Vincent Canby of '' The New York Times '' observed , " '' The Effect of Gamma Rays '' is not a stupid film . The talents of everyone connected with it are unmistakable , including those of Mr. Newman , a director of plain , straight style . It 's just that the basic material calls for a kind of second-rate bravura performance from everyone , from the production designer to the actors . There 's no way to underplay it . At times I had the feeling that Miss Woodward was auditioning for the role of Sadie Thompson , and that Miss Wallach was occasionally in competition . Only Nell Potts ( in private life , the daughter of Miss Woodward and Mr. Newman ) is allowed to perform at something like a reasonable pace . It 's a lovely , solemn performance in a film that otherwise succeeds in being simultaneously too barren and too busy , like Beatrice herself . " Roger Ebert of the '' Chicago Sun-Times '' said the film " is hard-edged enough to be less depressing than it sounds " and noted " Joanne Woodward 's performance is not like anything she 's ever done before . . . It serves notice that she is capable of experimenting with roles that are against type and making them work . " He added , " Paul Newman 's direction is unobtrusive ; he directs as we expect an actor might , looking for the dramatic content of a scene rather than its visual style . . . And the performance by Nell Potts is extraordinary . She glows . " '' Variety '' commented , " Newman has gotten it all together here as a director , letting the story and the players unfold with simplicity , restraint and discernment . " '' Time Out London '' called the film " an engaging adaptation " of the play " which sees Paul Newman 's cool , lucid direction transforming what could have been a pretentious domestic drama into a touching account of small joys in sad and stunted lives ... Potts steals the movie , but what makes it so watchable is Newman 's reluctance to sentimentalise . " Joanne Woodward was nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Drama but lost to Liv Ullmann in '' The Emigrants '' . She won the Kansas City Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actress and was named Best Actress at the 1973 Cannes Film Festival , where Paul Newman was nominated for the Palme d'Or
1973 Cannes Film Festival
1973 Cannes Film Festival
The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds (film)