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The Odd Couple (film)
Encyclopedia
The Odd Couple is a 1968 comedy film written by Neil Simon
, based on his play The Odd Couple
, directed by Gene Saks
, and starring Jack Lemmon
and Walter Matthau
. It is the story of two divorced men – Felix Ungar, the neurotic neatfreak, and Oscar Madison, the fun-loving slob – who decide to live together, even though their personalities clash.
) checks into a fleabag hotel room near Times Square
, Manhattan
and attempts to kill himself by jumping out the window, but he can't get the window open and ends up pulling a muscle in his back. Limping back on the street he tries to get drunk at a dance bar and ends up hurting his neck when he throws down a shot. Finally, he stands on a bridge, contemplating jumping into the river.
Meanwhile, in the pig-sty Upper West Side apartment of divorced sportswriter Oscar Madison (Walter Matthau
) on a hot and sticky evening, Oscar and his buddies Speed (Larry Haines
), Roy (David Sheiner
), Vinnie (John Fiedler
), and Murray the cop (Herb Edelman
) are playing poker and discussing their friend, Felix Ungar, who is unusually late to the game. Murray's wife calls and tells him that Felix is missing. Oscar then calls Felix's wife who says she and Felix have split up. As they are discussing what to do, and worried that Felix might try to commit suicide, Felix arrives not knowing that his friends already know that his wife has kicked him out of the house.
Felix eventually breaks down crying and his friends try to console him. Oscar then suggests that Felix move in with him, since Oscar has lived alone since he split up with his own wife, Blanche, several months earlier. Felix agrees, and urges Oscar to not be shy about letting him know if he gets on Oscar's nerves.
Within a week, Oscar is going nuts. Felix is a neurotic, obsessive-compulsive nut, who runs around the apartment cleaning, picking up after Oscar, and berating him for being such a slob. He also refuses to have any fun, spending most of his time thinking about Frances. Felix at one point telephones Oscar at Shea Stadium
telling him not to eat any hot dog
s at the game, because Felix is preparing franks and beans for dinner; this distraction causes Oscar to miss seeing a rare triple-play at the Mets
game on which he is reporting. The two men are shown bowling
, shooting pool, and walking the city streets. Felix has a sinus attack, making loud obnoxious noises while seated in a coffee shop. Finally, after Felix drives everyone at the weekly poker game crazy, Oscar convinces Felix to lighten up and join him on a double-date with two English girls who live in the building – the Pigeon sisters, Cecily (Monica Evans
) and Gwendolyn (Carole Shelley
), who actually "coo" when they laugh.
As the date commences, Oscar tries to get Felix to loosen up by leaving him alone for a while in their living room with the two attractive, and somewhat frisky, sisters. Instead, he winds up talking about Frances, and breaks down weeping. When Oscar returns from their kitchen, the Pigeon sisters, one a divorcee, the other widowed, are sobbing as uncontrollably as Felix. Oscar cheers them up and they invite the boys upstairs for what should be a wild night. Instead, Felix, who realizes that he is still too attached to his wife, refuses to go, opting to wash his hair instead. Oscar joins the sisters in their apartment, but winds up spending the night telling them all about Felix.
Furious about Felix's ruining the date, Oscar resorts to giving Felix the silent treatment and torturing him by messing up the apartment as much as possible. Felix retaliates by just being himself, driving Oscar insane with his endless cleaning and neurotic behavior. Eventually, the tension explodes into an argument that results in Oscar demanding that Felix move out. Felix complies, but leaves Oscar with a major-league guilt trip for having abandoned his still-in-need friend.
