Bye Bye Birdie (1963 film)
American musical romantic comedy film by George Sidney / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Bye Bye Birdie is a 1963 American musical romantic comedy film directed by George Sidney from a screenplay by Irving Brecher, based on Michael Stewart's book of the 1960 musical of the same name. It also features songs by composer Charles Strouse and lyricist Lee Adams, and a score by Johnny Green. Produced by Fred Kohlmar, the film stars Janet Leigh, Dick Van Dyke, Ann-Margret, Maureen Stapleton, Bobby Rydell, Jesse Pearson, and Ed Sullivan. Van Dyke and featured player Paul Lynde reprised their roles from the original Broadway production.
Bye Bye Birdie | |
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Directed by | George Sidney |
Screenplay by | Irving Brecher |
Based on | Bye Bye Birdie by Michael Stewart |
Produced by | Fred Kohlmar |
Starring | |
Cinematography | Joseph Biroc |
Edited by | Charles Nelson |
Music by |
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Production company | The Kohlmar-Sidney Company |
Distributed by | Columbia Pictures |
Release dates |
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Running time | 112 minutes |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Budget | $5 million[3] |
Box office | $13.1 million |
The story was inspired by Elvis Presley being drafted into the United States Army in 1957. Jesse Pearson plays the role of teen idol Conrad Birdie, whose character name is a word play on country singer Conway Twitty, who was, at that time, a teen idol pop artist.[4]
The film was Van Dyke's feature film debut and helped make Ann-Margret a superstar during the mid-1960s. Her performance earned a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actress and her next role was with Presley in Viva Las Vegas.
In 2006, the film was ranked number 38 on Entertainment Weekly's list of the 50 Best High School Movies.[5]