"Roseland" (1977)
Just finished watching the movie 'Roseland' from 1977 (Merchant Ivory Productions), which I recorded last week on TCM. The movie was made up of three stories of the 'lonely' people who danced weekly at 'Roseland' in Manhattan, and starred a young Christopher Walken as a gigolo (hustling older wealthy women to be their companion and dance partner). Geraldine Chaplin also starred. At times, it was a very emotional movie - I really became invested in most of these people, and wanted them to find just one night of happiness on the ballroom floor. Of the three stories, my favorite was the last, titled "Peabody".
Anybody else ever see this ? What did you think ?
| by Anonymous | reply 4 | July 28, 2025 6:42 PM
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I saw it some time in the 1980s, but all I remember is that the young Walken was gorgeous.
| by Anonymous | reply 1 | April 24, 2025 7:01 AM
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He was incredibly gorgeous and sexy. I would've hired him. I was reading some reviews online covering the past 48 years - one critic wrote (back in the early 80s) that this movie could've been bigger at the box office if it wasn't overshadowed by 'Saturday Night Fever' which was released around the same time. Interesting view, as the only thing the two movies have in common is dancing.
| by Anonymous | reply 2 | April 24, 2025 11:39 AM
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One of my favorite Merchant Ivories.
| by Anonymous | reply 3 | July 28, 2025 6:22 PM
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I stumbled on this PBS 1980 effort with a very appealing Chris Walken / thought may be of interest........
Mix together a small town community theatre's shy leading man and the lovely telephone worker who moves into town and you have a perfect recipe for a delightful romantic comedy. Academy Award-winners Susan Sarandon and Christopher Walken star as the couple who discover that affairs of the heart on the stage may be a bit less complicated than continuing the romance off the stage. Director Jonathan Demme, an Academy Award-winner, deftly weaves this endearing tale of love in bloom from Kurt Vonnegut, Jr.'s story.
This rarely-seen movie was a filmed adaptation of a play made for PBS' American Playhouse in the early '80s. While the video quality is grainy, the movie is still significant for serving as an early career vehicle for Sarandon, Walken and director Demme. This isn't exactly 'Before They Were Stars' - after all, by 1982, Walken had already won an Oscar for The Deer Hunter, Sarandon had already starred in Rocky Horror and been nominated for an Oscar for Atlantic City, and Demme, although still a decade away from his biggest work, had already directed the acclaimed Melvin & Howard.
But this acting showcase did come 'before they were superstars' - at a time when talented, on-the-rise directors and actors would come together artistically for PBS to take on a Vonnegut story
| by Anonymous | reply 4 | July 28, 2025 6:42 PM
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