The Balcony Movie Review

Joseph Strick's The Balcony gave Lee Grant a chance to sink her teeth into a meaty character role 12 years after her movie career was put on hold because of the Hollywood blacklist. Grant and the always over-the-top Shelley Winters portray 1963-style lesbians in Madame Irma's House of Illusion brothel. Jean Genet's plot is played out against a revolutionary backdrop and Peter Falk and Leonard Nimoy are two of Madame Irma's customers. Note: Nimoy also co-starred with Paul Mazursky and Michael Forest in Jean Genet's Deathwatch, the 1967 directing debut of the late Vic Morrow (1932–82).

1963 87m/B Peter Falk, Shelley Winters, Lee Grant, Kent Smith, Peter Brocco, Ruby Dee, Jeff Corey, Leonard Nimoy, Joyce Jameson; D: Joseph Strick; W: Ben Maddow; C: George Folsey. Nominations: Academy Awards ‘63: Best Black and White Cinematography. VHS, LV