Why Rock the Boat?

Why Rock the Boat?
Directed byJohn Howe
Written byWilliam Weintraub
Produced byWilliam Weintraub
StarringStuart Gillard
Tiiu Leek
CinematographySavas Kalogeras
Edited byMarie-Hélène Guillemin
Music byJohn Howe
Production
company
Distributed byColumbia Pictures
Release date
  • 1974 (1974)
Running time
113 minutes
CountryCanada
LanguageEnglish
Budget$450,000

Why Rock the Boat? is a 1974 Canadian romantic comedy film directed by John Howe.[1] The film stars Stuart Gillard as Harry Barnes, a young journalist in Montreal who becomes romantically involved with Julia Martin (Tiiu Leek), a reporter for a competing newspaper who is organizing to unionize their industry.

The film's cast also includes Henry Beckman, Sean Sullivan, Cec Linder, Maurice Podbrey, Patricia Hamilton, Jean-Pierre Masson and Peter MacNeill.

The screenplay was written by journalist and humorist William Weintraub, as an adaptation of his own comic novel.[2] Notably, he dropped the novel's most famous scene, which took place in a nudist colony, due to concerns that the scene would cause problems for the film's content rating.[3]

The film received two Canadian Film Awards in 1975, for Best Actor (Gillard) and Best Supporting Actor (Beckman).[4] It was a nominee for Best Feature Film, but did not win.[5] It won the Bronze Hugo at the 1974 Chicago International Film Festival.

  1. ^ "Why Rock the Boat? has winning ways, even when it doesn't work". The Globe and Mail, October 12, 1974.
  2. ^ Hustak, Alan (November 8, 2017). "Witty writer William Weintraub had a 'talent for friendship'". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved November 11, 2017.
  3. ^ "A movie with a history of false starts, but a happy ending". The Globe and Mail, October 12, 1974.
  4. ^ Morris, Peter (1984). The Film Companion. Toronto: Irwin Publishing. p. 324. ISBN 0-7725-1505-0.
  5. ^ "Best-film showdown: 11 vie for all-Canadian honours". Ottawa Journal. October 3, 1975. p. 39. Retrieved March 28, 2018 – via Newspapers.com. Free access icon