A New Leaf

Elaine May’s directorial debut, the deliciously dark comedy A New Leaf, in which the writer /director stars opposite the one-and-only Walter Matthau, sparkles with the wit and offbeat humor that propelled her to comedy stardom.  Carefree playboy Henry Graham (Matthau) is a man with a problem: he has run through his entire inheritance and is completely unequipped to provide for himself. His childhood guardian, Uncle Harry (a deliciously mean-spirited James Coco), refuses to give him a dime, so Henry devises a plan with the help of his imaginative butler (George Rose) to make his money the old-fashioned way – he can marry it. But he cannot see himself as a happily married man, so he comes up with an even more devious solution: with a temporary loan from his uncle, Henry has six weeks to find a bride and repay the loan; otherwise he must forfeit all his property to his uncle. Henry finally meets his dearly beloved, a clumsy, painfully shy heiress, Henrietta Lowell (director Elaine May). This is the answer to all his financial prayers – until he decides to murder his new spouse for her money, and things begin to spin wildly and hilariously out of control! (Dir. by Elaine May, 1971, USA, 102 mins., Not Rated)