John and Mary

Plot synopsis:
The stories are set mainly in the Berkshire countryside, at the farmhouse home of the children's grandmother, a Scottish-born woman named Mrs Hawthorne. The farm is called Smockfarthing, and is near to an imaginary village called Smockfarthing Wick, which in turn is close to a town called Riverton. Although these places are not real, James uses names of real places such as Oxford and Drayton, so it is possible that the area could be somewhere around Abingdon. John and Mary's parents live in Rome, as their father is Italian and works there apparently as a diplomat (his work is described in John and Mary Revisit Rome as "involving a great deal of travelling about to far-off places"). His wife is Mrs. Hawthorne's daughter, and her sister is named Push, who also lives at Smockfarthing. John and Mary are educated at home by a governess called Miss Rose Brown, although they spend about half their time in Rome, and indeed are bilingual in English and Italian. Smockfarthing carries a full complement of servants, including Mrs. Dyer the cook, Ellen the parlourmaid, Lizzie (whom the children call Lisetta) the maid, and Edie Kittiwake, the nurse. Edie's father Kittiwake looks after the farm with his son Reggie, and they and Mrs. Kittiwake live in a house on the farm called the Round House. Other characters, such as schoolmasters, vicars, postmistresses and so on, crop up in the books from time to time as well.
Although the series covers about thirty years, John and Mary are never allowed to grow up (only from about the ages of four to twelve) and nothing ever changes very much in their surroundings. This leads to situations such as the war and rationing being discussed during the 1940s, and television and washing machines being mentioned in the 1960s. (One can only assume that Grace James wished to appeal to a constantly fresh readership, although children of the 1960s would probably have found it rather odd that John and Mary would still have a governess and maids running around after them.)
The John and Mary stories involve the children doing fairly normal and day-to-day things within their environment (mainly the countryside), although James makes sure that they meet unusual people and have adventures along the way. The stories are written in a realistic way and the adventures are the kind of adventures that any children might have under the same circumstances.
John and Mary's Aunt is not about John and Mary at all, but is about James herself and her upbringing as a child in Japan. We learn that she was born in Tokyo and lived there until she was about twelve, although no exact dates are given. She does mention that her father was part of a naval mission and was there as an instructor - this seems to fit in with the time of the 'Douglas Mission' to Japan, which commenced in 1873 (hence the photographs in the book of her and her siblings in Victorian children's clothing).
The books were published by Frederick Muller and were illustrated by Mary Gardiner.

Tags: flashback

Review:
I know, this is just a small movie, but one that I'm able to see again and again, mainly because of little things as the bright blue sky upon Mia Farrow eating an apple or the original egg-cups in Dustin Hoffman's kitchen.
Well, if you long for those days or would just like to see what they were like, a good way to telescope back to `those thrilling days of yesteryear' would be to watch John and Mary.
This wonderful little gem from the height of the Sexual Revolution era is about young people trying to connect after the sex part is done.
A delightful, youthful Mia Farrow is compelling, bright, sexy and very appealing as Mary.
Dustin Hoffman as John is excellent.
The script is intelligent and the flashbacks very effective and interesting.If you like a mature story emphasizing superb character development with fully-realized, appealing characters, this is for you.
"It's Not Your Mother's Love Story," the ads for "John and Mary" proclaimed, and I suppose that back in 1969, such indeed was the case.
Telling the story of a one-night stand and the rainy day after, as the couple in question gets to know one another in the guy's spacious apartment at 52 Riverside Drive (in actuality, a 15-floor, redbrick building at 78th St. whose asking price today must be astronomical!), the film certainly must have engendered some controversy, back when.
Fortunately, this sweet, realistic, adult slice of life, though certainly a product of its time, is not as dated as one might expect, and the tentative, uncertain steps that John and Mary (whose names we never know until the picture's final moments) take when learning about each other should seem familiar to even Gen Y'ers.
This process of discovery is accomplished mainly through talk, but the viewer gets to know the two characters even better, via flashbacks, fantasy sequences and their voiced-over thoughts.
In the leads, Dustin Hoffman and Mia Farrow are quite fine, and director Peter Yates brings his picture in with great sensitivity.
The trio had recently participated in three enormously successful films--"The Graduate," "Rosemary's Baby" and "Bullitt," respectively--and while "John and Mary" is certainly a smaller film than those others, it is still of great interest.
