Product Details

• Actors: Robert Mitchum, Shirley MacLaine, Edmon Ryan, Elisabeth Fraser, Eddie Firestone
• Directors: Robert Wise
• Format: Black & White, Closed-captioned, HiFi Sound, NTSC
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: MGM (Video & DVD)
• VHS Release Date: December 11, 1992
• Run Time: 119 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
• ASIN: 6302593247
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #196,342 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A love story ..., November 4, 2000

By 

ravenl4 (Birmingham, AL) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Two for the Seesaw [VHS] (VHS Tape)

The first time I watched this, I was captivated by Mitchum and MacLaine together. I was engrossed with their love story. The second time I watched this movie it stuck me a little bit more profound then just a love story.

Mitchum plays a man, who is dissatisfied with the life that had coddled him, tired of accepting what people handed out to him. He feels as if he has been given a life of luxury at the cost of his own independence. He is tired of taking and wants to give what he has to offer.

Then we have MacLaine. A somewhat innocent and a bit naive woman who has a heart as big as the city she lives in. She gives and gives with no thought or expectations of reciprocation. She is strong and independent. Yet, she is afraid to need someone, to love someone, to let someone give to her.

Then these two meet. Mitchum at last has something to offer someone, enjoys giving what he has, and taking care of someone else, instead of him being taken care of. MacLaine finally has someone to unravel those walls of independence and allows herself to need someone. It's a beautiful relationship that really reaches out to me.

Not only that but Mitchum and MacLaine are magnificent in it. I love the fact that this was filmed in black and white. Color would only distract and add unnecessary noise to the message this movie brings to the viewer. So do these two live happy ever after? Watch it and find out. :o)

17 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Contains film greatness, December 15, 2005

By 

RareRare - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Two for the Seesaw [VHS] (VHS Tape)

Like Helen Morgan's "Applause", the film version of "Two For the Seesaw" gives its viewers a seldom seen look at the real theatre world of New York City in the 20th Century. This is a gritty, realistic love story on the cold, hard streets of New York that somehow is still able to show the real romance of the giant city. Not unlike the neo-realism of Fellini, Viscounti and Pausolini, "Two for the Seesaw" shows how actors and artists romatically collide with everyday people as they barely hang onto their dreams. Shirlely MacLaine lived this life before "The Pajama Game" and probably had friends like Gittel Mosca who were still striving for greatness long after MacLaine was a star. And Robert Mitchum, always surprising in roles in which he seemed to be wrongfullly cast, was never better. All this superior quality is magnified in the beauty and clarity of black and white. Don't read the following reviews. Those people have never been in love and working in the theatre in New York. I have and know how right-on this film is. It should be on DVD in widescreen. I've copied it off TCM and treasure my VHS in letterbox.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars "Two For The Seesaw": Reminds Me Of "The Hustler" (But Without The Billiards), October 18, 2002

By 

David Von Pein (Mooresville, Indiana; USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Two for the Seesaw [VHS] (VHS Tape)

Robert Mitchum and Shirley MacLaine star in "Two For The Seesaw", which is a movie that I enjoyed very much. It's refreshing to see Mitchum in a softer (and non-violent) role. (Although, Bob does manage to get in one good whack in this film. But, Shirley gets him back [twice] later in the picture.)

Mr. Mitchum was a very busy actor in the early 1960s, with "Seesaw" already representing his 8th film during the still-very-young decade of the '60s. The first seven being: "Home From The Hill" (1960), "A Terrible Beauty" (1960), "The Sundowners" (1960), "The Grass Is Greener" (1960), "The Last Time I Saw Archie" (1961), "Cape Fear" (1962), and "The Longest Day" (1962).

With just one film in between, Mitchum went from portraying hardened criminal "Max Cady" in "Cape Fear", to his role as a gentle lawyer in "Two For The Seesaw". Mitch's superb versatility was never more apparent than in those two 1962 films.

MacLaine and Mitchum are on screen for very nearly the entire 1 hour and 59 minutes here, and (IMO) treat us to some very good, on-target, realistic dialogue. And the ending was a bit of a twist, which is another big plus.

One line in the script that I particularly thought hit the mark was when Shirley berates Robert with: "Who needs to work THAT hard if things [in a relationship] are going right?!". Makes good sense. There are several clever lines like that in the film.

As I watched this film, I kept being reminded of "The Hustler" (1961), which is very similar in pace, style, and looks. The small confines of the drab apartments and the overall dark visuals are very much the same in both movies.

The black-and-white "Seesaw" premiered in movie theaters on November 21, 1962, and was one of 41 films directed by the distinguished Robert Wise (with "Seesaw" being sandwiched between two of his other highly-notable directorial efforts -- "West Side Story" in 1961 and "The Haunting" in '63).

Featuring two standout acting talents and one of the best directors in the biz calling the shots behind the cameras, "Two For The Seesaw" is certainly a motion picture worth seeing.