The Gazebo
| The Gazebo | |
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| Directed by | George Marshall |
| Produced by | Lawrence Weingarten |
| Written by | Myra Coppel |
| Screenplay by | George Wells |
| Based on |
The Gazebo 1958 play by Alec Coppel Frederick Brisson |
| Starring |
Glenn Ford Debbie Reynolds Carl Reiner John McGiver |
| Music by | Jeff Alexander |
| Cinematography | Paul Vogel |
| Edited by | Adrienne Fazan |
| Distributed by | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer |
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Release date
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Running time
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100 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $1,218,000 |
| Box office | $3.31 million |
The Gazebo is a 1959 black comedy CinemaScope film about a married couple who are being blackmailed. It was based on the play of the same name by Alec Coppel and directed by George Marshall. Helen Rose was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Costume Design, Black-and-White. According to MGM records, the film earned $1,860,000 in North America and $1,450,000 elsewhere, making a profit of $628,000.
Television writer and director Elliott Nash (Glenn Ford) is being blackmailed by Dan Shelby (voice of Stanley Adams) over nude photographs of his wife Nell (Debbie Reynolds), taken when she was 18 years old. Elliott does not inform Nell, the star of a Broadway musical, what is going on, but works feverishly to make enough money to pay off the ever-increasing demands.
Finally, Elliott decides that murder is the only way out. He makes preparations, incorporating some advice from a friend, District Attorney Harlow Edison (Carl Reiner). When the blackmailer shows up at the Nashes' suburban home as arranged to collect his latest payment, Elliott shoots him, then hides the body in the concrete foundation being poured for the antique gazebo his wife has bought. He has to keep Sam Thorpe (John McGiver), the contractor hired to install the structure, and Miss Chandler (Mabel Albertson), the real estate agent trying to sell the Nashes' house, from stumbling across his scheme.
Then, Harlow brings news that Shelby has been shot and killed ... in his hotel room, leaving Elliott wondering who he murdered. Nell's name is on a list of blackmail victims belonging to Shelby, so both Elliott and she are suspects. (As it turns out, Shelby approached Nell first, but was rejected; the publicity would have greatly boosted the musical's audience.) They are cleared when the murder weapon is found to belong to Joe the Black, an associate of Shelby's. It is clear to Lieutenant Jenkins (Bert Freed) that Joe decided not to split the money. Elliott is relieved to discover his victim was a criminal.
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Wikipedia