Hoffman and Farrow were immensely ingratiating screen presences at this early stage of their careers, and their unique pairing here makes this film something special.
And speaking of early-career performances, "John and Mary" also features Tyne Daly, Cleavon Little and Olympia Dukakis, all in small but amusing parts.
Anyway, it is my feeling that viewers of this film will gradually come to really like John and Mary, and root for them as a couple, and wish them many more nights together.....
Which is perhaps where the film and theme deserves credit.Farrow is understated, Dustin Hoffmman his usual self (think Kramer vs Kramer) However for the subject matter, the film does succeed on several levels.Farrow remembers her pointless affair with a politician (Michael Tolan) who often played these roles.
Mia Farrow and Dustin Hoffman pairing...very interesting..
My memory may be clouded by the past, but I remember enjoying the teaming of Mia Farrow and Dustin Hoffman very much.Both actors are very good in this movie.
It's a small intimate two character story and depicts the "one-night" stand morals that were just beginning to take hold.
The conceit is they don't ask each other's name until the end.Mia had just completed "Rosemary's Baby" and Dustin had "The Graduate." They were young and especially successful as actors.
This is an all but forgotten little gem by Peter (Bullit) Yates, who uses a sensitive and witty script by the excellent John Mortimer.The direction, acting, and general tone are near perfect.
Alas it was probably super cool for a year or two after it's release and nothing dates like 1960s high fashion.You may catch it on a late night TV channel - if so, postpone your bedtime for 90 minutes or so and enjoy!Last thought - This film may have been the source for Woody Allen's famous and celebrated "subtitles" scene in Annie Hall, made several years later with Mia Farrow..
Realistic, charming slice of life movie about finding love.
This is a simple, charming movie about two people with "baggage" from past relationships who happen to find each other (and in the process, the possibility of true love and contentment) amid the insanity of NY and a frenetic existence.
Both lead actors are charming - particularly Mia Farrow - who has a waifish, far-away look in her eyes.
My favorite part of the movie was when "Mary" left "John's" apartment and he realized she didn't leave a number, so frantically searched the city for her..
A single man and woman, having met in a bar the night before, wake up together in bed "the morning after" but can't decide where to go from there.
Two charismatic leads (Dustin Hoffman just after "The Graduate" and Mia Farrow post-"Rosemary's Baby") try enlightening a terribly flat screenplay, but the sluggish narrative and sterile atmosphere make it impossible.
Farrow's Mary is all over the place: guarded and vague (and a little rude), and then sheepish and huggable; Hoffman's John is suspicious and cynical, but yielding.
"John and Mary" could certainly use a little whimsy--yet after all that fashionable cynicism, the old-fashioned finale is rather tough to swallow.
It had everything going for it, the hottest young stars of the late sixties, Dustin Hoffman and Mia Farrow, fresh from the successes of the Graduate and Rosemary's Baby.
The director had just made the huge hit Bullit and the hopes were very high, the two stars were on the cover of Time magazine!It was set in swinging New York, nice photography, cool apartments and clothes, it had to be a hit, right?What went wrong??????
Mia Farrow is too mannered doing her little-old-lady-in-a-girls-body routine.
It's worth watching just to hear Mia say that line about breakfast.
I remember at the time it was released that Dustin Hoffman was a bit unconvincing as a swinging single, since it had only been about 3 years since Mrs. Robinson seduced him after he spent the afternoon floating around the family pool.
When you watch "John and Mary", enjoy the great on-location filming, and keep a sharp lookout for when the two title characters actually introduce themselves by name to each other, lest you miss this touching moment..
This is a low-key, easy going and wonderfully realistic movie, about how people react to one another when they are trying to begin a relationship out of nothing.
John and Mary meet each other, have sex and wake up knowing next to nothing about each other.
Mary has her history of relationships where she wasn't valued and John has history with feeling abandoned and used.We follow them throughout their day, hear and see their thoughts and begin to understand why they say and do, the things they do in regards to each other.Their cognitive distortions are apparent and made entertaining by the movies style and humor.This movie is under-rated and possibly misunderstood.
Dustin Hoffman was one role post his Oscar nominated Midnight Cowboy and Mia Farrow was one role away from her groundbreaking Rosemary's Baby when they were teamed for John And Mary.