Feeling awful about throwing Felix out, and not knowing where he has gone, Oscar assembles his poker buddies to search New York City
for Felix in Murray's NYPD police car, which he's not supposed to use. After searching for hours, they return to Oscar's apartment to find out that Felix has moved in with the Pigeon sisters. Oscar and Felix apologize to each other, and realize that a bit of each has rubbed off on the other, with each being a better person for it. Oscar tells his friends to clean up their mess after the poker game is over, ending the film.
and the original cast starred Art Carney
as Felix and Walter Matthau
as Oscar. For the film version, Matthau reprised his role as Oscar but Felix was played by Jack Lemmon
, who had not portrayed the character before. At one point, Frank Sinatra
(as Felix) and Jackie Gleason
(as Oscar) were going to do the movie version but this fell through. Most of the script from the play is the same, although the setting is expanded: instead of taking place entirely in Oscar's apartment, Simon also wrote some scenes that take place at various outdoor New York City
locations (most notably one at Shea Stadium
in Queens, New York).
Oscar's poker player friends also made up the cast, they were Roy (David Sheiner
), Vinnie (John Fiedler
), Speed (Larry Haines
) and Murray the Cop (Herb Edelman
). The film made its debut at Radio City Music Hall
in 1968. The film was a hit and earned Neil Simon a nomination for the Academy Award for Writing Adapted Screenplay
. The film was also nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy and Lemmon and Matthau were both nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor - Motion Picture Musical or Comedy
.
The scene at Shea Stadium
, which also featured Heywood Hale Broun
, was filmed right before a real game between the New York Mets
and the Pittsburgh Pirates
on June 27, 1967. Roberto Clemente
was asked to hit into the triple play
that Oscar misses, but he refused to do it and Bill Mazeroski
took his place.
One of the outdoor scenes in the film involved Felix shopping at Bohack, a Maspeth, Queens
-based supermarket chain ubiquitous in the New York City
area during the mid-20th century. The last Bohack supermarket closed in 1977.
The movie spawned a television series spinoff in 1970, also entitled The Odd Couple
.
, reunited Jack Lemmon and Walther Matthau in their original roles and was released 30 years later, breaking the record for the length of time between a movie and its sequel featuring the original cast.
. The theme was used throughout the movie's sequel
, starring Lemmon and Matthau and released 30 years later, and also adapted for the 1970 TV series and used over the opening credits. The song also has seldom-heard lyrics, written by Sammy Cahn
.
American Film Institute
recognition
Neil Simon
Neil Simon is an American playwright and screenwriter. He has written numerous Broadway plays, including Brighton Beach Memoirs, Biloxi Blues, and The Odd Couple. He won the 1991 Pulitzer Prize for Drama for his play Lost In Yonkers. He has written the screenplays for several of his plays that...
, based on his play The Odd Couple
The Odd Couple
The Odd Couple is a 1965 Broadway play by Neil Simon, followed by a successful film and television series, as well as other derivative works and spin offs, many featuring one or more of the same actors. The plot concerns two mismatched roommates, one neat and uptight, the other more easygoing and...
, directed by Gene Saks
Gene Saks
Gene Saks is an American stage and film director.-Life and career:Saks was born in New York City, the son of Beatrix and Morris J. Saks...
, and starring Jack Lemmon
Jack Lemmon
John Uhler "Jack" Lemmon III was an American actor and musician. He starred in more than 60 films including Some Like It Hot, The Apartment, Mister Roberts , Days of Wine and Roses, The Great Race, Irma la Douce, The Odd Couple, Save the Tiger John Uhler "Jack" Lemmon III (February 8, 1925June...
and Walter Matthau
Walter Matthau
Walter Matthau was an American actor best known for his role as Oscar Madison in The Odd Couple and his frequent collaborations with Odd Couple star Jack Lemmon, as well as his role as Coach Buttermaker in the 1976 comedy The Bad News Bears...
. It is the story of two divorced men – Felix Ungar, the neurotic neatfreak, and Oscar Madison, the fun-loving slob – who decide to live together, even though their personalities clash.
Plot
Felix Ungar (Jack LemmonJack Lemmon
John Uhler "Jack" Lemmon III was an American actor and musician. He starred in more than 60 films including Some Like It Hot, The Apartment, Mister Roberts , Days of Wine and Roses, The Great Race, Irma la Douce, The Odd Couple, Save the Tiger John Uhler "Jack" Lemmon III (February 8, 1925June...
