avenuesf I finally got a chance to see a (poor) print of this film today after wanting to see it for years. I could appreciate its originality and sophistication for the time that it was made, but I was left wondering just what the film was really trying to say. It worked more as a character study than a film. The theme of the cruel and impersonal big city seemed to be a recurrent one in the 1970's (much like "Midnight Cowboy"), and seemed to be a symbol for the lost individual trying to find meaning in life. I've never been able to believe Candice Bergen in any role I've ever seen her play, and this film is a good example. She's stiff and virtually emotionless in most of this, except for two scenes where her acting became so exaggerated that it was almost embarrassing; once where she laughs uncontrollably (more like shouts) when she is conversing with Peter Boyle and another at the end where she cries after a telephone conversation with her parents. They both sounded exactly the same, and were frankly kind of startling, leaving me wondering why the director allowed her to go so far and didn't ask for another take where she toned it down a little.The "plot" never really goes anywhere. T.R. seems vacant, zombie-like and sarcastic, and the flashbacks gave me the impression they were being intentionally inserted to make a point when the film would come to an end. They didn't. The scenes in the film could have been played in real time as they happened and it wouldn't have made any difference at all.There's some dialogue between Bergen and Caan in which she tells him that he "talks like a typewriter." I felt like this described a lot of the film; people don't talk or act this way, and I'm sure it looked great on paper. I can appreciate that this film portrayed a character and her experiences in a very different way for its time, but it didn't really seem to make a conclusion about anything.

stan stan T.R.Baskin (1971) is one of those orphan movies that Paramount would like you to forget. They don't seem the least bit interested in putting it on a DVD. You might still find it on Amazon as a download but the quality is poor. In 41 years, I can only remember seeing it once on television. It is time to write to Paramount to encourage them to release it on Blue Ray. They could release it as part of a Candice Bergen DVD set. Where else can you see Candice Bergen, Peter Boyle and young James Caan all in one movie? (10 lines of text? Really?) I was one of those lucky Extras used in the filming at O'Hare Airport. Being an Extra didn't pay much in those days but it was exciting. SR

sr60627 When will Paramount Studios release the movie T.R.Baskin (1971) to DVD? I suggest that every fan of Candice Bergan/Peter Boyle/James Caan write to the studio. They are located at 5555 Melrose Avenue, Hollywood, California 90038. The website Cinemanow offers a download. I found that it is of poor quality. A DVD would be so much better. Let Paramount know. I had the great fortune to be cast as an Extra in a crowd scene at Chicago's O'Hare airport. I remember seeing Ms. Bergan in her makeup chair. I will never forget how much fun I had that day even though I prop I was carrying was stolen. I even got to see a screening at a theater downtown months later. You can also write to television stations to air it.

JasparLamarCrabb A wonderful, albeit very melancholy, movie starring Candice Bergen as a recent transplant to Chicago who finds the big city beyond daunting. THAT GIRL this isn't. From her cryptic name (T.R., but mistaken as P.R., D.R., etc) and creepy dates to her absurdly dirty apartment, Bergen gets hit with all that urban America has to offer. Bergen executes herself nicely in her most substantial film role (up to this time). She was fine in her small role in CARNAL KNOWLEDGE, but here carries a film for the first time. Director Herbert Ross wisely surrounds her with a first-rate supporting cast including Peter Boyle, Marcia Rodd (excellent as Bergen's acerbic co-worker and friend) and, in a very strange role, James Caan. Perhaps not as ironic as planned,Peter Hyams wrote the witty script and hasn't produced anything as good since (either as writer or director). Somehow this movie's been buried for years.