Joanna

Director: Michael Sarne Michael Sarne

Overview

Forgotten 20th Century Fox starlet Geneviève Waïte and forgotten "trendy" director Michael Sarne teamed for the eminently forgettable Joanna. Waïte stars as the title character, a swinging London art student who uses up men like other people use Kleenex. Her carefree lifestyle comes to an end when she is impregnated by Gordon (Calvin Lockhart) -- one of the first black-white relationships in a major motion picture. Joanna frequently becomes a musical, notably in the final sequence, in which the heroine joins in a chorus with the entire cast and production crew Donald Sutherland co-stars as one of Joanna's wealthy paramours. Director Michael Sarne went from Joanna to Myra Breckinridge, then disappeared from view.

Product Details

Release Date:	05/28/2015
UPC:	0024543105084
Original Release:	1968
Rating:	R
Source:	ALLIED VAUGHN
Language:	English
Time:	1:53:00
Sales rank:	47,833

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Genevieve Waite	Joanna Sorrin
Christian Doermer	Hendrik Casson
Calvin Lockhart	Gordon
Donald Sutherland	Lord Peter Sanderson
Glenna Forster-Jones	Beryl
David Scheuer	Dominic Endersley
Marda Vanne	Granny
Geoffrey Morris	Father
Michelle Cook	Margot
Manning Wilson	Inspector
Clifton Jones	Black Detective
Dan Caulfield	White Detective
Michael Chow	Lefty
Anthony Ainley	Bruce
Jane Bradbury	Angela
Fiona Lewis	Miranda De Hyde
Jayne Sofiano	Teacher
Elizabeth MacLennan	Nurse
Richard Hurndall	Butler
Annette Robertson	Maid
Jenny Hanley	Married Woman
John Gulliver	Art Dealer
Brenda Kempner	Bespectacled Woman
Peter Porteous	Taxi Driver
David Collings	Critic
Sibylla Kay	Critic's Wife

Technical Credits

Michael S. Laughlin	Producer
Michael Sarne	Director

Editorial Reviews

It would be interesting to know just how much (or how little) Mike Sarne's Joanna grossed during its initial 1968 run. One guesses that it might have drawn semi-decent box office, based on the studio's willingness to hand Sarne another directing gig. Bad move. In some respects, the content of this picture should have spared everyone the misery of watching this man helm any additional films. In 40-year retrospect, Joanna's surfeit of poor directorial choices (from first frame to the last) clearly foreshadow all of the the self-indulgent excess inherent in Myra Breckinridge. But unlike Myra, Joanna (for better or worse) isn't without her charms. Sure, the film is rife to bursting with self-indulgence -- such as the "Hail, Hitler" imposition on the soundtrack immediately following Beryl's mention of the Nazi party. And these choices almost sink the picture. Almost. What saves Joanna are the overwhelmingly bright, Demy-ish pop colors that fill Sarne's canvas from first frame to last; the occasionally inspired stylistic breaks in the action -- such as the closing-credits musical number, which taken alone is one of the most uplifting and exhilarating sequences of its kind in movie history -- and, above all else, the central character. Thanks in no small part to actress Genevieve Waïte, Joanna herself is such an endearing creation -- so sweet, innocent, and charming -- that she ultimately transcends the material and deserves to be in a much better movie. It is this quality (above all others) that really explains and justifies the film's loyal cult following of folks who caught Joanna back in 1968. Donald Sutherland also does a nice job in a supporting role as Lord Peter Sanderson, an aristocrat dying of leukemia; his performance is beautifully modulated, as is his interpretation of the character -- playing Sanderson as a man who has chosen whimsy and merriment to drive the melancholia out of his life. No mistake about it: Joanna is one of those films where a number of the compositional elements are so strong and demonstrate such potential that the work aches for less onanistic direction.

All Movie Guide - Nathan Southern