David and Lisa

"An unusual love story!"

1962 1h 35m EN

👍

7.2

SOLID

🍅

85%

FRESH

⭐

7.2

IMDB

★7.2TMDB · 64🍅85%Rotten Tomatoes★7.2IMDB · 3,439

DramaRomance

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

Teenager David Clemens develops a hysterical fear that he will die if he comes into physical contact with another person. Perturbed, David's overbearing mother places him in a home for mentally disturbed young people, but David remains withdrawn from the other patients and his psychiatrist. Over time, however, David grows interested in 15-year-old Lisa, who suffers from multiple personalities – one who can only speak in rhyme, and the other, a mute.

“An unusual love story!”

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Where to watch · US

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Cast

Keir Dullea
David Clemens
Janet Margolin
Lisa Brandt
Howard Da Silva
Dr. Swinford
Neva Patterson
Mrs. Clemens
Clifton James
John
Richard McMurray
Mr. Stewart Clemens
Nancy Nutter
Maureen
Mathew Anden
Simon

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Frank Perry
Writers: Eleanor Perry
Languages: English
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Shot for just $0.2M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

64 years old — a genuine piece of film history.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Frank Perry, shot by Leonard Hirschfield. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Mark Lawrence. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Irving Oshman shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Keir Dullea and Janet Margolin and Howard Da Silva carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "An unusual love story!".

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0055892 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Frank Perry directs. Leonard Hirschfield behind the camera. Mark Lawrence scores. Irving Oshman cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Shot for just $0.2M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.
264 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
3Directed by Frank Perry, shot by Leonard Hirschfield. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
4Original score by Mark Lawrence. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
5Editor Irving Oshman shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
6Keir Dullea and Janet Margolin and Howard Da Silva carry the top of the cast.
7Marketing tagline: "An unusual love story!".
8IMDB entry: tt0055892 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
9Only 64 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.

The technical file

Cinematography: Leonard Hirschfield
Original score: Mark Lawrence
Editing: Irving Oshman
Costume design: Anna Hill Johnstone
Runtime: 95 min · 1h 35m
Status: Released
Budget: $185,000
Original language: EN
IMDB: David and Lisa (1962)
Rotten Tomatoes: 85% 🍅 Fresh
IMDB rating: 7.2/10 · 3,439 votes
MPAA: Not Rated

Awards

Nominated for 2 Oscars. 6 wins & 7 nominations total

Also by

Frank Perry

Trailers & featurettes

Watch the pieces

Community reviews

What people are saying

CinemaSerf2026-09-27
★ 7/10
I suppose nowadays we would diagnose "David" (Keir Dullea) with some sort of compulsive disorder, but he really doesn't like to be touched - however affectionately. At the end of their tethers, his well-to-do parents have sent him to a school that specialises in educating and treating folk with mental illness - but he hates authority and so the best efforts of "Dr. Swinford" (Howard Da Silva) are making little impact on his introspective behaviour or on his rather macabre recurring dream. Then he meets "Lisa" (Janet Margolin) who wants him to play wit(h) her. She's a girl in her late teens who rarely speaks unless it's in rhyme and, it turns out, suffers from some form of schizophrenia. Initially, he sees her as something of a laboratory colleague he hopes to be able to "cure", but as his own therapy starts to take more effect and he and she begin to associate more, both begin to discover the benefits of a psychological intimacy that exposes to each of them, and to their doctor, some of the root causes of their problems. It's not actually so very difficult to assess some of his, as we meet his over-bearing mother (Neva Patterson) who feigns affection for her son but who always exudes one of those personalities that cares more about what the neighbours might think if her son doesn't end up going to Princeton. This is certainly not an easy watch, but Dullea is on really quite affecting form balancing the highly intelligent but clearly troubled characterisation of "David" and Margolin brings an innocence and vulnerability to her "Lisa" that is both plausible and touching. It is, however, possibly Da Silva who steps up best here as the doctor treading on eggshells; enduring the temper tantrums and trying to remain focussed on helping his charges to heal, or at least to acknowledge their illnesses and that way begin to make some progress understanding their demons. With Patterson working into this mix well too, we watch quite a compelling exposé on the effects of mental illness on the sick and those around them whilst taking quite an objective perspective on what was still a very embryonic clinical science, too.

Production companies