The Wedding Party (1969 film)

The Wedding Party is a 1969 American film farce created as a joint effort by Sarah Lawrence theater professor Wilford Leach, and two of his students, protégé Brian De Palma and Cynthia Munroe. It was bankrolled by Stanley Borden, owner of American Films, De Palma's mentor and employer, who allowed De Palma to produce the film on company time. Leach went on to a successful career as a Tony Award-winning theatre director, while De Palma continued as a well-known film director.

Plot
The film focuses on a soon-to-be groom and his interactions with various relatives of his fiancée and members of the wedding party prior to the ceremony at the family's estate on Shelter Island, New York.

Cast

 * Velda Setterfield as Mrs. Fish
 * Raymond McNally as Mr. Fish
 * John Braswell as Reverend Oldfield
 * Charles Pfluger as Charlie
 * Jill Clayburgh as Josephine
 * William Finley as Alistair
 * Jennifer Salt as Phoebe
 * Robert De Niro (Credited as Robert DeNero) as Cecil

Production and release
The film was made in 1963, with the on-screen copyright year being 1966. However, owing to a legal dispute between De Palma and Borden over the rights to the film (Borden thought it was not ready for release, and De Palma insisted on final cut), the film was not released until 1969, after one of its supporting players, Robert De Niro, had begun to draw notice for his work in off-Broadway theatre and De Palma's 1968 release Greetings.

Also in the cast were Jennifer Salt and William Finley, both of whom were De Palma regulars, and fellow Sarah Lawrence student Jill Clayburgh as the bride-to-be.

Home media
The Wedding Party was released on Blu-Ray by Arrow Films on December 11, 2018, as part of the De Niro And De Palma: The Early Films Blu-Ray set. The set also includes the films Greetings (1968) and Hi, Mom! (1970), which are both directed by De Palma and star De Niro.

The film was released on DVD from Troma Entertainment, and on Blu-ray as part of Arrow Films' 2018 box set De Niro & De Palma: The Early Films.