Before she was a household name for her political activism and her exercise videos, Jane Fonda was a fashion model and began her film career in the early 1960s. Some of her early films are now available on DVD from the Warner Bros. Archives: Tall Story (1960), Period of Adjustment (1962), and In the Cool of the Day (1963)
Tall Story
Tall Story was Jane Fonda’s first film. She plays June Ryder, a kooky coed who has a different idea of college than most people. She chose that particular college because, as she says, she’s tall and that college happened to have a great basketball team. June is interested in one player in particular – Ray Blent (Anthony Perkins). Her agenda is clear. She plans her classes around his and enlists the aid of two professors in her scheme.
Ray Walston plays Professor Leo Sullivan, and Marc Connelly plays Professor Charles Osman. Both professors are a little shocked by June Ryder and her plan to snare and marry Ray Blent. But they both get caught up in the madcap plot, along with Sullivan’s wife (Anne Jackson).
Amazing as it may seem, June Ryder’s scheme seems to work. She captures Blent’s attention and soon they are a couple. But what happens when he finds out about her plot?
This is a cute comedy. It was made in 1960 so the theme is simple yet Fonda’s performance is what makes it as cute as it is.
Period of Adjustment
In Period of Adjustment, Fonda plays Isabel, a young student nurse who falls in love with a patient, George Haverstick (Jim Hutton). As soon as he is released from the hospital they get married only to discover they have a lot to learn about each other.
Their honeymoon takes them to George’s friend’s house. Ralph Baits (Tony Franciosa) is happy to welcome his old Army pal into his home, but George has had enough and dumps Isabel at the house then takes off. While Isabel tries to figure out what is going on, Ralph tries to mend the new marriage, all the while dealing with his own marital problems.
When George finally returns the newlyweds continue to seek solace in Ralph’s advice at the same time Ralph is facing off with his in-laws. This is a strange story of two marriages where all four people find that marriage is not all rosy, but after working out the kinks it can be wonderful.
Period of Adjustment is from Tennessee Williams. It’s a slow moving story that takes place in just a few days. The standout character is Franciosa’s Ralph Baits, a sweet, good natured, loveable fellow. After awhile the fighting between George and Isabel gets to be too much, but Ralph is the one character that is worth the storyline.
In the Cool of the Day
In the Cool of the Day is not a comedy like the other two. It is a drama adapted from the novel by Susan Ertz, focusing on the lives of two married people. The catch is they are not married to each other.
Jane Fonda plays Christine Bonner who is married to Sam (Arthur Hill). Christine is a sickly young woman who is loved and cared for by Sam, but his attention and caution drives her away. She feels smothered.
Then she meets one of Sam’s colleagues, Murray Logan (Peter Finch), who is in New York on business from the London office. Their attraction to each other is evident, yet they both have a lot of emotional baggage that might stand in their way of happiness.
After the two couples plan a trip to Greece together Sam has to back out due to his father’s illness. This leaves Christine alone with Murray and his wife Sybil (Angela Lansbury). As the threesome travels through Greece Sybil realizes that her husband is in love with Christine, and she loves him back.
This tragic love story is touching to watch as the young ailing woman seeks to find a few minutes of total happiness in her life, which she has never had. This is definitely high drama.
Tall Story, Period of Adjustment, and In the Cool of the Day are all available made-on-demand from the Warner Archive Collection website.
