Product Description

Seen on PBS

Written By: F. Scott Fitzgerald

Starring: Shelly Duvall, Bud Cort ("Harold & Maude")

Description: It's the hot summer of 1919. Visiting her cousin Marjorie (Veronica Cartwright), sweet-but-dull Bernice (Shelly Duvall) is transformed into a smooth-talking man-trap by her vampish kin. However, the "make-over" works too well, Bernice becomes the belle of the ball, captivating every boy's interest…even Marjorie's boyfriend Warren (Bud Cort). The now worldly Bernice has the last laugh…a clever and ironic twist. One of the best screen translations of F. Scott Fitzgerald's literary work, Bernice also includes the delightful supporting role performances of Dennis Christopher ("Breaking Away") and Polly Holliday ("Alice").

DVD Extras: About the Author, Actors’ Bios, About the American Short Story Collection, Henry Fonda Intro, Printable Study Guide

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #31706 in DVD
• Released on: 2004-11-16
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
• Formats: Color, DVD, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 49 minutes

Customer Reviews

Entertaining, yet penetrating.
I guess this is the type of movie that students are expected to watch and write reports on and that's kinda too bad, because the American Short Stories series is definitely one of the best series on TV.

This F. Scott Fitzgerald story is one of the best from the series as it captures the attitude of the times, the '20's. The teenagers are all affecting such sophistication. Bernice isn't used to this New York City sophistication, and is painfully shy at first on her visit, but finds herself prodded and pushed. The lesson is eventually learned, the lesson that it's best to be yourself since nobody else can do as good a job at being you as you can.

Importantly, the lesson is given to us in a most entertaining manner. One who hasn't become acquainted with Fitzgerald should find this taste of his skills addictive.

Well worth watching.

Good adaptation; poor quality
This adaptation actually merits four stars; Shelley Duvall and Veronica Cartwright shine in their roles as Bernice and her more popular cousin Marjorie. Duvall is especially well-cast as the gawky, socially-inept outsider. The period details (furniture, clothing, hair) are exact and give this period piece authenticity so that when Bernice finally goes through with the title act, we can see why bobbing one's hair would be considered so shocking. The scene in the barbershop, where the audience just sees the horrified faces of the onlookers with the sound of scissors snipping away at Bernice's hair in the background, is the high point of the story.

The problem is with the DVD itself. This transfer looks as though it was pulled right off a set of film reels that had been sitting in a closet for years. There is an omnipresent hiss throughout the movie, the audio is muffled at times, and the picture looks washed out. The film should have been remastered before being put on the market; this production deserves a lot better.

life is sometimes fair after all
This was a hard film to find. I had to finally track it down through my local library and they had to find it and have it shipped to Indpls. just for me to watch. I am a Bud Cort fan so it was worth the wait, and the hunt. It is a hoot! It is very slow moving, but don't be fooled. it allows Bud Cort and Shelley Devuall to play and I loved it.