' light taunts and serious arguments. Little Edie claims that her life was spoiled because of rules imposed by her parents. Her various suitors were bid unwelcome, while mother invited her own men -- voice coaches, artists -- to live in the house even if Little Edie didn't like them. Big Edie counters with the charge that she always let Little Edie do whatever she wanted.
Much of their existence is spent dwelling on the past. In old photo albums both women emerge as youthful beauties. Little Edie bears a resemblance to Jackie Kennedy, but with a even friendlier sparkle in her eye. The photos carry an aura of privilege and superiority -- had things been different Little Edie could easily have been another blue blood movie star, like Gene Tierney. Just to upstage her daughter, Big Edie bursts into song now and then, recalling lyrics from "You and the Night and the Music" and "Night and Day". She coaches Edie's 'performances' of "Tea for Two" and "People Will Say We're in Love" only to follow up with cruel criticism. The most overt "Baby Jane Hudson" moments come when Little Edie performs her dances, each of which requires a costume change. Flashing a big smile, she's clearly flirting with the cameraman. The behavior is almost infantile, but also completely liberated. Little Edie is being herself.
Other things just fall under the category of weird. Little Edie uses a pair of binoculars to read her weight on the scale: "145 pounds!" She checks her astrology notices, assessing her compatibility with Albert or David's sign of the Zodiac. At a painfully tacky dinner party, the surprised guests drink out of Dixie Cups and are invited to sit on newspaper because the chairs are dirty. Edith does say that she swept the floor for the occasion.
Grey Gardens is too insightful to be a mere freak show about the decadent rich. The Beales have gravitated together out of need and a lack of options, and they (dys)function as a loving couple, arguments and all. We're all creatures of habit, and what we're seeing is an extreme case of women forced to live outside "the manner to which they were accustomed." Little Edie is bright and optimistic; she behaves as if the long-gone servants will surely show up to put their glorious former way of life back in order. Yet she's not ashamed of their present circumstances, as they are still Quality People. When showing a photo of herself at twenty, looking ready for Vogue magazine, Little Edie assures us that, "It was taken by a fine photographer, who was in the Social Register."
As for Big Edie, she has a good attitude despite being beyond any hope of a glamorous recovery. When she pokes fun at her daughter, we don't perceive any real malice at work. Big Edie lounges about with a towel wrapped around her chest, sings her favorite songs and enjoys Jerry's company. When told that she isn't properly dressed, Big Edie just answers, "I don't care. Watch out or I'll be going naked." Who's not well adjusted?
The Criterion Collection's Blu-ray of Grey Gardens is the label's second or third release of this entertaining documentary delight. The new transfer was taken from the 16mm A and B rolls. Sufficient technology has been applied to optimize the color, eliminate jitter and flaws, and bring out the richness of the remarkably clear location audio.
The disc's special features communicate the affection felt by many for the film, and its place of pride among the Maysles' many experimental documentaries. Most of the extras were put together in 2006, many years after David passed away. Albert shares a commentary with associate producer Susan Froemke, joined by Ellen Hovde and Muffie Meyer. The women spent months in the editing room analyzing the Beales and debating how they should be presented. There was no "story" to tell, just the unfolding of these remarkable extrovert personalities. They report that the Maysles brothers would return every night to say, "that was the best day of filming so far." The editorial process was such a major part of the film that Hovde and Meyer were given co-director credit.
A special extra is the entire follow-up feature The Beales of Grey Gardens, assembled in 2006 from footage not used in the original. It's almost as good. We see a lot more of the ladies reacting to and interacting with the filmmakers, which Albert and David tried to not to use the first time around. New footage goes deeper into Big Edie's infatuation with Jerry, and Little Edie's major crush on David Maysles. She compares him to Valentino and Gatsby, and coyly suggests that one or both brothers take her away. It's good that the filmmakers happen to show up on one particular morning, as they arrive just in time to put out a potentially disastrous fire. Mother and daughter are quite pleased to have the handsome emergency crew in the house. Big Edie asks, "Did you thrill the firemen with that skirt? You used "Jacqueline's $300 blanket to put the fire out." The raccoons move in where fire axes have broken a big hole in the wall.
A 2006 interview piece with Albert contains new footage with Jerry Torre, who has become a NYC cabdriver. Little Edie sits for a forty-minute audio interview from 1976. New York fashion designers Todd Oldham and John Bartlett appear in separate interviews expressing their love for Grey Gardens and affirming the influence on their careers of Little Edie's eclectic fashion sense.
Three photo galleries include one documenting the various animals roaming the Beale mansion. Critic Hilton Als provides the essay for the folding disc insert. A fictional TV movie about the filming of Grey Gardens, given the same title, was released in 2009. It starred Drew Barrymore and Jessica Lange.
By Glenn Erickson
Grey Gardens on Criterion Blu-ray
Quotes
Trivia
Miscellaneous Notes
Limited re-release in United States March 6, 2015
Released in United States 1998
Released in United States 2009
Released in United States October 1998
Released in United States September 1975
Released in United States September 2000
Released in United States Winter January 1, 1975
Re-released in United States April 17, 1998
Re-released in United States August 14, 1998
Shown at Hamptons International Film Festival (Archival Film Series) in East Hampton, New York October 14-18. 1998.
Shown at New York Film Festival September 27 & 28, 1975.
Released in United States 1998 (The 1998 re-release is being shown on a new 35mm print.)
Released in United States 2009 (Shown at SILVERDOCS: AFI/Discovery Channel Documentary Festival (Maysles Retrospective Programs) June 15-22, 2009.)
Released in United States Winter January 1, 1975
Shown at SILVERDOCS: AFI/Discovery Channel Documentary Festival (Maysles Retrospective Programs) June 15-22, 2009.
Shown at Toronto International Film Festival (Year 1) September 7-16, 2000.
Limited re-release in United States March 6, 2015 (2K restoration)
Re-released in United States April 17, 1998 (Film Forum; New York City)
Re-released in United States August 14, 1998 (Los Angeles)
Released in United States September 1975 (Shown at New York Film Festival September 27 & 28, 1975.)
Released in United States September 2000 (Shown at Toronto International Film Festival (Year 1) September 7-16, 2000.)
Released in United States October 1998 (Shown at Hamptons International Film Festival (Archival Film Series) in East Hampton, New York October 14-18. 1998.)
The film, described as a "fugue of remembrance and recrimination," was shot in five weeks; the editing process took two years to complete.