The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-In-The-Moon Marigolds 1972 DVD (Region 1 - Playable in North America - The US, Canada, Mexico, etc.) Color. Widescreen.
Starring: Joanne Woodward, Roberta Wallach, Nell Potts, Judith Lowry, Richard Venture, David Spielberg, Will Hare. Written by Alvin Sargent, based on the Pulitzer Prize winning play by Paul Zindel. Directed by Paul Newman.
Middle-aged widow Beatrice Hunsdorfer (Joanne Woodward) and her daughters Ruth (Roberta Wallach) and Matilda (Nell Potts) are struggling to survive in a society they barely understand. Beatrice dreams of opening an elegant tea room but does not have the wherewithal to achieve her lofty goal. Epileptic Ruth is a rebellious adolescent, while shy but highly intelligent and idealistic Matilda seeks solace in her pets and school projects (including one which gives the film its title). Matilda's science experiment is designed to show how small amounts of radium affect marigolds; some die, but others transform into strange but beautiful mutations completely unlike the original plants. Similarly, Matilda has managed to muddle through a grim existence in a dilapidated, debris-ridden house in a lower middle class neighborhood, learning to deal with her embarrassing mother while managing to avoid becoming anything like her, a future for which her sister seems fated.
Based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning play of the same title by Paul Zindel.
"Life's been a real bitch to Beatrice Hunsdorfer. And vice versa."