General · EdgepediaOctober 3, 20265 min read

The Subject Was Roses

The Subject Was Roses is a 1968 American drama film directed by Ulu Grosbard, adapted by playwright Frank D. Gilroy from his Pulitzer Prize-winning play of the same name. It stars Patricia Neal as Nettie Cleary, Jack Albertson as John Cleary, and Martin Sheen as their son Timmy, a World War II veteran who returns to the family's Bronx apartment and becomes caught up in his parents' deteriorating marriage.¹^•²

Key fact	Detail
Release	October 13, 1968 (theatrical), distributed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer; 107 minutes; rated G³
Director / writer	Ulu Grosbard; screenplay by Frank D. Gilroy from his own play¹
Principal cast	Patricia Neal (Nettie Cleary), Jack Albertson (John Cleary), Martin Sheen (Timmy Cleary)¹
Source play	Premiered on Broadway at The Royale Theatre on May 25, 1964, directed by Ulu Grosbard⁴
Play honors	1965 Pulitzer Prize for Drama; two 1965 Tony Awards including Best Play; 1965 New York Drama Critics Circle Award for Best Play⁵^•⁴
Academy Awards	Jack Albertson won Actor in a Supporting Role (1969); Patricia Neal nominated for Actress⁶
Filming locations	New York City and Spring Lake, New Jersey¹

Spoilers

Plot

It is May of 1946, and Timmy Cleary comes home from the war to his estranged parents, John and Nettie, in the Bronx apartment where he grew up.⁴ Once considered timid, Timmy returns from duty in World War II with newfound confidence, and he soon realizes that his parents have long been feigning happiness for his benefit. John drinks heavily and has been unfaithful many times, and Nettie, after years of harboring resentment toward her husband, has spoiled Timmy throughout his life. When Timmy tries to resolve his parents' issues for them, emotional chaos ensues.³

A pivotal gesture gives the film its title: John, giving up a lucrative business opportunity to attend a ball game with his son and, at Timmy's request, grudgingly brings roses home to Nettie in an insincere attempt at reconciliation. As the three attempt to recapture the past, the ideal is shattered amid recriminations, and the next morning Timmy announces he is leaving once again, leaving husband and wife to face life with only their memories.⁴

From stage to screen

The play premiered on Broadway at The Royale Theatre on May 25, 1964, directed by Ulu Grosbard and starring Jack Albertson, Irene Dailey, and Martin Sheen.⁴ It went on to win the 1965 Pulitzer Prize for Drama, two 1965 Tony Awards including Best Play, and the 1965 New York Drama Critics Circle Award for Best Play.⁵^•⁴

Casting. For the film, Albertson and Sheen repeated their Broadway roles as John and Timmy, while Patricia Neal was cast directly for the movie in place of the stage's original lead, Irene Dailey.⁷^•⁸ Gilroy wrote the screenplay and, as Turner Classic Movies' retrospective notes, avoided the temptation to open the film up and make it more cinematic, keeping it small and intimate to heighten the dramatic tension.⁷ Roger Ebert, longtime film critic of the Chicago Sun-Times, observed that the screenplay does open the drama somewhat, adding a lakefront cottage trip for father and son, a family night on the town, and a Sunday when Nettie disappears for the day; these additions let Grosbard recreate the feel of 1946 in cars, fashions, and lifestyle.⁸

The film was produced by Edgar Lansbury through Edgar Lansbury Productions, T. D. J. Productions, and Delos Productions, with Jack Priestley as cinematographer, Jerry Greenberg as editor, George Jenkins as production designer, and a score by Lee Pockriss.¹^•⁷

Reception and awards

At the 41st Academy Awards, held April 14, 1969 and honoring films of 1968, Jack Albertson won the Oscar for Actor in a Supporting Role, and Patricia Neal was nominated for Actress.⁶ Martin Sheen received a Golden Globe nomination for Best Supporting Actor, and the National Board of Review named the film to its Top Ten Films for 1969.⁹

Neal's comeback. The role carried personal weight for Patricia Neal, who had suffered a series of massive strokes only three years before production and struggled on set with memory problems and physical limitations. In her autobiography Just As I Am she describes the film as a career milestone, because making it convinced her she was still every bit the actress she had been before the stroke; she also recalled her fear of memorizing a five-page monologue she had to deliver in one take, a fear that gave way to pride when she completed it without any problem.⁷ In his Oscar acceptance speech, Albertson paid tribute to her, saying, "I'd like to thank that wonderful, wonderful actress and a great woman, Patricia Neal."⁷

Critical response. Ebert wrote that Gilroy's play was extraordinary and the film made with the greatest care, but that it fails as a movie: Albertson and Sheen, repeating their stage roles, play theatrically, projecting to the back row, while Neal, who knows the movies, holds back and suggests more than she reveals, leaving the three actors operating at different emotional levels.⁸ On Rotten Tomatoes the film holds a 100% Tomatometer from 5 reviews and a 73% Popcornmeter score from more than 250 audience ratings.³

Legacy

The film remains in circulation on home video; a widescreen DVD was released by Warner Archives on October 6, 2009, and as of a June 2026 check it is not available to stream in the United States, though the DVD can be purchased.¹⁰^•¹¹ The play itself stays in license with Concord Theatricals as a full-length drama for one woman and two men, running about 105 minutes.⁴ The film's opening uses Judy Collins's vocal on Sandy Denny's then-unreleased composition "Who Knows Where the Time Goes," first heard as the B-side of Collins's hit 1968 recording of Joni Mitchell's "Both Sides Now."²

References

Initially written Oct 3, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026