Marriage: Year One (1971 TV Movie)
7/10
This film is so very 70s
12 October 2020
I fondly remember watching this film in 1979, and it truly is a time capsule of the early 70s, or at least the decade of the 70s. Jane (Sally Field ) is a rich man's daughter who meets an intern (Robert Pratt) at a rock concert and marries him on impulse. But the new husband insists that they live on what he makes. This naturally means they don't have elegant digs, and end up living in a rather run down apartment. There Jane makes friends with a neighbor, Emma (Cicely Tyson).

One scene in particular I remember is when Jane and Emma are having a conversation, and Jane says to Emma that they are living the exact same life and of course she understands her problems. Emma sets the record straight. She reminds Jane that her situation is only temporary and that her husband will soon be a well off doctor. But that Emma is where she always has and always will be - poor. It seems like a light comes on in Jane's head at this point. Their situations are the difference between car camping for a weekend (Jane) versus living in a car (Emma).

Robert Pratt, who plays Jane's intern husband, looks different here from when I saw him in other roles. He is a bit on the chunky side with glasses and curly hair. That's actually the main reason why I remember the movie. He looked just like somebody who just broke my heart at the time.

Keep an eye out for Randy Mantooth of "Emergency!" as a fellow intern who smokes the world's biggest cigarettes in the hospital locker room! Actually Robert Pratt and Mantooth were good friends and later created Prattooth Productions, a multi-media production company, where Bob pioneered many audio-visual techniques. He pretty much left acting completely after the 70s to focus on this career path.

This film seems to have disappeared off the face of the earth. Never on DVD or even VHS or youtube, it might have originally been intended to be a pilot for a TV series that never took off.
4 out of 4 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink

Recently Viewed