That Cold Day in the Park 1969
That Cold Day in the Park
Frances Austen, a young, wealthy spinster, invites a mute teenager into her apartment after finding him freezing in the park next to where she lives. Despite her best efforts, their lack of communication only increases her sense of loneliness, as her possessiveness spirals into frightening new realms.
Frances Austen, a young, wealthy spinster, invites a mute teenager into her apartment after finding him freezing in the park next to where she lives. Despite her best efforts, their lack of communication only increases her sense of loneliness, as her possessiveness spirals into frightening new realms.
Videos & Photos
All 3 Videos & 12 Photoscast
Full Cast & Crew... Frances Austen
... The Boy
... Nina
... Nick
... Sylvia
... Dr. Stevenson
User reviews
See All 1 Reviews04 Jan 2023 by CinemaSerf
"Frances Austen" (Sandy Dennis) is having a genteel lunch party with her friends when she spots a young man sitting on a park bench outside amidst an heavy rainstorm. Her guests all leave and she decides to fetch him in to feed, water and dry him off. He (Michael Burns) understands her ok, but he doesn't ever speak as she proceeds to chat (pretty relentlessly) to him before offering him a bed for the night. It isn't long before she is completely obsessed by the attractive young man and he becomes more of a lodger, though with increasingly less freedom to leave her luxurious apartment. When she decides that she might want to look after his sexual needs too, things begin to come to an head - and (a feintly ridiculous) tragedy ensues. The first eighty minutes or so of this are quite intriguing. We see a woman - of ostensibly upstanding character - become increasingly hung up on the young Adonis she has taken under her wing, whilst we also see aspects of the young man's true character that remain unknown to her for much of the film. Robert Altman cleverly and delicately touches on the aspects of infatuation and delusion of "Frances" whilst also eliciting a degree of sympathy for her as we discover that the boy is not the only one being used, here. Burns spends a lot of his time scantily clad, but in quite an effectively non-provocative, almost boyish fashion - and Dennis is on good form as a woman who has lived her life in a gilded cage from which she now craves escape. I did not really like the ending. It seemed a bit lazy and sensational for me. Not that I did really know how it should conclude, or even if it needed a definite denouement at all, but somehow I was rather disappointed with what we were offered..This is still an interesting character study that any fly on the wall might enjoy. I did.
Release Date:
Jun 08, 1969 (Canada,United States)
Run Time:
1hr 53`
MMPA Rating:
R
Original Language:
English
Production Countries:
Canada,United States
Status:
Released
Plot Keywords:
Related Movies To
That Cold Day in the Park
"Frances Austen" (Sandy Dennis) is having a genteel lunch party with her friends when she spots a young man sitting on a park bench outside amidst an heavy rainstorm. Her guests all leave and she decides to fetch him in to feed, water and dry him off. He (Michael Burns) understands her ok, but he doesn't ever speak as she proceeds to chat (pretty relentlessly) to him before offering him a bed for the night. It isn't long before she is completely obsessed by the attractive young man and he becomes more of a lodger, though with increasingly less freedom to leave her luxurious apartment. When she decides that she might want to look after his sexual needs too, things begin to come to an head - and (a feintly ridiculous) tragedy ensues. The first eighty minutes or so of this are quite intriguing. We see a woman - of ostensibly upstanding character - become increasingly hung up on the young Adonis she has taken under her wing, whilst we also see aspects of the young man's true character that remain unknown to her for much of the film. Robert Altman cleverly and delicately touches on the aspects of infatuation and delusion of "Frances" whilst also eliciting a degree of sympathy for her as we discover that the boy is not the only one being used, here. Burns spends a lot of his time scantily clad, but in quite an effectively non-provocative, almost boyish fashion - and Dennis is on good form as a woman who has lived her life in a gilded cage from which she now craves escape. I did not really like the ending. It seemed a bit lazy and sensational for me. Not that I did really know how it should conclude, or even if it needed a definite denouement at all, but somehow I was rather disappointed with what we were offered..This is still an interesting character study that any fly on the wall might enjoy. I did.
Cast & Crew of
That Cold Day in the Park
Directors & Credit Writers
... Assistant Director
... Director
... Second Assistant Director
Cast
... Frances Austen
... The Boy
... Nina
... Nick
... Sylvia
... Dr. Stevenson
... Mrs. Ebury
FW
Frank Wade... Mr. Ebury
RB
Rae Brown... Mrs. Parnell
... Mr. Parnell
AA
Alicia Ammon... Mrs. Pitt
... Prostitute
... The Rounder