Winslow Mail
November 13, 1992
Director Mark Rydell says he “loved desperately” his film “For the Boys,” which fared poorly at the box office.
Although its star, James Caan, blamed the failure on co-star Bette Midler, whom he called “incredibly stupid,”
Rydell says the picture was marketed wrong.
He says, “It was an error to try to sell it as a Bette Midler musical.
Some people thought it was a concert film about the Persian Gulf.”
As for Caan’s ill-considered comment.
Rydell says Midler was crushed and that Caan should never have said such a thing.
Nevertheless, Rydell calls Caan one of our most brilliant actors.
