David and Lisa (1962)

the leading man is my tpye

Highly Overrated But Still Good

I was totally surprised at how great this film.You could feel your paranoia rise as the film went on and as you gradually learned the details of the real situation.

A great movie, one of the best of this year. There was a bit of confusion at one point in the plot, but nothing serious.

At a time when films were becoming bigger and more expensive to fill theater seats in competition with the small screen, David And Lisa quietly premiered in the fall of 1963. A small black and white film with a dental floss budget it's about two young people in a mental health facility that only the rich can afford.As such it's not a film that is truly representative of the mentally ill. Something like One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest is far better in that regard showing how people of all types and all types of neuroses are warehoused like cattle. This is a facility that only people of means can afford.Keir Dullea and Janet Margolin who got their first big breaks in the title roles as a pair of kids at a combination of boarding school and mental health facility. Dullea is a boy with an all consuming passion for neatness and order who goes ballistic at being touched. Margolin is a loopy girl clearly schizophrenic who constantly speaks in rhymes. I think in her mind that's bringing a kind of closed order to her world.We never see Margolin's family, but Dullea's is an eyeful. His father is distant and ineffectual. But mom Neva Patterson is the ice queen of suburban Republican women. David's here clearly because he's an embarrassment in her world. The therapists are strangely passive. Clifton James and Howard DaSilva seem to be good listeners, but really don't offer much. James who played southern redneck types usually is almost unrecognizable. As for DaSilva he was coming off the blacklist and no doubt grateful for any work.The film got two Oscar nominations for director Frank Perry and for Best Adapted Screenplay. But it belongs strictly to the leads Keir Dullea and Janet Margolin as David And Lisa.

Keir Dullea plays David, a new resident at a psychiatric treatment center, who becomes agitated when he is touched; Janet Margolin is Lisa, a schizophrenic who alternately speaks in rhymes or not at all. Director Frank Perry's drama about mental illness and the loving friendship that develops between these two disturbed young people was a surprise hit in 1962; independently-produced and distributed, the profits allowed Perry and his screenwriter wife, Eleanor Perry, to continue making acclaimed films together until the start of the new decade. It's not a very courageous film, it isn't hard-hitting and it doesn't break new ground, but as a dramatic acting showcase it delivers. Dullea is wonderful; he and Perry do not let the hysterics inherent in the role of David to dominate Dullea's performance (he carries the movie). As David's psychiatrist, Howard Da Silva is also strong, turning what might otherwise be a thankless role--the proverbial doctor-friend--into something much more: he's wise and caring, but isn't showy about it. The film is an entertainment the way TV dramas on "Playhouse 90" were entertainments. It shows us sick behavior and makes its points about society's attitude to that behavior, but there's no current of life underneath the film. "David and Lisa" isn't grossly melodramatic, which is a plus, yet Perry is too controlled within this environment. The picture is in black-and-white, and yet you can sense a rosy hue around it. ** from ****

This was an outstanding film dealing with two young people who had mental problems that were deep seeded into their minds and how they both struggled; to help each other find the light at the end of the tunnel. Keir Dullea,(David Clemens) "De Sade",'69, played the role of ayoung man coming from a rich family, who had a big hang up about anyone touching him in any way, even with a pinkie finger. If you did touch him, he went crazy and carried on like a brat of a child. Janet Margolin,(Lisa Brandt),"Annie Hall",'77, was another mentally disturbed young girl, pretty and seemed to glow when she looked at David. Howard Da Silva,(Dr. Swinford),"The Great Gatsby",'74 was the shrink in charge of the mental facility and had a full time job just trying to get David & Lisa to open up their twisted and disturbed minds. Great acting and a very enjoyable film, which at times is depressing and very down to earth.

Although I viewed this film over 40 years ago, it still comes back to my mind from time to time. It packs an emotional punch that is rarely seen in cinema today. The young Keir Dullea gives a very convincing performance as a highly intelligent, but mentally disturbed young man. The cinematography is excellent, burning images into the mind that are still there 40 years later. I recommend this film highly to anyone interested in the cinematic art, as well as those who enjoy a strong story. The fact that the film was shot in black and white is a definite plus. It tends to accentuate the starkness of David's world and subliminally takes the viewer into a world of absolutes, where shades of gray have no place.