Bye Bye Birdie (1963 film)


Bye Bye Birdie is a 1963 American musical comedy film based on the stage production of the same name. The screenplay was adapted from Michael Stewart's book for the musical by Irving Brecher, with music by Charles Strouse and lyrics by Lee Adams. Directed by George Sidney, the film stars Dick Van Dyke in his feature film debut, reprising his Broadway role as Albert Peterson, along with Maureen Stapleton as Mae Peterson, Janet Leigh as Rosie DeLeon, Paul Lynde reprising his Broadway role as Harry MacAfee, Bobby Rydell as Hugo Peabody, and Ann-Margret as Kim MacAfee.
The story was inspired by the phenomenon of singer Elvis Presley being drafted into the United States Army in 1957. Jesse Pearson plays the role of teen idol Conrad Birdie, whose character name is a word play on country singer Conway Twitty, who was, at that time, a teen idol pop artist. Presley himself was the first choice for the role of Birdie, but his manager, Colonel Tom Parker, rejected the idea as he did not want Presley in any roles that were parodies of himself or his career. Ed Sullivan appears as himself, host of the popular long-running CBS variety show. The film is credited with making Ann-Margret a superstar during the mid-1960s, leading to her appearing with Elvis himself in Viva Las Vegas.
In 2006, the film was ranked number 38 on Entertainment Weekly's list of the 50 Best High School Movies.

Plot

Conrad Birdie, a popular rock and roll star, receives an Army draft notice, devastating his teenage fans across the nation. Albert Peterson is an unsuccessful songwriter, and music is the family business, although he has a doctorate in biochemistry. He schemes with his secretary and long-suffering girlfriend Rosie DeLeon to have Conrad sing a song Albert will write. Rosie convinces Ed Sullivan to have Conrad perform Albert's song "One Last Kiss" on The Ed Sullivan Show, and then kiss a randomly chosen high school girl goodbye before going off to the Army. Once he achieves this success, Albert will feel free to marry Rosie, despite his widowed, meddlesome mother Mae's long history of ensuring nothing will come between her and her beloved son.
Columbus, Ohio, is chosen as the location for Conrad's farewell performance. The random lucky girl chosen is Kim MacAfee, who is thrilled. Kim already has a high school sweetheart, Hugo Peabody, who is not so thrilled. The teenagers of Sweet Apple, blissfully unaware of their town's impending fame, are spending the "Telephone Hour" catching up on the latest gossip: Kim and Hugo have just gotten pinned and Kim feels grown up.
When Conrad arrives in town, the teenaged girls sing their anthem, "We Love You Conrad", but the boys despise him for stealing their girls' attention. Sweet Apple becomes a very popular place, but some of the local adults are unhappy with the sudden celebrity, especially after Conrad's "Honestly Sincere" song coupled with his hip-thrusting moves causes every female, beginning with the mayor's wife, to faint.
Under pressure from the town's notable citizens, Kim's father Harry MacAfee is unwilling to allow his daughter to kiss Conrad on television, until Albert placates him by promising that his "whole family" will be on Sullivan's TV show. Albert reveals to Harry that he is actually a biochemist who has developed a miracle supplement for domestic animals that will make a hen lay 3 eggs a day; they test it on the family's pet tortoise, which speeds out the door. Harry, a fertilizer salesman, sees a great future for himself in partnership with Albert marketing this pill.
Hugo feels threatened by Conrad, but Kim reassures him that he is the "One Boy" for her. Rosie, meanwhile, feels like Albert does not appreciate her, so Albert persuades her to "Put on a Happy Face". Albert's mother Mae shows up, distressed to find Albert and Rosie together; Harry is also agitated about the way Conrad is taking over his house and the changes in Kim's behavior. Harry and Mae lament what is wrong with these "Kids" today.
During rehearsal for the broadcast, an impatient Conrad kisses Kim. Hugo is hurt, and Kim and Hugo break up, with all three asserting that they have "A Lot of Livin' to Do". Albert is informed the Russian Ballet has switched to a different dance requiring extra time, therefore eliminating Conrad's song and farewell kiss to Kim. His attempts to convince the Ballet's manager to shorten its performance fail, and a defeated and dejected Albert decides to drown his sorrows at Maude's Madcap Café.
To Albert's surprise, he finds Mae there, playing canasta with Mr. Maude, the cafe's owner and a widower himself. Rosie, fed up with Albert and his mother, also goes to the café for "a night to remember". After ordering three drinks, Rosie goes into another room where the Shriners convention is taking place. She starts dancing and flirting with the men, but when the scene gets too wild, Albert rescues her from the crazed Shriners.
Next day, Rosie comes up with the solution to get back Conrad's spot on The Ed Sullivan Show that evening. She slips one of Albert's pills into the orchestra conductor's milk, which speeds up the ballet, amusing the audience, offending the Russians and placing Conrad back on the show to sing "One Last Kiss". However, just as Conrad is about to kiss Kim, Hugo runs onstage and knocks him out on the live telecast, which shocks Albert and Rosie.
Kim and Hugo reunite. Albert is free to marry now and his mother agrees, revealing her own marriage to Mr. Maude. All three couples live happily ever after. Kim, now wiser, bids Conrad a fond goodbye in "Bye Bye Birdie ".

