muted

Marjorie Morningstar

Rating6.2 /10
19582 h 8 m
United States
1369 people rated

At 18, Marjorie Morgenstern is the proverbial New York Jewish-American princess on the cusp of womanhood. While she has in the back of her mind that she would like to become a stage actress, she is less certain about her personal future. Although she has burgeoning sexual feelings for her boyfriend Sandy Lamm, a nice Jewish boy whom she is expected to marry eventually, she isn't sure if she truly loves him. She wants some time away to discover whether she should accept his marriage proposal; in doing so, she meets several wannabe-suitors who will enter, leave, and re-enter her life during her young adulthood. The one she believes that she is truly in love with is Noel Airman, 14 years her senior, who is social director of South Wind, a summer resort in the Catskills, when they first meet. Much like Marjorie's chosen life path is against the tradition envisioned by her opinionated mother, Rose Morgenstern, who hopes that acting is just a phase and Marjorie will settle into the life of a homemaker and mother, Noel has taken a similarly unconventional life path, bucking an envisioned professional life for one in the arts; he is adored as a genius by those at South Winds as he is writing a Broadway play. What those at South Winds do not see is Noel's time away from South Winds; he has a tendency to not finish what he starts, which might be one reason he never sees himself getting married. What Rose might find more egregious about Noel as Marjorie's potential husband is the fact that he turned his back on his Jewish heritage. As Noel contemplates settling into a more conventional life with Marjorie, can the love they think they have for each other overcome these obstacles?

Drama
Romance

User Reviews

Assala.Nasri.Tiktok

29/05/2023 22:05
source: Marjorie Morningstar

glenn_okit

18/11/2022 08:33
Trailer—Marjorie Morningstar

Ashish Chanchlani

16/11/2022 13:24
Marjorie Morningstar

Mylène

16/11/2022 02:26
Great, great book. TERRIBLE movie. Natalie Wood is lovely, to be sure, but not a great actress. Gene Kelly is a great actor and dancer, but horribly miscast. The simpering! The overacting! Spare yourself. Read the book.

user4151750406169

16/11/2022 02:26
Somewhat stilted and overlong this is still an enjoyable drama of a young girls awakening to some of the realities of life thanks to Natalie Wood. At this stage she was in a transition period between being the lead girl in a bunch of studio assembly line films and a true leading lady in important pictures. This is one of the first where the sole focus was on her character and she carries it well plus she is at the peak of her beauty. Claire Trevor and Carolyn Jones enhance the film with their individual and distinctive personalities. Gene Kelly however is miscast and abrasive and that hurts the pictures overall impact.

💛Selen AL💛

16/11/2022 02:26
On her summer vacation, restless college beauty Natalie Wood (as Marjorie Morgenstern) gets a job at a New York camp and resort area; there, she falls in love with attractive older man Gene Kelly (as Noel Airman). Her parents do not approve of the theatrical Mr. Kelly, preferring that Ms. Wood marry a more respectable doctor or lawyer. Kelly's younger assistant, playwright Martin Milner (as Wally) pines for Wood, but she only has eyes for Kelly. Wood and Kelly are all too obviously unsuccessful, in the lead roles. Others in the cast, like supportive Carolyn Jones (as Marsha) help keep it from being a total loss. And, the bit players are fun to spot. The story's moral seems to waver uncomfortably between "Don't reach for the stars" and "There's no place like home." **** Marjorie Morningstar (4/24/58) Irving Rapper ~ Natalie Wood, Gene Kelly, Carolyn Jones

Toke Makinwa

16/11/2022 02:26
I recently saw this movie after adoring Gene Kelly's musicals since I was a kid. It is quite a departure of what I'm used to seeing him in, but still wonderful. This is pretty standard fare for Natalie Wood, but it is a rare treat to see Gene Kelly in a dramatic role. After reading his biography, it is a sad irony that his character somewhat mirrored what was happening in Gene Kelly's personal life, in that his days of glory were something of the past. This is not the Gene Kelly you know, but if you want to see him in something different, take the phone off the hook, grab a box of Kleenex and sit down with Marjorie Morningstar. It will stay with you.

Snald S

16/11/2022 02:26
I have watched Marjorie Morningstar on video a few times and have read others' review of it. As a Jew, I was not bothered by the stereotypes. They rang true because in that day an age, that is how parents viewed marriage for their children. Interesting that the Bar Mitzvah was held in an Orthodox synagogue where there is separate seating men and women though the religious observance of the Morgensterns is questionable. In any case, while the premise of a young woman falling for an older man with great passion is believable, Gene Kelly as Noel Airman to me was not even likable. And it is wonder why they needed to cast a 46-year old man in a role of a 33 year old. Ed Wynn and Carolyn Jones were a delight, while most of the other characters were not particularly noteworthy. The movie ending is far different from the book, and honestly, I think I prefer the movie ending though the book's end was probably more true to life.

Efrata Yohannes

16/11/2022 02:26
Herman Wouk's classic coming of age novel about a young Jewish girl who wants to be an actress is faithfully brought to the screen by director Irving Rapper.Natalie Wood was,without a doubt one of the most beautiful women to ever grace the silver screen,and although her performance here is not nearly as good as the one audiences would be treated to two years later in "Splendor In The Grass",she's just so goshdarned gorgeous that it doesn't matter.A competent supporting cast,with Ed Wynn,and his bullfighting skit at the Mexican fiesta being one of the highlights.And the Passover Seder,with the little kids fidgeting,and the looks on everyone else's faces letting you know that everyone was ready for the food to be brought out hours ago definitely brought back memories.See the movie,and if you've never read the book,try to find a copy.I think I must have read it about 5 times when I was a kid.
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