Mrs. Robinson Memento
Thanks to IMDB.com I learned that Anne Bancroft would have been 74 tomorrow, an appropriate occasion, I think, to post a rather stunning image from a Dover paper doll book. I love this Tom Tierney illustration for the completely incongruous pair that Mrs. Robinson and Annie Sullivan make. They’re my two favorite Bancroft roles, although I’m afraid they may be the only two roles I’ve seen her play. (I guess I did see her as a senator in GI Jane.)
The Graduate of course is full of especially iconic moments. There’s the shot of Dustin Hoffman, hands in his pockets, staring at that leg. And there’s “Did you know I was an alcoholic?” And “Mrs. Robinson, you’re trying to seduce me.” And “Would you like me to seduce you?” But for me, the viewer, the seduction is complete when the phone rings in the hotel room and Bancroft pauses to remove her earring before answering it, a motion so assured, so natural, you could easily forget it, if it weren’t so incredibly sexy.
