The Out-of-Towners(1970). Comedy. Written by: Neil Simon. Director: Arthur Hiller, Jack Lemmon and Sandy Dennis. Simon's screenplay won him the Writers Guild of America award for Best Comedy Written Directly for the Screen.The movie was remade with Steve Martin and Goldie Hawn in 1999.
George Kellerman, is invited by his company to visit their New York City offices and discuss his promotion. George and his wife, Gwen, fly to New York planning to have a fabulous dinner and spending the night in a luxury hotel.
To begin their nightmare of adventures, their plane is rerouted to Boston when air traffic and fog make landing in New York impossible. When they arrive in Boston the Kellermans find that their luggage has been lost and must take a over crowded train to New York. Tired and hungry, George and Gwen reach New York during to what George calls a "monsoon" and find that the city is in the middle of strikes by garbage collectors and transit workers.
They walk the 10 blocks to the Waldorf-Astoria, only to find that the hotel has canceled their reservation. A stranger offers them other hotel accommodations, but soon turns out to be a mugger and takes all their money. Without a place to stay for the night, they go to the police and are told they will be put up at the armory, but the police car which takes them to the armory is hijacked by robbers, who leave the Kellermans in Central Park. They spend the night there and George's watch is stolen.
The next morning two young men mistake George for a mugger and beat him up. The trouble does not stop there, George is later chased by a mounted policeman, who he thinks is a child molester. George and Gwen are helped by a passing Cuban diplomat and all are assaulted by demonstrators. "OH MY GOD!!" Will George ever make his interview or get back home to Dayton, in one piece?
My husband and I both love this movie. I think we can recite this movie line for line. I also thought Dennis's performance of the supportive wife was hilarious, as she does everything she can just to keep her husband happy.
Yes..good choice Dawn. This is one of my favorite Neil Simon movies. Jack and Sandy are perfect. I love Sandy's nasal pitched voiced....George! George! And it comes on tomorrow. Cool. This would be a great discussion movie.
ReplyDeleteGwen: Oh My God! We're being kidnapped!
ReplyDeleteIt's the way she says this and all her other lines had me laughing a lot.
So we watched Out of Towners yesterday afternoon even though I actually own it and it was still very funny. Jack and Sandy are perfect.
ReplyDeleteWe watched it too. One of the things I liked most about the movie, is when George has a strong sense of what is right and wrong, but is always looking for Gwen's validation.
ReplyDeleteWhat I love about the film is how accurate that traveling to another place can be. Lost luggage, weather delay, reservation problems, things that can happen to anyone and often does. Of course, it's really bad luck to have all those things happen during the same trip.
ReplyDeletei also enjoyed seeing a young Billie Dee Willams, as the lost and found agent.
ReplyDeleteCan you imagine how hard it must have been to film in all those different places?
ReplyDeleteyeah that was cool...what are some of your favorite quotes?
ReplyDeleteone of mine would be when George wakes up the next morning and Gwen tells him he was robbed by a man in a cape.
"You mean to tell me I was robbed while I was sleeping?"
George Kellerman: My wife can verify that. Gwen?
ReplyDeleteGwen Kellerman: I can verify that.
George Kellerman: You can't walk with a bleeding foot.
ReplyDeleteGwen Kellerman: Well I would fly, but New York is fogged in.
George Kellerman: I'm suing 'em all. I don't care if I'm in court all year.
ReplyDeleteThose are a couple of my favs.:)
Great ones...or the one where she stepped on something in the street and broke her heel.
ReplyDeleteHow did you do that?
I stepped on a rock and broke my heel.
It's the way she talked the whole movie that had me dying laughing.
Sandy, had a very unusual acting style.
ReplyDeleteI added the Jack Lemmon film collection to my DVD collection. I have enjoyed all the films.
ReplyDeleteThat's great. By the way great post about Cyd Charisse. I am recording several of her movies today so I can watch them later on. Especially Brigadoon, that's one of my favorite musicals.
ReplyDeleteThank you. i'm watching the Cyd Charisse line up today. i'm looking forward to seeing couple of the movies i have not seen. i just found a picture of Cyd as a little girl.
ReplyDeleteBy the way Dawn, I just recently joined this movie site called The Golden Age of Hollywood. It's very cool. I've added it to my page and there is a link directly to it. It's the pic of Clara Bow. Check it out when you get a chance and join. There are tons of discussion groups on there and it is very cool.
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