Billie

Loved this movie, the seller was great, quick delivery.

Patty Duke was at the height of her teenybopper fame when she starred in BILLIE (1965). Modern audiences may sneer at it's depiction of a girl's fight for equality (which she ultimately drops), yet it's mix of teen angst and lively musical numbers is quite a delicious combo.15-year-old Billie Carol (Patty Duke) sets out to beat the boys at their own game by joining the highschool track team; a decision that could disrupt her entire family. With her father (Jim Backus) busily campaiging for mayor, her sister (Susan Seaforth-Hayes) home from college with a guilty secret; and mother (Jane Greer) constantly talking about putting her head in the oven(!), Billie's antics could send them all over the edge! In the end, Billie decides her greatest victory is just "being a girl", as the whole cast dances away into the night. Yay!BILLIE is harmless fluff in the vein of "Gidget" and "Beach Party". Patty Duke, at the very apex of her teen fame, is pert and perky in the lead, belting out songs like "Funny Little Butterflies". Warren Berlinger is the boyfriend who feels threatened by Billie's sporting prowess, and "That Girl"'s Ted Bessell also puts in a fun appearance. The lively choreography comes courtesy of talented "West Side Story" cast member David (Baby John) Winters. Keep an eye out for Broadway hoofer Donna McKechnie amongst the dancers.The DVD of BILLIE is truly appalling though. Cropped and sliced into fullscreen, the image is full of telecine wobble and lots of grain (which could have been minimalised by keeping the film in it's original widescreen ratio). The sound is in big fat mono with minor hiss and distortion evident throughout. Extras are limited to the original trailer (which is presented in widescreen, another kick in the pants for those who would have loved the whole movie in widescreen).Fans of 60s kitsch should love BILLIE. Despite a shoddy DVD presentation, this is a movie that deserves to be enjoyed. (Single-sided, single-layer disc).

It's hard to resist this campy little mid-'60s teen romp, which is why Casey Bond and I wrote a book about it. It's the candy-coated feminist theme that intrigued us, with tomboy Duke beating the boys at "their own game" with the Beat, a kind of rock and roll superpower she hears in her head. BTW, those complaints about the picture quality of the official video releases are sadly true; the first MGM DVD release was a slightly-too-wide pan-and-scan offering, while the release featured here is letterboxed, but is defective, with strange horizontal lines often affecting the image. For years we've lobbied for a blu-ray release, but so far, no luck. In any event, here's the link to our book: https://www.amazon.com/Patty-Duke-Billie-Model-Sell-Out/dp/1593938411/ref=pd_rhf_dp_p_img_15?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=PEC6C02YAQDQ7JDNS5ZH

My comments refer only to the MGM Limited Edition Collection and the one star is for the quality of the DVD release, not the film, which is what it is. Patty Duke in her autobiography said this was a quickie film shot inbetween season Two and Three of the Patty Duke Show, and was a project mostly for her managers to get her away from a love interest in New York. It's fun enough. But the double edged sword of this release is FINALLY, if you are a fan of the movie, Patty Duke, or of watching your favorite films in it's correct screen aspect ratio, here it is, as opposed to the previous editions which were issued in pan and scan. Having said that, this newer release is almost unwatchable as there is such a double un-focus to this transfer....all the actors have double lips, four eyes, double noses, especially in the long shots. The close-up fare a little better, and are almost in focus. But shame on whoever is responsible for quality control, if there is anyone to do that these days. And it's not as if these MGM Limited Edition Series Collection are inexpensive either. Really, in the 21st century in the year of 2017, is it so much of a technical feat to put a DVD-product out that is in FOCUS? Especially the 2nd time around...you'd think they'd finally get it right. But as usual, the buck is passed on the consumer. So if you already have the previous pan and scan version, I wouldn't waste more money on this transfer, even for the widescreen.

I remember this movie from years gone by. It still affects me the same way. A teenage girl having to decide to be a girl or a girl playing football?

A great movie from days gone by. I suggest everyone needs to see it at least once.

I love this movie. It is very entertaining and I am glad that I found it on Amazon. I will share this movie with my grandkids. I hope they get as much enjoyment out of this movie as I got. Thanks for delivering it on time.

I love Patty Duke in everything she does. This is a bit corny and outdated, however it’s lots of fun.

Very good film thank you

Only saw Billie movie on Instagram...and gone....now we have it ..and l love Patty Duke...even in Billie movie....😉🤔🧐🤨😳😆😆😆😆😆😆

Takes me back to the good old days and high school.