I was fascinated by it - by both the house and the women. Here's a photo of the movie house.
Taberandrew flickr
Here is a photo of the original from the inside looking out.
This photo shows the actual property in its eventual state of disrepair. Posing in front is Edith Bouvier Beale, Little Edie, Jackie Kennedy's cousin.Drew Barrymore and Jessica Lange did a fabulous job recreating the real-life characters from the Maysles brothers original 1975documentary film "Grey Gardens."
Here are some photos of the set interiors. I am in love with the cane chairs and I want desperately to see the kitchen (the only kitchen shot was in the dark at night).
As you can see, this photo depicts years of neglect.
This was the actual photo taken by Sally Quinn (who now owns it with her husband, Ben Bradlee) before their restoration. Mind you, this was after Jackie and Ari Onassis fixed it up so it was habitable. Sally said she touched a key on the piano and it went right through the floor.The NYTimes has done a few articles on the house. You will want to click here for the link and also look up the slideshow to the Secret Gardener in the lefthand Multimedia column.
After I watched the movie on DVR, I stayed up late watching the original movie on YouTube. You can click here to see it. Additional parts are listed on the right side.
Liberty Post has done quite a few posts on this eccentric couple. Find her recent post here and click various links for previous posts and references. There's a blog devoted entirely to Grey Gardens and its inhabitants: here. Visual Vamp has some great photos and information, here. As well as A Bloomsbury Life, here.
Looks I have some ordering to do on Amazon.
16 comments:
I didn't watch it, but now that I see these pictures, I'm going to make a point of it!
need to see this!
holy mackeral how about that documentary? i watched it on youtube as well and burned some of my dinner in the process. i am serious when i tell you that my cat has been on shakey grounds here for awhile and now i am sure she is outta here. my heart sank as i watched big edie answer her phone mimicking a maid. do you think they were mentally ill or 'eccentric'? i am also curious about the progression of the Beales story - it went from tabloid to documentary to a musical to hbo...guess i am headed to broadway.
I haven't seen any of it yet, but did burn about 4 hours last night watching everything I could find online. Amazing, just amazing.
I watched the HBO version last night and I was impressed. I had pretty low expectations that Drew Barrymore was going to be able to do any justice to Little Edie, but she really transformed herself. I have been a fan of the original film for ages and I didn't think that a movie-fication of it would add anything to the story. I was wrong. The movie fills in the holes left in the documentary and Jessica Lange blew me away as Big Edie, absolutely blew me away. The scenes that were restagings of the scenes from the documentary were spot on. Hauntingly so. Bravo all around. HBO's telling of the story is a perfect supplement to one of the best documentaries I've ever seen.
I've seen clips of the HBO film online and it looks amazing.
Going to watch it now. Yet another vote for HBO.
Going to watch it now. Yet another vote for HBO.
I have the original all ready to watch tonight - I will have to wait forever for the new HBO as it wont come to Europe for some time. Glad you enjoyed it, xv.
loved it...really fun...
I loved it. I have been obsessed with these women for twenty years. I could not believe how much Jessica Lange looked like big Edie. And Drew was so good I forgot it was her. Great post.
Shelly
I really wanted to watch it, but I don't have HBO. Is there a online site that streams it? I don't think Hulu has HBO. But, It looked so interesting.
Haven't seen it yet, but I was just looking at the NY Times slideshow before stopping by. Seriously intriguing. Thanks for all the great links!
gorgeous - would you mind telling me where you got that picture of the hill's - i never found that one - do you remember????? I"m dying!!!! di you remember?? please say that you do. I want that one. email me - mrballbox329@aol.com
Somehow, I have not yet discovered your blog, as I am an avid reader of SGM, and I must say, you are fabulous.
I discovered the Edie's because of my interest in the Broadway show, then I watched the original documentary and fell in love with the real women. The fall from grace and the characters of these women enthrall me, and I can truly say that Little Edie is one of my heroes.
I always feel so sad when I see younger pictures of the both of them...they were both brilliant, I think, and Big Edie has some wonderfuly opinions about life. Little Edie reminds me of myself, in some ways, (even though I'm only 18), and I love learning more and more about them.
Having said that, I must say that Drew and Jessica became these women, adding their own touches and feelings to the plight of the Edies. A brilliant performance by each. (I cried. I cry at the end of the documentary, and I cried even more when Edie threw the roses, because she was finally in the spotlight where she had always longed to be. I read about her doing that, and I was on the edge of my seat waiting for that moment.)
*SPOILER* I'm watching the HBO film now...I have already seen the original. In the 1975 film all I saw was pain, regret, extreme poverty, co dependency and beautiful trajedy in all it's haunting glory. And yes sadly I do feel they slowly slipped into mental illness. No way does a right minded thinking person or even a very eccentric one live in that type of sqaulor! Have you seen pictures of the mansion before the cleanup? It was DISGUSTING cat and racoon feces 3 feet high! Anyways, Now as I watch the Drew Barrymore film....it starts off as a fairy tale with little Edie as the princess and ends of course, in bittersweet tragedy with a dose of cruel reality as she never truly got her happy ending. When Little Edie is looking in the mirror seeing she has lost nearly all her hair, freaks out and runs down the staircase to grab the kitchen sheers and begans to cut it all out while sobbing. Was probably one of the most tearjerking moments in film I've seen. Boy did Drew nail it! And hats off to Jessica Lange as well! Also on a side note, I wonder if Grey Gardens is haunted....? I feel it very could be...
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