A Thousand Clowns


A Thousand Clowns is a 1965 American comedy-drama film directed by Fred Coe and starring Jason Robards, Barbara Harris, Martin Balsam, and Barry Gordon. An adaptation of a 1962 play by Herb Gardner, it tells the story of an eccentric comedy writer who is forced to conform to society to retain legal custody of his nephew.
Jason Robards starred in both the original Broadway version and in the film. Martin Balsam won an Oscar for his supporting performance in the movie.

Plot

Unemployed television writer Murray Burns lives in a cluttered New York City studio apartment with his 12-year-old nephew, Nick. Murray has been unemployed for five months after quitting his previous job writing jokes for a children's television show called Chuckles the Chipmunk. Nick, the son of Murray's unwed sister, was left with Murray seven years earlier.
When Nick writes a school essay on the benefits of unemployment insurance, his school requests that New York State send social workers to investigate his living conditions. Investigators for the Child Welfare Board Sandra Markowitz and her superior and boyfriend, Albert Amundson, threaten Murray with removal of the child from his custody unless he can prove he is a capable guardian.
Charmed by Nick and seduced by Murray, Sandra rows with Albert. Murray convinces her to join in his delusional charade, in which seeking work is a kind of joke used to keep the conventional, conformist, and inhumane state from his doorstep. Sandra rationalizes her growing relationship with Murray as encouragement for his attempts to seek employment. Although Murray tries to avoid actually getting a job, he finds himself in a dilemma: if he wishes to keep his nephew, he must swallow his pride and go back to work.
Murray also feels that he cannot let go of Nick until the boy has shown some "backbone". In a confrontation with his brother and agent Arnold, Murray expounds his nonconformist worldview: that a person must fight at all costs to retain a sense of identity and aliveness, and avoid being absorbed by the homogeneous masses. Arnold retorts that by conforming to the dictates of society, he has become "the best possible Arnold Burns".
Murray agrees to meet with his former employer, the detested Chuckles host Leo Herman. When Nick does not laugh at Leo's pathetic display of comedy, Leo insults Nick, who quietly but firmly puts Leo in his place. Nick becomes upset with Murray for tolerating Leo's insults, and Murray sees the boy has finally grown a backbone. Realizing that Nick has come of age, Murray resigns himself to going back to his old job, and the next morning he joins the crowds of people heading off to work.

Cast

won a Tony for the 1963 stage version.
AwardCategoryNomineeResult
38th Academy AwardsBest Supporting ActorMartin Balsam
38th Academy AwardsBest Adaptation or Treatment ScoreDon Walker
38th Academy AwardsBest PictureFred Coe
38th Academy AwardsBest Adapted ScreenplayHerb Gardner
American Cinema EditorsBest Edited FilmRalph Rosenblum
Golden GlobesBest Motion Picture - Musical/Comedy
Golden GlobesBest Actor - Musical/ComedyJason Robards
Golden GlobesBest Actress - Musical/ComedyBarbara Harris
Laurel AwardsBest Male Supporting PerformanceMartin Balsam
National Board of ReviewTop Ten Films
Writers Guild of AmericaBest WriterHerb Gardner

Music

Music in the film ranges from rudimentary drum cadences to Dixieland arrangements of "The Stars and Stripes Forever". The song "Yes Sir, That's My Baby" is used in several places.
Judy Holliday wrote the lyrics for the theme song "A Thousand Clowns". This was her last film credit, as the film was released after her death on June 7, 1965.

Stage

A Thousand Clowns premiered on the Broadway stage at the Eugene O'Neill Theatre on April 4, 1962 in previews, officially on April 5, 1962 and closed on
April 13, 1963 after 428 performances. Directed by Fred Coe, the cast featured Jason Robards, Jr.,, Sandy Dennis, Gene Saks, Barry Gordon, William Daniels and Larry Haines. Sets and lighting were by George Jenkins, and costumes were by Ruth Morley.
The play received two 1963 Tony Award nominations: Featured Actor in a Play and Best Play, and Sandy Dennis won the Tony Award for Featured Actress in a Play.
Walter Kerr, in his review for the New York Herald Tribune, wrote of Sandy Dennis: "Let me tell you about Sandy Dennis. There should be one in every home."
After touring stops in Durham, Chicago, and Boston, A Thousand Clowns returned to Broadway at the Longacre Theatre on July 4, 2001 in previews, officially on July 11, 2011, and closed on September 23, 2001 after 83 performances. The revival starred Tom Selleck as Murray Burns, Barbara Garrick as Sandra Markowitz, Mark Blum as Leo Herman, Nicolas King as Nick Burns, Bradford Cover as Albert Amundson, and Robert LuPone as Arnold Burns.