Directed by:
Delbert MannScreenplay:
Paddy ChayefskyCinematography:
Joseph LaShelleCast:
Don Murray, E.G. Marshall, Jack Warden, Philip Abbott, Patricia Smith, Carolyn Jones, Nancy Marchand, Jeffrey Sayre, Robert B. Williams, Arthur Tovey (more)Plots(1)
Chayefsky is one of the rare screenwriters whose names people know. His work is widely celebrated because he explores the mundane and the banal and shows us ourselves. This film depicts a group of bookkeepers in New York who toss the title party for a pal, and the booze gives vent to some of their deeper feelings. The running time is only 92 minutes, providing a demonstration of what good writing and direction can do in a tight time frame. Warden is the office bachelor who plans the party for nervous groom Abbott. Marshall is excellent as the aging bookkeeper who tries hard to put on a happy face but winds up in a crying jag that is painful to watch because it is so real. In an Oscar-nominated role, Jones is an existentialist from Greenwich Village who becomes involved briefly with Don Murray, who top-lines as a reluctant participant. It's a little picture about little people, and it hits the mark on almost every level. (official distributor synopsis)
(more)Cast
Don Murray
USA
Best movies:
Producers' Showcase (1954) (series)
How the West Was Won (1976) (series)
Advise and Consent (1962)
E.G. Marshall
USA
Best movies:
12 Angry Men (1957)
Producers' Showcase (1954) (series)
Christmas Vacation (1989)
Jack Warden
USA
Best movies:
12 Angry Men (1957)
Being There (1979)
...And Justice for All (1979)
Philip Abbott
USA
Best movies:
Producers' Showcase (1954) (series)
Sweet Bird of Youth (1962)
Columbo (1971) (series)
Patricia Smith
USA
Best movies:
The Spirit of St. Louis (1957)
Roots: The Next Generations (1979) (series)
Who Will Love My Children? (1983) (TV movie)
Carolyn Jones
USA
Best movies:
Roots (1977) (series)
The Big Heat (1953)
Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956)
Nancy Marchand
USA
Best movies:
The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad! (1988)
North and South (1985) (series)
Me, Natalie (1969)
Jeffrey Sayre
USA
Best movies:
Bon Voyage! (1962)
Witness for the Prosecution (1957)
North by Northwest (1959)
Robert B. Williams
USA
Best movies:
Singin' in the Rain (1952)
North by Northwest (1959)
A Patch of Blue (1965)
Arthur Tovey
USA
Best movies:
The Sting (1973)
Back to the Future (1985)
Some Like It Hot (1959)
Judith Malina
German Empire
Best movies:
Awakenings (1990)
Dog Day Afternoon (1975)
Radio Days (1987)
Paul Kruger
USA
Best movies:
Witness for the Prosecution (1957)
Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939)
The Invisible Man (1933)