40 Films in Robotech: Hello-Goodbye (1970)

   

Interestingly, the animators of Macross decided to put a film about adultery in a cartoon. But when you get down to the story, Hello-Goodbye’s cameo here makes sense...

 ROBOTECH MENTION:  

In Robotech Episode 35 entitled Season’s Greetings, Claudia Grant wishes Lisa Hayes well as she climbs into a taxi cab outside a movie theater. The film on the marquee is Hello-Goodbye. 

In the Robotech episode Season’s Greetings, snow gently falls outside
the Agetu Kinema theater which is now showing Hello-Goodbye.

 SYNOPSIS:  

In Thomas and Solomon’s 1979 book The Films of 20th Century Fox, they sum up Hello-Goodbye:

"An English car salesman (Michael Crawford), on a buying excursion in France, meets a seemingly lonely girl (Genevieve Gilles) who rambles around the country by herself. She is, however, the wife of a baron (Curt Jurgens), who understands her rambling ways and hires the Englishman to coach his son (by a former marriage) about cars. The Englishman, whose policy is “love ‘em and leave ‘em,” finds himself deeply in love with the wife and unable to leave her. The baron, who himself has a roving eye, agrees to let them go their way."

Here's a scene from the movie:

 AWARDS & KUDOS:  

Thomas and Solomon wrote that Hello-Goodbye is “an amiable comedy-romance in nice settings.” Other reviews I found online were not so pleasant. 

 OTHER COOL FACTS:  

Hello-Goodbye male lead Michael Crawford went on to play Woody Wilkins, a mild-manner comic book-artist-turned-superhero, in Condorman (1981). Condorman ranked #53 in our blog’s Top 100 Henry Mancini Films last year.

 ROBOTECH REASON:  

The title Hello-Goodbye sums up the lead male’s character about talking to women. According to Harry England (Crawford), talking to women and getting to know them only makes things more complicated and you get trapped in confusion, chaos, and misunderstanding. Harry advises a younger man to say, “Hello-Goodbye” to women. Harry’s version of the old David Bowie/Ziggy Stardust lyric: “Wam-Bam-Thank you, Ma’am!” Of course, Harry talks a great deal to Dany (Gilles) before hopping into bed with her and despite his best intentions NOT to fall in love with her, he does and things get messy.

In Robotech, Lisa Hayes and Rick Hunter talk too much about anything other than their feelings for each other until it’s practically the end of the world for the third or fourth time. Not only that but there’s also someone else occupying Rick’s mind for many episodes and occupying his own bed in this episode: the lovely Minmei. Lisa’s friend Claudia, who has constantly advised Lisa to tell Rick her feelings, wishes Lisa well as she jets off for Rick’s place. Hello-Goodbye looming above them makes perfect sense as the love triangle continues its vicious spinning of the love lives of Rick, Lisa, and Minmei.

To read my ⭐⭐⭐ (out of a possible 5 star) rating for Hello-Goodbye on Letterboxd, click here.