Tony Franciosa and Jane Fonda in Period of Adjustment

Period of Adjustment is a 1960 play by Tennessee Williams. After a 4-month run on Broadway, it was made into a motion picture in 1962 starring Tony Franciosa and Jane Fonda. They were not a couple in the film, but they were the top billed actors.

Franciosa’s character, Ralph Bates, is married to Dottie, portrayed by Lois Nettleton. Ralph is a Korean War vet who achieved his status in life by marrying the boss’s daughter. Dottie’s parents (John McGiver and Mabel Albertson) have way too much influence in the Bates family.

Jane Fonda played Isabel. She married George Haverstick (Jim Hutton) in such great haste, she didn’t even invite her daddy to the wedding! Well, “marry in haste, regret at leisure” is how George and Isabel’s union starts out after you see them fall in love in the hospital.

George is a Korean War vet with PTSD and Isabel is his nurse. After they say their “I do’s”, Isabel finds out that she will be going on her honeymoon in a hearse George bought. Then George drops the news that he quit his job. He shows no concern for his new bride’s feelings about that and just about everything else. They were headed for Florida but, on Christmas Eve, they end up on good buddy Ralph’s doorstep.

Ralph lives with his wife, Dottie, in Tennessee and their son. Ralph works for Dottie’s father. At least he did when you first see him, hungover to the gills after drunkenly insulting his father-in-law at the company Christmas party. All Ralph has to do, Dottie thinks, is apologize and it will blow over. Ralph, however, is sick and tired of kowtowing to Mr. McGill. He tries to apologize for his family’s sake, but blows his stack and quits.

By the time George and Isabel arrive at the Bates’ home, Dottie has left and taken the young’un back to her parents. George deposits Isabel on Ralph’s doorstep and leaves without a word! Ralph and Isabel get acquainted while she wonders where his wife is and they both wonder if George intends to return.

George does return. Dottie and the meddling parents show up too and all parties air their grievances with each other and themselves. As for the kid, I think he was only in there to underscore what a harpy the mother-in-law was. That was one of Ralph’s beefs: she was turning the kid into a sissy.

My impression: I never saw the play but I thought “Period of Adjustment” must have been better on the stage. Something gets lost in the stage to screen transition sometimes. The title comes up in the dialogue several times to describe (excuse?) a character’s actions and/or reactions. I think the main reason(s) to watch this one are to acquaint yourself with a lesser Tennessee Wiliams play or if you are a fan of one of the actors. I was a big fan of Tony Franciosa and that’s why I watched it.

Cast Notes:

This was Jane Fonda’s 5th movie credit. She was 25. Reports say the role was supposed to go to Marilyn Monroe who died at the age of 36 a few months before the film’s release.

John Astin makes a cameo appearance two years before he went on to TV fame as Gomez Addams.

Mabel Albertson (Mrs. McGill) played Darren’s mother on “Bewitched”. Her brother Jack Albertson appears as the desk sergeant at the police station.

The play was revived in London’s Almeida Theatre in 2006 with Benedict Cumberbatch as George and Jared Harris as Ralph. It ran almost an hour longer than this film, so yeah, a lot must’ve been left out. Too bad they didn’t leave out that cringeworthy phone call Jane Fonda makes to her daddy.