New York State Writers Institute - Classic Film Series

A THOUSAND CLOWNS January 31, 2003 (Friday) at 7:30 p.m. Page Hall, 135 Western Avenue (Free and Open to the Public) (American, 1965, 118 minutes, b&w, 16mm) Directed by Fred Coe Starring Jason Robards, Barbara Harris, Martin Balsam, Gene Saks

This perpetual arthouse favorite tells the story of a writer who drops out of the corporate world to lead a life of perfect freedom. Jason Robards plays the nonconformist Murray Burns, guardian of a 12-year-old nephew, Nick. Murray raises his nephew to embrace his free-spirited values but runs into trouble with the Child Welfare Bureau. Adapted from Herb Gardner's successful Broadway play, A THOUSAND CLOWNS anticipated the American counterculture of the late 1960s.