) checks into a fleabag hotel room near Times Square
Times Square
Times Square is a major commercial intersection in the borough of Manhattan in New York City, at the junction of Broadway and Seventh Avenue and stretching from West 42nd to West 47th Streets...
, Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
and attempts to kill himself by jumping out the window, but he can't get the window open and ends up pulling a muscle in his back. Limping back on the street he tries to get drunk at a dance bar and ends up hurting his neck when he throws down a shot. Finally, he stands on a bridge, contemplating jumping into the river.
Meanwhile, in the pig-sty Upper West Side apartment of divorced sportswriter Oscar Madison (Walter Matthau
Walter Matthau
Walter Matthau was an American actor best known for his role as Oscar Madison in The Odd Couple and his frequent collaborations with Odd Couple star Jack Lemmon, as well as his role as Coach Buttermaker in the 1976 comedy The Bad News Bears...
) on a hot and sticky evening, Oscar and his buddies Speed (Larry Haines
Larry Haines
Larry Haines, born Larry Hecht was an American actor. He was born in Mount Vernon, New York.-Biography:He was born on August 3, 1918....
), Roy (David Sheiner
David Sheiner
David Sheiner is an American film and television actor.-Biography:He was born in January 13, 1928 in New York City....
), Vinnie (John Fiedler
John Fiedler
John Donald Fiedler was an American voice actor and character actor in stage, film, television and radio. He was slight, balding, and bespectacled, with a distinctive, high-pitched voice and a career lasting more than 55 years.He is best remembered for four roles: as the nervous Juror #2 in 12...
), and Murray the cop (Herb Edelman
Herb Edelman
Herbert "Herb" Edelman was an American actor of stage, film and television. He was twice nominated for an Emmy Award for his television work. One of his best remembered roles was as Stanley Zbornak, the ex-husband of Dorothy Zbornak on the long-running situation comedy, The Golden Girls...
) are playing poker and discussing their friend, Felix Ungar, who is unusually late to the game. Murray's wife calls and tells him that Felix is missing. Oscar then calls Felix's wife who says she and Felix have split up. As they are discussing what to do, and worried that Felix might try to commit suicide, Felix arrives not knowing that his friends already know that his wife has kicked him out of the house.
Felix eventually breaks down crying and his friends try to console him. Oscar then suggests that Felix move in with him, since Oscar has lived alone since he split up with his own wife, Blanche, several months earlier. Felix agrees, and urges Oscar to not be shy about letting him know if he gets on Oscar's nerves.
Within a week, Oscar is going nuts. Felix is a neurotic, obsessive-compulsive nut, who runs around the apartment cleaning, picking up after Oscar, and berating him for being such a slob. He also refuses to have any fun, spending most of his time thinking about Frances. Felix at one point telephones Oscar at Shea Stadium
Shea Stadium
William A. Shea Municipal Stadium, usually shortened to Shea Stadium or just Shea , was a stadium in the New York City borough of Queens, in Flushing Meadows–Corona Park. It was the home baseball park of Major League Baseball's New York Mets from 1964 to 2008...
telling him not to eat any hot dog
Hot dog
A hot dog is a sausage served in a sliced bun. It is very often garnished with mustard, ketchup, onions, mayonnaise, relish and/or sauerkraut.-History:...
s at the game, because Felix is preparing franks and beans for dinner; this distraction causes Oscar to miss seeing a rare triple-play at the Mets
METS
The Metadata Encoding and Transmission Standard is a metadata standard for encoding descriptive, administrative, and structural metadata regarding objects within a digital library, expressed using the XML schema language of the World Wide Web Consortium...
game on which he is reporting. The two men are shown bowling
Bowling
Bowling Bowling Bowling (1375–1425; late Middle English bowle, variant of boule Bowling (1375–1425; late Middle English bowle, variant of boule...
