After the Fall (1974 film)

Rights to the play were bought by MGM, which failed to make a movie. In 1967, the rights were bought by Doctor Zhivago producer Carlo Ponti, who intended to produce a film directed by Fred Zinneman starring his wife, Sophia Loren as Maggie and Paul Newman as Quentin. When that project failed, Paramount Studios acquired the rights, but the project wasn't realized until NBC made it for TV in 1974.^[2]

According to the TV Guide 1974-75 Fall Preview edition, After the Fall was originally intended to be part of the 1973 TV season, and the December 1974 broadcast was a "year late".^[3]

Faye Dunaway played the supporting character of Nurse in the original 1964 Broadway production, and also was the understudy of Barbara Loden, who originated the part of Maggie.^[4] NBC censors insisted that she wear Band-Aids over her nipples when she appeared in a sheer dress.

In her autobiography Looking for Gatsby, Dunaway wrote:

The project had been in the works for years, and after going through a series of hands, it looked as if the only way it might get made was through a special on television. It was staged as a play, not adapted for film, which made it far less complicated and expensive to put on.

The TV production was shot at the Old Globe Theater.^[5]