Back home

The Rehearsal

4 votes

Producing House

The Rehearsal is a 1969 short comedy, written and directed by Stephen F. Verona. It is a humorous short where a director becomes frustrated with a quisitive actress during the rehearsal of a play. The film was nominated for an Oscar for Best Live Action Short Film. Preserved by the Academy Film Archive in 2010.

movie

Status: Released

Released Date: 1969-10-01

Runtime: 17 mins

Director: Stephen F. Verona

Writer: Dick Clair, Jenna McMahon

Spoken language: English

Genres: Comedy

Original title: The Rehearsal

Production Companies: Cinema Verona Productions, Schoenfeld Films

Production Countries: United States of America

Reviews

G

Geronimo1967
When actress "Janice" (Jenna McMahon) turns up quite late for a rehearsal, she is taken on a run-through of a "Mother Goose" style of story featuring "Miss Muffet" and her tuffet, "Little Bo Beep", "Humpty Dumpty", curds & whey and questions. Loads and loads of questions from her as director "George" (Dick Clair) energetically tries to explain to her this particular fairy tale whilst the pair get plenty of others confused into the mix. When she sees the spider, well she goes method enough to impress Olivier before she begins to take over and turn the thing into the stuff of Ingmar Bergman! It's really quite funny this, not least because both artists embrace the increasing ridiculousness of the scenario - and the supposed conversation between "Miss Muffet" and "Bo Peep" is reminiscent of one of those chats you have at the very beginning of a first date, before tempers and voices rise to a crescendo. No wonder she lost her sheep - they probably did a runner off the end of a nearby cliff!
2025-02-02

Recommendations

A Grand Day Out
3.8

A Grand Day Out

1990-05-18

Wallace and Gromit have run out of cheese, and this provides an excellent excuse for the duo to take

The Wrong Trousers
3.9

The Wrong Trousers

1993-12-17

Wallace rents out Gromit's former bedroom to a penguin, who takes up an interest in the techno trous

A Close Shave
3.8

A Close Shave

1996-03-07

Wallace's whirlwind romance with the proprietor of the local wool shop puts his head in a spin, and

Miracle on 34th Street
3.7

Miracle on 34th Street

1947-06-04

Kris Kringle, seemingly the embodiment of Santa Claus, is asked to portray the jolly old fellow at M

Bambi Meets Godzilla
3.2

Bambi Meets Godzilla

1969-07-10

A deer, disillusioned by the consumerism that defines his life. A lizard, ostracized from society, f

M*A*S*H
3.5

M*A*S*H

1970-02-18

The staff of a Korean War field hospital use humor and hijinks to keep their sanity in the face of t

He Comes Up Smiling
2.8

He Comes Up Smiling

1918-09-09

Jerry Martin quits his dull job as a bank clerk and falls in with a band of hobos. He takes on the g

I Think I'm Going to Like it Here
0

I Think I'm Going to Like it Here

1980-01-01

Chris Columbus's NYU student film follows a naïve freshman from the Midwest as he becomes acclimated

Why They Love Cavemen
2.3

Why They Love Cavemen

1921-07-02

An animated comedy short from the 1920s. Preserved by the Academy Film Archive in 2008.

Harlem on the Prairie
2.5

Harlem on the Prairie

1937-12-09

A cowboy helps a pretty young woman find lost gold. Restored by the Academy Film Archive with addit

The Circus
4

The Circus

1928-01-06

Charlie, a wandering tramp, becomes a circus handyman - soon the star of the show - and falls in lov

The Tune
3.3

The Tune

1992-09-04

Del is a song writer for the obnoxious Mr. Mega, and in love with Didi, Mega's secretary. His quest

Three Daughters
3.8

Three Daughters

1961-05-05

Three stories with three central female characters linking the stories together. The first one conc

Peggy
0

Peggy

1916-01-02

The heroine, Peggy Cameron, is a high-society debutante with a mind of her own. After making a publi

Spider Baby
3.4

Spider Baby

1967-12-24

In a dilapidated rural mansion, the last generation of the degenerate, inbred Merrye family lives wi

The Cow Who Wanted To Be a Hamburger
2.7

The Cow Who Wanted To Be a Hamburger

2010-03-12

A children's fable about the power of advertising, the meaning of life and ultimately the test of a

Guard Dog
3

Guard Dog

2004-10-14

Why do dogs bark at such innocent creatures as pigeons and squirrels... what are they afraid of? Thi

Death of a Bureaucrat
3.6

Death of a Bureaucrat

1966-07-24

A young man attempts to fight the system in an entertaining account of bureaucracy amok and the tyra

Adam
3.1

Adam

1992-10-05

When The Hand of God creates Adam, he must learn the ways of the world, and can only hope for compan

The All-Star Bond Rally
2.5

The All-Star Bond Rally

1945-05-10

Inspirational documentary short film featuring Hollywood stars promoting the sales of War Bonds thro