, shooting pool, and walking the city streets. Felix has a sinus attack, making loud obnoxious noises while seated in a coffee shop. Finally, after Felix drives everyone at the weekly poker game crazy, Oscar convinces Felix to lighten up and join him on a double-date with two English girls who live in the building – the Pigeon sisters, Cecily (Monica Evans
Monica Evans
Monica Evans is an English actress best known for her portrayal of Cecily Pigeon in Neil Simon's The Odd Couple. She was in the original Broadway cast for its entire run, then appeared in the film version in 1968, and finally appeared in some episodes of the television series based on the play...
) and Gwendolyn (Carole Shelley
Carole Shelley
Carole Shelley is an English actress. Among her many stage roles are the character of Madame Morrible in the original Broadway cast of the musical Wicked.-Life and career:...
), who actually "coo" when they laugh.
As the date commences, Oscar tries to get Felix to loosen up by leaving him alone for a while in their living room with the two attractive, and somewhat frisky, sisters. Instead, he winds up talking about Frances, and breaks down weeping. When Oscar returns from their kitchen, the Pigeon sisters, one a divorcee, the other widowed, are sobbing as uncontrollably as Felix. Oscar cheers them up and they invite the boys upstairs for what should be a wild night. Instead, Felix, who realizes that he is still too attached to his wife, refuses to go, opting to wash his hair instead. Oscar joins the sisters in their apartment, but winds up spending the night telling them all about Felix.
Furious about Felix's ruining the date, Oscar resorts to giving Felix the silent treatment and torturing him by messing up the apartment as much as possible. Felix retaliates by just being himself, driving Oscar insane with his endless cleaning and neurotic behavior. Eventually, the tension explodes into an argument that results in Oscar demanding that Felix move out. Felix complies, but leaves Oscar with a major-league guilt trip for having abandoned his still-in-need friend.
Feeling awful about throwing Felix out, and not knowing where he has gone, Oscar assembles his poker buddies to search New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
for Felix in Murray's NYPD police car, which he's not supposed to use. After searching for hours, they return to Oscar's apartment to find out that Felix has moved in with the Pigeon sisters. Oscar and Felix apologize to each other, and realize that a bit of each has rubbed off on the other, with each being a better person for it. Oscar tells his friends to clean up their mess after the poker game is over, ending the film.
Cast
- Jack LemmonJack LemmonJohn Uhler "Jack" Lemmon III was an American actor and musician. He starred in more than 60 films including Some Like It Hot, The Apartment, Mister Roberts , Days of Wine and Roses, The Great Race, Irma la Douce, The Odd Couple, Save the Tiger John Uhler "Jack" Lemmon III (February 8, 1925June...
as Felix Ungar - Walter MatthauWalter MatthauWalter Matthau was an American actor best known for his role as Oscar Madison in The Odd Couple and his frequent collaborations with Odd Couple star Jack Lemmon, as well as his role as Coach Buttermaker in the 1976 comedy The Bad News Bears...
as Oscar Madison - John FiedlerJohn FiedlerJohn Donald Fiedler was an American voice actor and character actor in stage, film, television and radio. He was slight, balding, and bespectacled, with a distinctive, high-pitched voice and a career lasting more than 55 years.He is best remembered for four roles: as the nervous Juror #2 in 12...
as Vinnie - Herb EdelmanHerb EdelmanHerbert "Herb" Edelman was an American actor of stage, film and television. He was twice nominated for an Emmy Award for his television work. One of his best remembered roles was as Stanley Zbornak, the ex-husband of Dorothy Zbornak on the long-running situation comedy, The Golden Girls...
as Murray - David SheinerDavid SheinerDavid Sheiner is an American film and television actor.-Biography:He was born in January 13, 1928 in New York City....
as Roy - Larry HainesLarry HainesLarry Haines, born Larry Hecht was an American actor. He was born in Mount Vernon, New York.-Biography:He was born on August 3, 1918....
as Speed - Monica EvansMonica EvansMonica Evans is an English actress best known for her portrayal of Cecily Pigeon in Neil Simon's The Odd Couple. She was in the original Broadway cast for its entire run, then appeared in the film version in 1968, and finally appeared in some episodes of the television series based on the play...
