Anne Bancroft: The Graduate (1967)

Source:Elle- Hollywood Goddess Anne Bancroft, as Mrs. Robinson in The Graduate (1967)

"The TV and movie characters whose closets we want to raid."

From Elle

"We've selected the most iconic scenes from Mike Nichols' The Graduate starring Dustin Hoffman and Anne Bancroft - including THAT Mrs. Robinson scene.

Nominated for 7 Academy Awards and Winner for Best Directing, this groundbreaking film classic launched the career of two-time Oscar Winner Dustin Hoffman. During a party given by his parents to celebrate his graduation, Benjamin Braddock (Hoffman) is seduced by the sexy Mrs. Robinson (Anne Bancroft), the wife of his father's business partner and closes friends. Although Benjamin is shy and inexperienced, they have an affair. But then, when Benjamin falls in love with Mrs. Robinson's daughter, Elaine (Katharine Ross), a jealous and angry Mrs. Robinson does everything in her power to keep the young couple apart."

Source:Studio Canal UK- Dustin Hoffman and Anne Bancroft in The Graduate (1967)

From Studio Canal UK

I believe the best way for me to describe Mrs. Robinson (played by Hollywood Goddess Anne Bancroft) is that she plays a very lonely and unhappy woman stuck in a loveless marriage, or a marriage that just doesn't have any spark, but where the couple doesn't even sleep with each other anymore and doesn't socialize with each other anymore. And Benjamin Braddock (played by Dustin Hoffman) comes along (so to speak) who is somewhat lost, lonely, bored, and comes off as very inexperienced when it comes to romance (Mrs. Robinson thinks he's a virgin) and she sees him as an easy target and fling.

Mrs. Robinson, isn't looking for a relationship with Ben, but perhaps what she would an innocent fling, a sexual partner to make her happy, especially when her husband is away. I guess she wants her husband's financial security and doesn't want to divorce him, but she wants Ben to make her happy emotionally and physically, to make her feel like an attractive woman again. And the first scene in this video is where she starts to try to seduce him, but Ben being like the little boy that he was gets scared and runs away. 

The scene in the hotel bar is pretty much what I'm talking about here. Ben decides that he would like to get involved with Mrs. Robinson: not like he's got a long line of woman, especially woman his age standing outside waiting to be with him and Mrs. Robinson is obviously a very attractive, beautiful, sexy woman, really cute with that sweet, sexy voice and face and decides to call her up from the hotel and to invite her to join him. She jumps at the opportunity like a dog would jump for food when you're about to feed him or her and meets him at the hotel bar.

I didn't realize how cute and beautiful Anne Bancroft was until I saw her in The Graduate ten years ago or so (thanks to TCM) and have now seen the movie probably 10 more times since and have it on DVD. She had a great face and voice especially when she's smiling and has one of the best naughty, up to no good looks that I've ever seen, as well as smirks that I've ever seen. People have said that she was overrated in The Graduate and that Mrs. Robinson wasn't as attractive and sexy as she was, but I don't think those understand this movie that well and perhaps just don't like Anne Bancroft to begin with.  

You can also see this post on WordPress.