{{Short description|1979 film by Joseph Sargent}} {{other uses|Golden Girl (disambiguation)}} {{Use mdy dates|date=July 2025}} {{Use American English|date=July 2025}} {{Infobox film | name = Goldengirl | image = Goldengirl poster.jpg | caption = Theatrical release poster | director = Joseph Sargent | producer = Elliott Kastner<br>Danny O'Donovan | screenplay = John Kohn | based_on = {{Based on|''Goldengirl''|Peter Lear}} | starring = James Coburn<br>Leslie Caron<br>Robert Culp<br>Harry Guardino<br>Curt Jürgens<br>John Newcombe<br>Susan Anton | music = Bill Conti | cinematography = Stevan Larner | editing = Harry Keramidas | color_process = Eastmancolor | studio = Backstage Productions | distributor = AVCO Embassy Pictures | released = {{film date|1979|6|15|}} | runtime = 105 minutes | country = United States | language = English | budget = $7 million<ref name="afi">{{cite web |url=http://catalog.afi.com/Film/56803-GOLDENGIRL?sid=7511c3a8-76a3-4e55-b382-74daf39e9fb1&sr=0.8563489&cp=1&pos=0#1 |title=Goldengirl - History |website=AFI Catalog of Feature Films |publisher=American Film Institute |access-date=May 17, 2019 }}</ref> | gross = $3 million (US rentals)<ref name="epstein">Epstein, Andrew (April 27, 1980). "The Big Thuds of 1979—Films That Flopped, Badly". ''Los Angeles Times''. Calendar, p. 6.</ref> }}
'''''Goldengirl''''' is a 1979 American drama sci-fi sports film directed by Joseph Sargent,<ref name=NYT/> based on the 1977 science fiction novel of the same title by Peter Lear,<ref name=NYT/> a pseudonym of Peter Lovesey. The screenplay was by John Kohn,<ref name=NYT/> with music by Bill Conti.<ref name=NYT/> The film is the screen debut of Susan Anton, who starred in the title role of Goldine Serafin opposite James Coburn.<ref name=NYT/><ref name="coburn">{{cite magazine|first=Stephen|last=Vagg|magazine=Filmink|date=14 February 2025|access-date=14 February 2025|title=Movie Star Cold Streaks: James Coburn|url=https://www.filmink.com.au/movie-star-cold-streaks-james-coburn/}}</ref>
==Plot== Scientist and neo-Nazi doctor William Serafin has developed a way to create a physically superior human being. He tests it out on his adopted daughter, Goldine. From childhood, Serafin has injected Goldine with vitamins and hormones. Now that she is grown, it is time to give her a test run. Serafin declares that his "Goldengirl" will enter and win three races at the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow.
To subsidize his work, Serafin sells shares in Goldine's future to a syndicate of businessmen, who send merchandising expert Dryden to look out for their interests. Goldine's personal and emotional development, meanwhile, is left in the hands of a psychologist, Dr. Sammy Lee. Goldine competes in Moscow, with unexpected results.
==Cast== {{castlist| * James Coburn as Jack Dryden * Susan Anton as Goldine Serafin * Curt Jürgens as Dr. William Serafin * Harry Guardino as Valenti * Ward Costello as Cobb * Michael Lerner as Stenberg * Leslie Caron as Dr. Sammy Lee * James A. Watson Jr. as Pete Winters * John Newcombe as Armitage * Julianna Fjeld as Ingrid * Robert Culp as Steve Esselton * Nicolas Coster as Dr. Dalton * Sheila Wills as Jackson * Annette Tannader as Ursula Krull * Mischa Hausserman as Pilot * Tony Brande as Vince * Michelle Hooper as Muratova * Geoff Vanderstock as Starter #1 * Ben Pollock as Starter #2 * Nazaret Khodiquian as Starter #3 * Elliott Mason as Makepeace * Jenny Sullivan as Dr. Walsh * Karen Werner as Kansas Girl * Andrea Brown as Teammate * Casey MacDonald as Reporter * Theresa Aldrich as Reporter * Gilbert Green as Dr. Hatrwig * Darren Dublin as Reporter * Joyce Danelen as Reporter * Gil Smith as Reporter * Bob Beamon as Colorman * Dwight Stones as Philip }}
==Production== Susan Anton was a winner of Miss California and second runner-up in the 1969 Miss America pageant. She was best known for starring and singing in TV commercials for Muriel Cigars. Olympic track-and-field stars Dwight Stones and Bob Beamon make cameo appearances in the film, as does Australian tennis player John Newcombe.