as Cecily Pigeon - Carole ShelleyCarole ShelleyCarole Shelley is an English actress. Among her many stage roles are the character of Madame Morrible in the original Broadway cast of the musical Wicked.-Life and career:...
as Gwendolyn Pigeon - Billie BirdBillie BirdBillie Bird was an American actress and comedienne.-Early life:Born Berniece Bird in Pocatello, Idaho, Bird was discovered at the age of eight while living at an orphanage...
as Chambermaid - Iris AdrianIris AdrianIris Adrian was an American film actress.-Life and career:Born in Los Angeles, California as Iris Hostetter, Adrian won a beauty pageant and worked with the Ziegfeld Follies, before she entered films at the end of the silent era in Chasing Husbands and appeared as an extra or chorus girl in early...
as Waitress - Angelique PettyjohnAngelique PettyjohnAngelique Pettyjohn was an American actress and burlesque queen. She is best known in show business for her appearance as the drill thrall Shahna in the Star Trek episode, "The Gamesters of Triskelion".-Biography:...
as Go-Go Dancer - Ted Beniades as Bartender
- Bill Baldwin as Sports Announcer
Production
The Odd Couple was originally produced for BroadwayBroadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
and the original cast starred Art Carney
Art Carney
Arthur William Matthew “Art” Carney was an American actor in film, stage, television and radio. He is best known for playing Ed Norton, opposite Jackie Gleason's Ralph Kramden in the situation comedy The Honeymooners....
as Felix and Walter Matthau
Walter Matthau
Walter Matthau was an American actor best known for his role as Oscar Madison in The Odd Couple and his frequent collaborations with Odd Couple star Jack Lemmon, as well as his role as Coach Buttermaker in the 1976 comedy The Bad News Bears...
as Oscar. For the film version, Matthau reprised his role as Oscar but Felix was played by Jack Lemmon
Jack Lemmon
John Uhler "Jack" Lemmon III was an American actor and musician. He starred in more than 60 films including Some Like It Hot, The Apartment, Mister Roberts , Days of Wine and Roses, The Great Race, Irma la Douce, The Odd Couple, Save the Tiger John Uhler "Jack" Lemmon III (February 8, 1925June...
, who had not portrayed the character before. At one point, Frank Sinatra
Frank Sinatra
Francis Albert "Frank" Sinatra was an American singer and actor.Beginning his musical career in the swing era with Harry James and Tommy Dorsey, Sinatra became an unprecedentedly successful solo artist in the early to mid-1940s, after being signed to Columbia Records in 1943. Being the idol of the...
(as Felix) and Jackie Gleason
Jackie Gleason
Jackie Gleason was an American comedian, actor and musician. He was known for his brash visual and verbal comedy style, especially by his character Ralph Kramden on The Honeymooners, a situation-comedy television series. His most noted film roles were as Minnesota Fats in the drama film The...
(as Oscar) were going to do the movie version but this fell through. Most of the script from the play is the same, although the setting is expanded: instead of taking place entirely in Oscar's apartment, Simon also wrote some scenes that take place at various outdoor New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
locations (most notably one at Shea Stadium
Shea Stadium
William A. Shea Municipal Stadium, usually shortened to Shea Stadium or just Shea , was a stadium in the New York City borough of Queens, in Flushing Meadows–Corona Park. It was the home baseball park of Major League Baseball's New York Mets from 1964 to 2008...
in Queens, New York).
Oscar's poker player friends also made up the cast, they were Roy (David Sheiner
David Sheiner
David Sheiner is an American film and television actor.-Biography:He was born in January 13, 1928 in New York City....
), Vinnie (John Fiedler
John Fiedler
John Donald Fiedler was an American voice actor and character actor in stage, film, television and radio. He was slight, balding, and bespectacled, with a distinctive, high-pitched voice and a career lasting more than 55 years.He is best remembered for four roles: as the nervous Juror #2 in 12...
