Yesterday, I attended a free screening of the 1976 TV film adaptation of F. Scott Fitzgerald's Bernice Bobs Her Hair at the Brattle Theatre. The screening was a part of the Brattle's tribute to Duvall who passed away in July.
Duvall starred in this production of Bernice Bobs Her Hair alongside Veronica Cartwright and Bud Cort with whom she had made her film debut in Brewster McCloud six years earlier. Let's just say this was light years away from the Astrodome. Directed by Joan Micklin Silver, Bernice Bobs Her Hair originally aired on PBS as part of the anthology series American Short Story and featured an introduction from actress Colleen Dewhurst.
The Brattle obtained the two-reel print from a private collector. Unfortunately, the color faded to pink, and the sound quality was diminished making some of the dialogue difficult to hear. Nevertheless, it was interesting to see Duvall act in a lead role in a period piece.
Duvall plays Bernice, a waiflike creature who visits her wealthy cousin Marjorie (played by Cartwright) for the summer much to Marjorie's consternation. Marjorie views Bernice as a drag on her social life belying the fact the boys cannot get enough of her especially Warren (played by Cort) who is madly in love with her but is treated with indifference by Marjorie. Bernice persuades Marjorie to make her more socially acceptable and Bernice proves to be an adept social climber stealing away the attention of the boys (especially Warren) much to Marjorie's chagrin.
To be sure, the century old story by Fitzgerald is quite dated by today's standards and has not endured like The Great Gatsby. A woman cutting her hair is not a scandal while references Bernice's "mixed Indian blood" is downright cringey. While Bernice Bobs Her Hair will not endure in the Duvall pantheon in the way her work with Robert Altman, her portrayal of Wendy Torrance in The Shining and later work on Faerie Tale Theatre has, it does demonstrate the depth of her work.
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