The film raised two-thirds of its $7 million budget by pre-selling the TV rights; NBC planned to broadcast an expanded 184-minute, two-part miniseries version that would air in conjunction with the network's exclusive coverage of the 1980 Moscow Olympics.<ref name="afi" /> After US participation was canceled in protest of the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, NBC postponed the broadcast until January 8, 1981 when it aired a 117-minute version in a three-hour timeslot.<ref name="afi" /><ref name="maltin">{{cite book |editor1-last=Maltin |editor1-first=Leonard |date=1995 |title=Leonard Maltin's 1996 Movie & Video Guide |url=https://archive.org/details/leonardmaltinsmo00newy/page/505 |publisher=Signet |page=[https://archive.org/details/leonardmaltinsmo00newy/page/505 505] |isbn=0-451-18505-6 }}</ref>
==Reception== Vincent Canby of ''The New York Times'', called the film "a very intelligent movie of its kind, written and directed in the same brisk style that marked Mr. Sargent's earlier ''Colossus: The Forbin Project''," as well as "a wittily conceived and executed movie that, with the straightest of faces, manage to satirize the kind of big business that surrounds so-called amateur sports today."<ref name=NYT>Canby, Vincent (June 15, 1979). [https://www.nytimes.com/1979/06/15/archives/screen-a-witty-goldengirlnurtured-to-win.html "Screen: A Witty 'Goldengirl': Nurtured to Win"]. ''The New York Times''. C10.</ref> A review in ''Variety'' said, "''Goldengirl'' is amusingly poor ... Central fault to film is Anton's character, who seems to alternate between robot, country girl and schizophrenic. Her screen debut is at best, forgettable, with Anton doing little to clear up the mystifying script."<ref>"Film Reviews: Goldengirl". ''Variety''. June 20, 1970. 18.</ref> Gene Siskel of the ''Chicago Tribune'' gave the film 1 star out of 4 and wrote, "The idea isn't a bad one; it's even plausible. But the script is laughable. The doctor and businessman are fearful, cartoon figures; they never are particularly slick or menacing. Only James Coburn as an advertising agent brings any credibility to a role. And this is not accomplished by anything written for Coburn; he simply earns our good will through his infectious smile."<ref>Siskel, Gene (July 23, 1979). "No shiny medals for a laughable 'Goldengirl'". ''Chicago Tribune''. Section 2, p. 5.</ref> Kevin Thomas of the ''Los Angeles Times'' wrote that the film "starts out promisingly enough but falls apart halfway through ... The film is extremely uneven, achieving a punchy scene here and there only to have its effect nullified by an unintentionally funny line of dialogue or an inconsistent characterization."<ref>Thomas, Kevin (September 14, 1979). "No Second Wind for 'Goldengirl'". ''Los Angeles Times''. Part IV, p. 32.</ref> Gary Arnold of ''The Washington Post'' wrote that "the continuity is so punchy that one can't be certain what the filmmakers wanted the story to mean. The smartest lines and most effective situations suggest an entertaining polemic about unscrupulous, ruinous exploitation. But the concept seems to have been victimized by a combination of cold feet, cross-purposes and desperate last-minute editing, which eliminated substantial pieces of exposition along with one major player, Jessica Walter, who is still listed in the credits."<ref>Arnold, Gary (July 25, 1979). [https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1979/07/25/bombshell-and-the-bomb-goldengirl/fe71d6b7-c128-4491-9527-82be6e4f1acb/?noredirect=on "Bombshell and the Bomb—'Goldengirl'"] ''The Washington Post''. B1.</ref> Jack Kroll wrote in ''Newsweek'', "''Goldengirl'' fumbles a good story idea, or several good story ideas ... A film that might have had the excitement of Olympic competition and the fun of clever science-fiction founders in dump scenes, Joseph Sargent's heavy-handed direction and some awkward editing which apparently eliminated a pivotal scene showing Serafin's background in Nazi-like medical experimentation."<ref>Kroll, Jack (July 9, 1979). "Trials of a Human Robot". ''Newsweek''. 68.</ref>
The film was a box office flop, earning $3 million in North American rentals against a $7 million budget.<ref name="afi" /><ref name="epstein" />
Anton was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for New Star of the Year in a Motion Picture—Female at the 38th Golden Globe Awards.
==See also== * ''The Bionic Woman,'' a 1976–1978 television series * List of films about the sport of athletics
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== * {{IMDb title|0079225}} * {{Rotten Tomatoes|golden_girl}}
{{Joseph Sargent|state=collapsed}}
Category:1979 drama films Category:1979 films Category:1979 science fiction films Category:1979 American films Category:1979 English-language films Category:1970s science fiction drama films Category:1970s sports drama films Category:American science fiction drama films Category:American sports drama films Category:Embassy Pictures films Category:English-language science fiction drama films Category:English-language sports drama films Category:Films about Olympic track and field Category:Films about the 1980 Summer Olympics Category:Films based on science fiction novels Category:Films directed by Joseph Sargent Category:Films produced by Elliott Kastner Category:Films scored by Bill Conti Category:Films set in 1980 Category:Films set in Moscow Category:Running films