It's a film typical of the times, hook up first and then get to know each other.
As for Hoffman he's got a cornucopia of issues most of them centering around his mother played here by Olympia Dukakis.John And Mary is chronicling the Sixties sexual revolution and at least what we see of Hoffman and Farrow's characters they would certainly be recognized by today's audience.
Of course there weren't a lot of sexually transmitted diseases then, when they burst on the scene that made a lot of people act more prudently than John And Mary seem to.I never really got into the characters in this film.
For those of you who are interested in Marantz trivia, in this movie, John (Dustin Hoffman) has an exclusive vintage Marantz HiFi setup.
Hot off of Rosemary's Baby and The Graduate, Mia Farrow and Dustin Hoffman play 2 characters who have nothing to offer each other or the audience and who seem to take forever to do whatever it is they do.
Pete Yates directed this weird yawner complete with dull performances, zero pacing and pointless flashbacks and a script with less meat on its bones than the film's leading lady.
Advertised as a love story, John and Mary with its endless, tedious, narcissistic self-analysis feels more like David and Lisa..
Mia Farrow and Dustin Hoffman play a young couple who have had a one-night stand.
The entire movie takes place during the dreaded and infamous "morning after", but many scenes are shown in flashback.
While I usually criticize movies that rely on a nonlinear storyline and flashbacks, John Mortimer's script made some very interesting choices.
While Mia and Dustin talk over breakfast, the conversation triggers a memory in one of them and cues a flashback.
Words trigger memories, and before we know it, we're lost in another thought while real life continues.I didn't end up liking John and Mary; in fact, I found it pretty unpleasant.
Both characters, in the awkward light of day, struggle to get to know each other, and often speak internally as a reaction to what they're learning.
Since I'm a girl, I'm a little biased to be on Mia Farrow's side.
Why is it entertaining to watch Mia try and get to know someone like that?.
I had seen Hoffman in "The Graduate" and was intrigued by Mia Farrow.
With Mia Farrow as Anna Karina and Dustin Hoffman as Jean-Pierre Léaud.A movie that radiates a wonderful atmosphere, at least for those who like feeling with the hearts and thinking in the minds of lovers - and sometimes denigrate their feelings and then regret what they denigrated and then denigrate it again...But it's an American love story all the same.
Mia Farrow is Mia Woodhouse from "Rosemary's Baby" and Dustin Hoffman is Ben Braddock from "The Graduate".This movie doesn't need a plot and in fact it hasn't got one.
So, for once, the flashbacks and the interior monologues thrown into the dialogues and the inserts from thoughts and dreams and memories, all of these cinematic devices that are designed to keep the viewer interested and mostly just confuse him, here they contribute to the movie's ambiance.You should watch it with your lover by your side..
It's bad enough Mia Farrow was snubbed by the Academy for Rosemary's Baby, but she should have won an Oscar for her performance in this.
Dustin Hoffman is in full "Graduate" and "Midnight Cowboy" form but this is clearly Mia's movie.
Peter Yates pulled off another great film and one which would never be made today - it's too character driven and nuanced - not enough happens - for Hollywood today.
There are voice-overs of Dustin and Mia's character's thoughts - which totally work - but because of the quality of the their performances, could easily have been eliminated..
Mia Farrow still had the Vidal Sassoon hairstyle from the Rosemary's Baby in this film production.
She played Mary, a single New Yorker who lived in Turtle Bay section of New York City.
She meets John played by Dustin Hoffman.
They have one night together after meeting in a New York singles bar.
Neither John nor Mary are baggage free.
The New York City locations add to the film's scenic appeal.
The performances from Farrow and Hoffman are believable and genuine.
For a good part of 2010,a family friend would mention to me how when ever he sees an interview with Dustin Hoffman,this film seems to never be mentioned at all,even though it was made during the "Golden Decade" (the 70s")and that it also has a very good cast & crew.So,around November I went looking round for the film as a Christmas present.And though it has sadly not come out in the UK,I was luckily able to find a copy of the film from the states.When it arrived,I felt that since it had taken a good amount of time to find the film,that it was worth watching to see what it was all about.
