At Long Last Love ** (1975, Burt Reynolds, Cybill Shepherd, Eileen Brennan, Madeline Kahn, Duilio Del Prete, John Hillerman, Mildred Natwick) – Classic Movie Review 8137

With the world at his feet after the brilliant The Last Picture Show, What’s Up Doc? and Paper Moon, writer-producer-director Peter Bogdanovich wanted to pay homage to the Thirties Hollywood heyday musical, and Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers in particular, and bizarrely cast as his stars Burt Reynolds and Cybill Shepherd, who cannot sing or dance.

The result is the expensive-to-make 1975 curio At Long Last Love, which was a resounding box-office failure that damaged people’s careers. It cost $6,000,000 and grossed $3,270,000 in the US (cumulative worldwide gross of $5,450,000). Nevertheless, it has its compensations.

The screwball-style comedy is the thing here: Burt Reynolds twinkles smoothly, effortlessly and appealingly as the star, millionaire Michael Oliver Pritchard III, and the support includes guaranteed performances from Madeline Kahn as the singer named Kitty O’Kelly whom Pritchard III falls for, Eileen Brennan, John Hillerman and Mildred Natwick.

The lovely production designs by Gene Allen and the Cole Porter score are definite pluses. 20th Century Fox ridiculously advertised it as a ‘new kind of musical’ – ie one where nobody could sing or dance. It is an amateurish effort.

Also in the cast are Duilio Del Prete, Quinn K Redeker, Lester Dorr and Liam Dunn.

Madeline Kahn, Burt Reynolds, Cybill Shepherd and Duilio Del Prete perform Cole Porter’s song At Long Last Love.

It is included in The 50 Worst Films of All Time and The Golden Turkey Awards books.

Bogdanovich re-edited and reworked it for US TV. It runs three minutes shorter than the 118 minute theatrical release and includes an extra musical number for Eileen Brennan: ‘It Ain’t Etiquette’ .

© Derek Winnert 2018 Classic Movie Review 8137

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