FIELDER COOK

Bil’s rating (out of 5):  BBB. 

Alternate title:  From The Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler

USA, 1973.  Cinema 5, Westfall Productions.  Screenplay by Blanche Hanalis, based on the novel by E.L. Konigsburg.  Cinematography by Victor J. Kemper.  Produced by Charles G. Mortimer Jr..  Music by Donald Devor.  Production Design by Philip Rosenberg.  Costume Design by Linda Wayne Howard.  Film Editing by Eric Albertson.  

A precocious pre-teen is tired of her parents insisting that she be more of a grown-up and decides to run away in order to enjoy her dream life a little more. Her brother accompanies her as they leave their New Jersey suburb and board a train to New York City, where they sneak into the Metropolitan Museum and hide there for a week. During their visit, the girl (who is something of an art enthusiast) stumbles upon a news headline regarding a statue of an angel that may or may not have been created by Michelangelo. She decides it will mean everything to her self worth if she could only figure out the identity of the artist, and her determination to make this happen leads her to the home of the wealthy art collector (Ingrid Bergman) who donated it to the museum in the first place. A wonderful story that is absolutely vibrant in the scenes that take place in the museum, the film unfortunately stagnates in the last third and the revelation of the many secrets presented to us by Bergman doesn’t quite jump off the screen. A shame that when the great star finally appears, giving a deliciously warm performance, it’s at the point where the film loses its audience’s attention.