Мың клоун (Mıñ kloun)

1965 film adaptation from a 1962 play by Herb Gardner
the rap group

A Thousand Clowns is a 1965 American comedy drama film directed by Fred Coe and starring Jason Robards, Barbara Harris, Martin Balsam, and Barry Gordon. An adaptation of a 1962 play by Herb Gardner, it tells the story of an eccentric comedy writer who is forced to conform to society to retain legal custody of his nephew. Jason Robards starred in both the original Broadway version and in the film. Martin Balsam won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in the movie.

Unemployed television writer Murray Burns (Jason Robards) lives in a cluttered New York City studio apartment with his 12 year old nephew, Nick (Barry Gordon). Murray has been unemployed for five months after quitting his previous job writing jokes for a children's television show called Chuckles the Chipmunk. Nick, the son of Murray's unwed sister, was left with Murray seven years earlier. When Nick writes a school essay on the benefits of unemployment insurance, his school requests that New York State send social workers to investigate his living conditions. Investigators for the Child Welfare Board Sandra Markowitz (Barbara Harris) and her superior and boyfriend, Albert Amundson (William Daniels), threaten Murray with removal of the child from his custody unless he can prove he is a capable guardian. Charmed by Nick and Murray, Sandra argues with Albert, who goes off without her to their next case. Sandra spends the night with Murray. She urges Murray to find a job so that he can keep his nephew, and Murray agrees to look. But he walks out of his job interviews, treating them as a joke, because he feels that work would make him conventional and conformist and make every day the same. He apologizes to Sandra, but she is so disappointed in him that she walks out. Yet he knows that if he wishes to keep his nephew, he must swallow his pride and go back to work. Murray also feels that he cannot let go of Nick until the boy shows some "backbone". In a confrontation with his brother and agent Arnold (Martin Balsam), Murray expounds his nonconformist worldview: that a person must fight at all costs to retain a sense of identity and aliveness and avoid being absorbed by the homogeneous masses. Arnold retorts that by conforming to the dictates of society, he has become "the best possible Arnold Burns". Murray agrees to meet with his former employer, the detested Chuckles host Leo Herman (Gene Saks). When Nick does not laugh at Leo's pathetic display of comedy, Leo insults Nick, who quietly but firmly puts Leo in his place. Nick becomes upset with Murray for tolerating Leo's insults, and Murray sees the boy has finally grown a backbone. Realizing that Nick has come of age, Murray resigns himself to going back to his old job, Sandra returns, and the next morning Murray joins the crowds of people heading off to work.

Award Category Nominee(s) Result Ref. Academy Awards Best Picture Fred Coe Best Supporting Actor Martin Balsam Best Screenplay – Based on Material from Another Medium Herb Gardner Best Scoring of Music – Adaptation or Treatment Don Walker American Cinema Editors Awards Best Edited Feature Film Ralph Rosenblum Golden Globe Awards Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy Best Actor in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy Jason Robards Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy Barbara Harris Laurel Awards Top Male Supporting Performance Martin Balsam National Board of Review Awards Top Ten Films 8th Place Writers Guild of America Awards Best Written American Comedy Herb Gardner

Music in the film ranges from rudimentary drum cadences to Dixieland arrangements of "The Stars and Stripes Forever". The song "Yes Sir, That's My Baby" is used in several places. Judy Holliday wrote the lyrics for the theme song "A Thousand Clowns". This was her last film credit, as the film was released after her death on June 7, 1965.

Award Category Nominee(s) Result Ref. Tony Awards Best Play Written by Herb Gardner Produced by Fred Coe and Arthur Cantor Best Featured Actor in a Play Barry Gordon Best Featured Actress in a Play Sandy Dennis