The plot:After having spent the night together,two people (John and Mary,who both don't know each others names)wake up in bed together.When they both go down stairs,so John can cook some breakfast,they both start to think of each other in a very cynical way.This is because they both usually run off right away after having spent the night with someone,which is partly done,because they have had some very disappointing relationships in the past.As Mary starts to see how much of a "boring" bachelor lifestyle John has (staying inside,cooking and listening to Brass Band music as he looks out of his windows )Whilst she mainly wants to be a very outgoing type of person.Though she stays round at Johns place a lot longer than she would have anticipated (which she decides to use,to ask him about some of his past relationships.)And at the point,where it seems that both of them might like the relationship to keep going and to become more meaningful,Mary suddenly disappears!.Although John knows what part of the city she lives in (although he has not got the flats number,or address.)Since he did not think of taking a photo of her,or asking what her name is,the only thing that John does know,is that it is going to be a very long night,on his search to meet Mary again.
View on the film:One of the things that stuck out most to me about the film,was how surprisingly quiet director Peter Yates (who sadly died just two days after I had viewed this great film) had made the film.Yates does very well at showing the slight nervous awkwardness that the two main characters have around each other when they awake,with hints given with the mood of the film,that they both perhaps,would like this to be a deeper relationship.With the screenplay by John Mortimer (which is based on the book by Mervin Jones) giving John and Mary some excellently cynical lines,especially in the clever narration of the film,which is done so the whole audience knows what they both REALLY think of each other (and oddly,I feel that parts of the narration in the film,may have inspired some scenes of the excellent anti- ROM-com film (500) Days of Summer.)With a good portion of the film being set in one flat,the performances of Dustin Hoffman and Mia Farrow make the small flat,almost feel like a mansion.Hoffman first shows John as someone who is completely happy with their routine in life,into some one who seems to really be trying to get out of his comfort zone,when it seems that he might be about to lose something special.For her performance,Farrow does really well at showing Marys outgoing personality change,as she starts to realise that she really likes John,and that she does not need to pressurise him in a forceful way.Final view on the film:An excellent,"quiet" movie,with some witty lines,two very good leads and great directing from the late Peter Yates..
There are movies where people feel that they are underrated.
Many of the comments that have been written suspect this for "John and Mary".
Moreover, when a movie is built on dialectical experiments, thus focusing communicative structures, very easily the impression rises that the plot is thin or the story more or less absent.
Neither of that is the case in "John and Mary".John and Mary meet one night in a New Yorker Bar. They are attracted to one another.
The next scene shows them already in the morning in John's apartment.
We see it in all other movies where such scenes happen.Then the scene changes to breakfast.
And so, what we see as voyeurs and not so much as audience (audire = "to hear, listen"), is an extremely complex network of flashbacks and flash-forwards, of what did happen in the past of John and Mary and of what may or may not happen in their common or not common future.
This means, John and Mary could reach by communication the desired status of relationship.
I saw this movie in the theater when first released.
That's how this movie opens; they don't even know each other's first name.
Through flashbacks to the night before, you see Dustin Hoffman and Mia Farrow trying so hard to be cool yet successful in the frenzied meat market of the Friday night Manhattan bar scene.
For most of the movie, quite frankly, I was so bored I dosed off about five times.
Once the end of the movie neared, however, I started to like it.
Of course, my DVR has a habit of only liking to record the first hour and twenty-five minutes of things, leaving me with the need to buy the movie just to skip everything and watch the last five minutes.A brief synopsis of the film would be that Dustin Hoffman, an emotionally challenged, furniture designer, and Mia Farrow, a worker at an art gallery, meet at a bar, then have sex, and spend the next day in his apartment, talking and thinking about themselves and their past-loves.
Eventually, she leaves, never learning his name and him never learning hers and, they eventually meet again when he tries to find her, but discovers her in his own home instead, and they begin to date (thanks to my television, I'm guessing, so don't take my word for it).All together, the movie is strangely cohesive and an interesting view on the romance of two romantically blunt people.Buy the movie and WATCH it, I know I have to..
Dustin Hoffman had already impressed me in this sensual film The Graduate (with sound track by the talented Simon and Garfunkel).
Mia Farrow did the same thing in the illustrious TV series Peyton Place.
Perhaps the relation of John and Mary is less sensual, but it is certainly equally daring.
On the other hand, John and Mary are in danger of exploiting each other.