The Subject Was Roses (1968)

John Cleary: Bless us and save us, said Mrs. O'Davis.

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John Cleary: Joy, joy, said Mrs. Malloy.

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Nettie Cleary: In all my life, the past twelve hours are the only real freedom I've ever known.
Timmy Cleary: Did you enjoy it?
Nettie Cleary: Every moment.
Timmy Cleary: Why did you come back?
Nettie Cleary: I'm a coward.

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The "shabby genteel" Bronx apartment in Frank D. Gilroy's largely autobiographical "The Subject Was Roses" was recreated and filmed in a warehouse on New York's West 26th Street. Exterior scenes of the Bronx were filmed in that borough's University Heights section, where Pulitzer-winning playwright Frank D. Gilroy spent the first eighteen years of his life before serving in World War II. The neighborhood had changed a great deal in twenty-plus years and was now "down at the heels" but a number of older residents remembered the Gilroy family from back in the day. For authenticity, crew members rolled back prices in the window of a vegetable store to 1946, posted signs to buy War Bonds, and lined the street with period automobiles. Said one older resident: "They even cleaned up the streets. Humph, it takes a movie company to get this neighborhood cleaned up."
Martin Sheen and Jack Albertson reprised their roles (Timothy Cleary and John Cleary) in this film after previously playing the characters in the stage version on Broadway.
Martin Sheen was nominated for the 1965 Tony Award (New York City) for Supporting or Features Actor in a Drama for "The Subject was Roses" and recreated his role in this filmed production.
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