Barbra Streisand in her Hollywood debut makes a marked impact. The saga of the tragi-comedienne Fanny Brice of the ungainly mien and manner, charmed by the suave card-sharp Nick Arnstein, is perhaps of familiar pattern, but it is to the credit of all concerned that it plays so convincingly.
Streisand’s basic Grecian-profiled personality has not been photographically camouflaged.
The projection of Fanny Brice’s rise from the pushcart-laden lower East Side to Ziegfeld stardom and a baronial Long Island estate is achieved in convincing broad strokes.
The durable Jule Styne-Bob Merrill songs, from the [1964] stage score, are given fuller enhancement under the flexibility of the cinematic sweep.
‘People,’ ‘You Are Woman, I Am Man,’ ‘Don’t Rain on my Parade,’ ‘I’m the Greatest Star’ have been enhanced by the original Broadway songsmiths with ‘Roller Skate Rag’ a parody on ‘The Swan’ ballet and a title song, not part of the original score.
1968: Best Actress (Barbra Streisand).
Nominations: Best Picture, Supp. Actress (Kay Medford), Cinematography, Editing, Scoring of a Musical Picture, Song (‘Funny Girl’), Sound
