Karen Black Was More Than Twice Her Character's Age. - The Day of the Locust (1975) Discussion

Quite true. She was not well-cast. Although Goldie Hawn was over 17 at the time, I wish she had been Faye instead.

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[–] 17 years ago

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[–] gsmoore 17 years ago

I just re-watched this (first time since first seen when it came out) and found Karen Black's performance perfect. Her appearance was 20 something, so I feel that worked. As far as the role - the combination of so many flaws in one person's character - wow! Shallow, greedy, mean, vulnerable yet hard, manipulative and needy, narcissistic, clever, opportunistic - yet not really evil - her sad smile with the tear in her eye in the last scene shows she wasn't unfeeling. Fay Greener knows what a phony she is but she's one of those tragic characters that "can't help it". Not much different from some in Hollywood today.

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[–] Edward_de_Vere 17 years ago

I thought that they made Faye more sympathetic (the poor, misunderstood, "I just want to be loved" type) than she deserved to be. In the book, her character didn't have a single saving grace to make her seem human, much less likeable.

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[–] christopher_greenleaf 17 years ago

Her appearance was 20

To me she clearly looked to be in her mid thirties.

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[–] 17 years ago

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[–] christopher_greenleaf 17 years ago

Good point. Even though it is a major deviation from the book, the thought of a wannabe starlet approaching 40 is pitiful, and pathetic. It does work on that level. A character in her late teens would seem more foolish than tragic.

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[–] 17 years ago

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[–] 17 years ago

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[–] nycruise-1 17 years ago

I heard that in later years John Schlesinger contemplated Sissy Spacek in the role.

"Don't call me 'honey', mac."
"Don't call me 'mac'... HONEY!"

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[–] 17 years ago

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[–] GunHillTrain 16 years ago

There is a strangeness in the novel in that Faye is a teenager trying to act like an adult. She is below the age of legal consent, and yet all of these older men are pursuing her.

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[–] stopsign9999 16 years ago

Karen Black's acting in this was superb. However, she doesn't really look the part. Still it works, because overall this film was sort of otherworldly and offbeat and her unusual looks complemented the film's ambiance.

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[–] Yort14 16 years ago

I thought Karen Black was brilliant in this film.The fact that she's older makes her character even more desperate for stardom.She was extraordinary in this.

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[–] mcintyro 16 years ago

came across an old 1975 copy of American Cinematographer where they interviewed Schlesinger on the film. Originally, Sally Struthers was strongly considered, but she could not get out of her ALL IN THE FAMILY gig long enough to film.

Anyway, Schlesinger never bought the character of Faye in the novel, saying no 17 year old would act that way. He thought the only character that was fully developed in the novel was Tod.

Therefore, you would never have seen a teenager playing that part.

With that said, this film was shot on the Paramount lot in the Fall of 1973, the same lot where Partridge Family and Brady Bunch were shooting their last seasons. Wouldn't it have been interesting to have Maureen McCormick (Brady Bunch) or Ronne Troupe (Partridge Family) play Faye? Also, Robert Reed could have played one of the studio brass. Reed was just about to embark on a nice career playing character parts in mini series.

Lastly, Karen Black was outstanding in the part, and in my opinion, it is her best work on an impressive body that extended from 1973-1976. She was robbed of an academy award, and I'm proud to say I had the chance to tell her this a couple of years ago.

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[–] edess 14 years ago

I read the book and I agree with Schlesinger. I thought Black was brilliant. There is a rawness to her sexuality on screen. Remember, at that time, actresses weren't doing a lot of really provocative nude scenes. It's much more common today. Maybe if the film was made today, you could see a younger actress in the role. But not back in the 70s. Karen was great.

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[–] 14 years ago

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[–] OhDorothy 13 years ago

Susan Dey played Laurie in the Partridge Family. She later appeared in L.A. Law. Ronne Troup played Polly Williams, the young wife of Chip Douglas in My Three Sons. Troup also appeared in one episode of the Partridge Family.

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[–] jones7418 12 years ago

I loved the movie but it sounds different than what people are posting about the book. I'll go to the library and see if they have it. I also thought Adore was a girl!

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[–] The_Dying_Flutchman 12 years ago

Everybody is always complaining about Karen Black's age, but no one remembers how much older Judy Garland was for her character in "The Wizard of Oz". If it works for U who cares?

Yes, the book is a masterpiece, but the film was more than a piece of junk.

The sense itself was I.