The Pumpkin Eater

UK (1964): Drama

Anne Bancroft stars as a restless, twice-married British woman with six children, whose third husband is a fledgling screenwriter (Peter Finch). When success spins Finch's head around, he begins to dally with women other than his wife. Meanwhile, Bancroft is forced to stay home and play "domestic goddess", a role for which she is utterly unsuited. After suffering a nervous breakdown, Bancroft wanders the streets of London in a vain search for a sympathetic ear. She eventually comes to grips with the situation at hand -- but as in most of playwright Harold Pinter's works, the characters of this film are just as unfulfilled in the last scene as they were in the first. Anne Bancroft won a Cannes Film Festival award for her performance in this film -- and really should have walked away with the Oscar® as well. Jack Clayton directs. Cast also features James Mason, Janine Gray, Cedric Hardwicke and Maggie Smith. (Romulus/Royal Films Int'l.) (Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide)

· Actress 1964: Anne Bancroft

1 nomination