Just Tell Me What You Want

Leave it to Sidney Lumet to make a movie about a high-powered mogul looking to buy a movie studio and his television executive mistress and shoot it not in Hollywood but New York. Although born in Philadelphia, Lumet made New York his longtime home (he died in Manhattan in 2011 at the age of 86) and, more to the point, became one of its foremost cinematic chroniclers. Only about a fourth of his feature films were not at least partially shot or set in and around New York City. Even a film like The Fugitive Kind (1960), which takes place in the typical Tennessee Williams Deep South, was filmed in a Bronx studio and a small town in upstate New York. It's fortunate Lumet stuck to his roots with Just Tell Me What You Want (1980) or we wouldn't have the spectacle of a knock-down-drag-out physical fight between stars Ali MacGraw and Alan King in the Manhattan luxury department store Bergdorf Goodman. Leading up to that moment (actually the film's opening scene) are the nasty machinations by mega-wealthy developer-investor Max Herschel (King) to buy a near bankrupt studio, avoid marriage with his mistress Bones Burton (MacGraw), carry on with other women, then ruin Bones and her new revenge-husband Steve Routledge (Peter Weller), an off-Broadway playwright. Actually, the decision to remain in New York wasn't entirely Lumet's. The screenplay was adapted by Jay Presson Allen from her novel of the same name, and the director-producer was just sticking to her original settings. Allen had been working in television and film since the 1950s and earned a high reputation for her screenplays for Alfred Hitchcock's Marnie (1964), The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie (1969), adapted from her play, and Cabaret (1972), among others. She wrote Just Tell Me What You Want in 1969 hoping to turn it into a film script but had little luck getting interest in a production until she sent it to Lumet, who surprised her by wanting to do it. Despite Allen's opinion that Lumet wasn't really good with humor (a judgment he also expressed following his previous comedy, Bye Bye Braverman, 1968) the two enjoyed their collaboration. The only notable conflict was his decision to shift the voiceover narration from Herschel's executive secretary to his mistress. Allen thought Lumet's strong point was structure, and they had better opportunities to work on that aspect together on Prince of the City (1981), The Verdict (1982), and Deathtrap (1982). One point of instant agreement between the two was the casting of the lead; both wanted Alan King right from the start. King was an odd choice to carry a romantic comedy. The stand-up comic had appeared in a number of movies, including two directed by Lumet, but his brash manner and less-than-leading-man looks limited him to supporting parts. He trimmed down for this role and gave a performance that critic Roger Ebert found "surprisingly good," inhabiting the character of the rich tyrant "instead of just strutting through the dialogue." MacGraw was also an unusual choice for the mistress. Not that she didn't have the looks or style for the part; the former model was an attractive romantic presence in her six previous pictures, including Goodbye, Columbus (1969), Love Story (1970), and Sam Peckinpah's The Getaway (1972) with then-husband Steve McQueen. The problem was MacGraw was never considered much of an actress and had very little experience with comedy. Nevertheless, she was praised by Ebert, who said she made the character "sexy primarily because of her intelligence." Writing in Time magazine, Frank Rich said MacGraw was "animated and playful for the first time in memory." The best notices went to Myrna Loy as Herschel's wise and long-suffering secretary. This was Loy's final feature film appearance in her nearly 60-year career. Some reviewers thought she was the best thing about the picture, which made for a nice exit from films, certainly better than how many of her contemporaries ended their careers. Other than Ebert, the film didn't get great reviews and didn't make much money at the box office, but many viewers today consider it an overlooked gem. The interiors were filmed at the venerable Kaufman Astoria Studios in Queens, New York (formerly known as Astoria Studio and Paramount Studio). The facility was built in 1920 by the Famous Players Lasky company and was the site of much production up until the 1930s, including the first two Marx Brothers films, The Cocoanuts (1929) and Animal Crackers (1930). Most recently, some scenes from the Best Picture Academy Award winner Birdman (2014) were filmed there. In 1978 the property was designated a national historic district and added to the National Register of Historic Places. Director: Sidney Lumet Producers: Burtt Harris, Sidney Lumet, Jay Presson Allen Screenplay: Jay Presson Allen, based on her novel Cinematography: Oswald Morris Editing: John J. (Jack) Fitzstephens Production Design: Tony Walton Art Direction: John Jay Moore Music: Charles Strouse Cast: Ali MacGraw (Bones Burton), Alan King (Max Herschel), Myrna Loy (Stella Liberti), Keenan Wynn (Seymour Berger), Tony Roberts (Mike Berger), Peter Weller (Steven Routledge) By Rob Nixon