![]() Zindel's play, it seemed to me, never quite made up its mind. How much of the time do we laugh at the frumps, and how much of the time with them?Mr. Which is one of the basic problems with frump plays as serious drama. Should she buy a black Gina Lollobrigida type, perhaps? A red Afro? She finally picks a spectacularly ill-fitting platinum-blond one that recalls the life and times of Carole Landis.It's difficult to believe that Beatrice, even as dumb as she's supposed to be, could have anything in mind but laughs when she puts it on. ![]() ![]() ![]() When we first see her in Paul Newman's film version of Paul Zindel's Pulitzer Prize-winning play, "The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the Moon Marigolds," she's at the local variety store trying on wigs. Beatrice Hunsdorfer (Joanne Woodward) is the classic gum-chewing, chain-smoking, whisky-swilling, snappy retorting American mother-frump, equally beloved by certain playwrights and by actresses, especially actresses who like to get their hands, feet, hair, body and teeth into a role.Beatrice is a mess. ![]()
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