The Personals (1982 film)

The Personals
The Personals
	Film poster
Directed by	Peter Markle
Written by	Peter Markle
Produced by	Patrick Wells
Starring	Bill Schoppert
Distributed by	New World Pictures
Release dates	April 1982; (Houston); October 1982; (regular)
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$375,000
Box office	$2 million

The Personals is a 1982 romantic comedy written and directed by Peter Markle.^[3]^[4] It was shot in Minneapolis. The film was picked up for distribution by Roger Corman's New World Pictures.^[3]

Production

Writer/director Peter Markle's first feature film,^[1] it was made with a SAG cast recruited from the Guthrie Theater^[5] and a nonunion crew.^[6] Principal photography was May–September 1980, with additional takes and pickups through December and continuing into August 1981.^[4] It was shot on 16 mm,^[4] and blown up to 35 mm for theater screenings.^[7]

It was filmed in and around Minneapolis, including such landmarks as the Lake of the Isles,^[5] Bde Maka Ska,^[8] and the Minneapolis Institute of Art.^[9] As a low budget, independent film, the homes of director Markle, writer Wells, and actor Schoppert were used as filming locations as well.^[10]

Plot

A man whose wife has left him starts dating again by placing ads in newspaper personal columns. He gets some letters and he dates around the Minnesota area.

Cast

Bill Schoppert as Bill
Karen Landry as Adrienne
Paul Eiding as David
Victoria Dakil as Shelly
Chris Forth as Jennifer
Patrick Thomas O'Brien as Jay

Reception

The film won the Best First Feature Award at the Houston International Film Festival.^[6]

New World Pictures distributed the film nationally, and it ran for twelve weeks at St. Louis Park's Cooper Theater.^[8] It also received generally positive reviews:^[8] The Washington Post called it a "minor but admirably polished and attractive low-budget gem,"^[5] and Variety said that the "story really isn't all the profound, but it's told with sincerity and humor, full of likeable, decent people dealing with familiar problems with wigging out."^[11] Variety also commended the cast "making their feature film debut ... so natural it could embarrass some Hollywood acting schools."^[11] Multiple reviewers appreciated Minneapolis as a fresh setting for filmmaking.^[11]^[12]

Its rental tally was $2 million (equivalent to $6.31 million in 2023).^[1]

References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Koetting, Christopher T. (2009). Mind Warp!: The Fantastic True Story of Roger Corman's New World Pictures. Bristol: Hemlock Books. pp. 216–217. ISBN 9780955777417.
^ Donahue, Suzanne Mary (1987). American film distribution : the changing marketplace. UMI Research Press. p. 295. Please note figures are for rentals in US and Canada
^ ^a ^b Canby, Vincent (March 20, 1983). "Screen: 'Personals' in Minneapolis". The New York Times. p. 60.
^ ^a ^b ^c Timberg, Bernard; Arnold, Thomas (February 1982). "Voices from the Hinterlands... Part Three". The Independent. Vol. 4, no. 10. pp. 10–11. Starting out with $50,000 of their own money, Pat Wells and Peter Markle raised the balance of the $375,000 needed to produce their film The Personals by this method.
^ ^a ^b ^c Arnold, Gary (January 22, 1983). "Roller Romance, as Advertised". The Washington Post. Washington, D.C. pp. B1, B4.
^ ^a ^b Anderson, Phil (November 1982). "Prairie Film Companion". American Film.
^ "SWM, 32, Looks for Love in 'The Personals'". Philadelphia Daily News. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. October 20, 1983. p. 52.
^ ^a ^b ^c Canton, Rolf J. (2007). "Producers". Behind the Cameras: Minnesotans in the Movies, Volume II. Minneapolis, MN: Nodin Press. p. 22. ISBN 9781932472530.
^ Markle, Peter (director) (1982). The Personals. YouTube (motion picture). 91 minutes in.
^ Canton, Rolf J.pp=172–173. Behind the Cameras: Minnesotans in the Movies, Volume II.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
^ ^a ^b ^c "Film Reviews: The Personals". Variety. Vol. 309, no. 3. Los Angeles. November 17, 1982. p. 14.
^ Thomas, Kevin (March 3, 1983). "Movie Review: 'Personals' A Fresh Surprise". Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles, California. p. J1.