Cast

Uncredited Roles
  1. "Bye Bye Birdie" – Kim
  2. "The Telephone Hour" – Ursula and Sweet Apple Kids
  3. "How Lovely to Be a Woman" – Kim
  4. "We Love/Hate You Conrad" - Kim, Ursula, Hugo and Sweet Apple Kids
  5. "Honestly Sincere" – Conrad
  6. "Hymn for a Sunday Evening" – Harry, Doris, Kim and Randolph
  7. "One Boy" – Kim, Hugo and Rosie
  8. "Put On a Happy Face" – Albert and Rosie
  9. "Kids" – Harry, Mae, Albert and Randolph
  10. "One Last Kiss " – Conrad
  11. "A Lot of Livin' to Do" – Conrad, Kim, Hugo and Sweet Apple Kids
  12. "Shriner's Ballet" – Rosie
  13. "One Last Kiss" – Conrad
  14. "Rosie" – Albert, Rosie, Kim and Hugo
  15. "Bye Bye Birdie " – Kim

    Differences from stage musical

Several significant changes were made in the plot and character relationships in the film from the stage version. The film was rewritten to showcase the talents of rising star Ann-Margret, adding the title song for her and dropping songs by certain other characters.
According to Ann-Margret, she was cast when director George Sidney saw her dancing while on a date at the Sands Casino on New Year's Eve 1961. Sidney was so smitten with the rising new star, Janet Leigh was "very upset that all the close-ups were going to Ann-Margret" as Leigh, herself, was the lead star of the film.
Sidney says originally he was only going to produce and Gower Champion would direct, but Champion told Sidney he could not see it as a film, so Sidney stepped in. "That was a great deal of fun," said Sidney. "It was a young people's picture, with a lot of bright, gay noisy cast members yelling and screaming."
Ann Margret was paid $3,500 a week and earned $85,000 in all.

Reception

As of July 2019, Bye Bye Birdie holds a Rotten Tomatoes rating of 89% based on 28 reviews. The consensus states: "A poppy satire on pop music, Bye Bye Birdie is silly, light, and very, very pink."

Box office performance

Bye Bye Birdie was the 13th highest-grossing film of 1963, grossing $13,129,412 domestically, earning $6 million in North American rentals.
The film was given a Royal Charity Premiere when released in the UK on 7 November 1963, at the Odeon Marble Arch in the presence of H.R.H. The Duke of Edinburgh.

Awards

The film was nominated for two Academy Awards.
It was also nominated for two Golden Globes.