The Owl and the Pussycat
Opened November 20, 1970
Barbra’s second film under her contract with producer Ray Stark was The Owl and the Pussycat. A non-musical about a prostitute which featured saucy dialogue and nudity, the film was a big risk for Streisand who’d already starred in three family-oriented, rated-G musicals.
The Owl and the Pussycat began as a Broadway show during the 1964-65 season. It starred Alan Alda (M*A*S*H*) and Diana Sands. Sands had actually shared the stage with Streisand when they both appeared in Another Evening With Harry Stoones off-Broadway in 1961.
When it came time to film Pussycat, Ray Stark considered several leading men opposite Streisand. David Hemmings (Barbarella, Camelot, Blowup) was considered for the role of Felix, as was Sidney Poitier—which would have added a race element to the already complicated love story (although the Broadway show had already cast African-American Diana Sands as Doris).
Asked by a columnist if she would be singing in The Owl and the Pussycat, Streisand retorted, “How many singing prostitutes do you know?” To another journalist she said, “It’s not Medea, so what’s the big deal? I’d feel more apprehensive if I were going to play Juliet or Hamlet, which I always wanted to do.”
Reportedly, Martin Charnin was commissioned to write a song for the film. Streisand stuck to her guns and did not sing—even a song over the credits— in Pussycat. However, Streisand eventually recorded Charnin's "The Best Thing You've Ever Done" and released it on her studio album, The Way We Were, in 1974.
Columbia Records, Streisand's recording label, did release a soundtrack album for The Owl and the Pussycat which contained instrumentals and songs by the rock group Blood, Sweat and Tears, as well as actual dialogue by Streisand and Segal from the film's soundtrack. The Owl and the Pussycat soundtrack album is out of print. It is the only Streisand album released by Columbia Records which is not available on CD. However, it’s a moot point, due to the existence of VHS tapes and DVDs. (In the 1970’s, when the album was released, consumers were not able to own video versions of their favorite films, so this album, with dialogue, was the only way to relive the film experience.)
Screenwriter Buck Henry praised Streisand’s contradictory personality when he said, “She’s very tough and very sentimental at the same time, which is something she’s used in films very well.”
Filming in New York began in September 1969. Between scenes, Streisand studied painting and wore plastic gloves to protect her manicure. Because Streisand liked the work of modern painter Frank Stella, Ray Stark gave her a smock with “Streisella” stitched in it.
Director Herbert Ross had a photographer snap photos of New York prostitutes to get an idea for hairstyles and dress for Streisand’s prostitute character. Ross, a Broadway choreographer, came up with the bumps and grinds that Doris performs in the film.
Regarding her first nude scene, Streisand told one reporter, “The producer and the director are both pleading with me to put it back in the film, but I won’t. I did the scene on condition that it wouldn’t be used without my approval, and I didn’t like it. It’s out and it stays out.” The scene, according to Streisand, “spoils the comedy of the next scene.”
Another scene in the film which was spoiled, according to Ross as he told author Robert J. Emery, was “the scene where George and Barbra are stoned in the bathtub—they insisted on getting stoned in order to play the scene, and of course it was hopeless and we had to do it again when they were slightly straighter. But that was the time, you know.”
Barbra’s favorite cinematographer, Harry Stradling, passed away during the filming of The Owl and the Pussycat. Andrew Laszlo completed the picture.
The Owl and the Pussycat wrapped production mid-January 1970.
Click the Play button below to hear a 1970 radio promo for The Owl and the Pusscyat.
“Owl” Featurette
A featurette was produced that included location/production footage, film clips, and onscreen interviews with writer Buck Henry and producer Ray Stark. Titled On Location with The Owl and the Pussycat, its running time was 6:05 minutes. Barbra Archives has edited together some of the footage below:
(Above) Streisand wore a charming lingerie costume as Doris, which was auctioned in 2004 to benefit Streisand's Foundation. (Below:) Streisand and actors posed for a hilarious series of “porn” photos for Doris' movie, CYCLE SLUTS. This looks like it was a fun photo session!
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