Review of Billie (1965) by Mec R — 21 Sep 2007
This flick is almost a pre-second wave take on equality in sports. Almost. Instead it quickly becomes a semi-musical about love, small town politics and girls who are best just being girls.
Patty Duke stars as the speedy title character who excels in track because of the musical beat in her head. Duke seems to have retained none of the talent she so clearly had in 'The Miracle Worker' in her over-eager, peppy and annoying performance. She is a sub-par singer forced to sing, a sub-par dancer forced to dance and the scenes of her running track are ridiculously unbelievable.
I really wanted this movie to not second guess its themes in the end, but like most ground-breaking 60's cinema, it quickly backpedals and leaves the audience feeling like nothing has really changed since the 50's.
A frustrating film.
This review of Billie (1965) was written by Mec R on 21 Sep 2007.
Billie has generally received mixed reviews.
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