), Speed (Larry Haines
Larry Haines
Larry Haines, born Larry Hecht was an American actor. He was born in Mount Vernon, New York.-Biography:He was born on August 3, 1918....
) and Murray the Cop (Herb Edelman
Herb Edelman
Herbert "Herb" Edelman was an American actor of stage, film and television. He was twice nominated for an Emmy Award for his television work. One of his best remembered roles was as Stanley Zbornak, the ex-husband of Dorothy Zbornak on the long-running situation comedy, The Golden Girls...
). The film made its debut at Radio City Music Hall
Radio City Music Hall
Radio City Music Hall is an entertainment venue located in New York City's Rockefeller Center. Its nickname is the Showplace of the Nation, and it was for a time the leading tourist destination in the city...
in 1968. The film was a hit and earned Neil Simon a nomination for the Academy Award for Writing Adapted Screenplay
Academy Award for Writing Adapted Screenplay
The Academy Award for Writing Adapted Screenplay is one of the Academy Awards, the most prominent film awards in the United States. It is awarded each year to the writer of a screenplay adapted from another source...
. The film was also nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy and Lemmon and Matthau were both nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor - Motion Picture Musical or Comedy
Golden Globe Award for Best Actor - Motion Picture Musical or Comedy
The Golden Globe Award for Best Actor - Motion Picture Musical or Comedy was first awarded by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association as a separate category in 1951...
.
The scene at Shea Stadium
Shea Stadium
William A. Shea Municipal Stadium, usually shortened to Shea Stadium or just Shea , was a stadium in the New York City borough of Queens, in Flushing Meadows–Corona Park. It was the home baseball park of Major League Baseball's New York Mets from 1964 to 2008...
, which also featured Heywood Hale Broun
Heywood Hale Broun
Heywood Hale Broun was an American an author, sportswriter, commentator and actor. He was born and raised in New York City, the son of writer and activist Ruth Hale and columnist Heywood Broun. He was educated at private schools and Swarthmore College....
, was filmed right before a real game between the New York Mets
New York Mets
The New York Mets are a professional baseball team based in the borough of Queens in New York City, New York. They belong to Major League Baseball's National League East Division. One of baseball's first expansion teams, the Mets were founded in 1962 to replace New York's departed National League...
and the Pittsburgh Pirates
Pittsburgh Pirates
The Pittsburgh Pirates are a Major League Baseball club based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. They play in the Central Division of the National League, and are five-time World Series Champions...
on June 27, 1967. Roberto Clemente
Roberto Clemente
Roberto Clemente Walker was a Puerto Rican Major League Baseball right fielder. He was born in Carolina, Puerto Rico, the youngest of seven children. Clemente played his entire 18-year baseball career with the Pittsburgh Pirates . He was awarded the National League's Most Valuable Player Award in...
was asked to hit into the triple play
Triple play (baseball)
In baseball, a triple play is the rare act of making three outs during the same continuous play.There are many ways a triple play can be performed; most of them are done with runners on first and second base...
that Oscar misses, but he refused to do it and Bill Mazeroski
Bill Mazeroski
William Stanley Mazeroski , nicknamed "Maz", is a former Major League Baseball player who spent his entire career with the Pittsburgh Pirates...
took his place.
One of the outdoor scenes in the film involved Felix shopping at Bohack, a Maspeth, Queens
Maspeth, Queens
Maspeth is a small community in the borough of Queens in New York City. Neighborhoods sharing borders with Maspeth are Woodside and Sunnyside to the north, Long Island City to the northwest, Greenpoint to the west, East Williamsburg to the southwest, Fresh Pond and Ridgewood to the south, and...
-based supermarket chain ubiquitous in the New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
area during the mid-20th century. The last Bohack supermarket closed in 1977.
The movie spawned a television series spinoff in 1970, also entitled The Odd Couple
The Odd Couple (TV series)
The Odd Couple is a television situation comedy broadcast from September 24, 1970 to July 4, 1975 on ABC. It starred Tony Randall as Felix Unger and Jack Klugman as Oscar Madison. It was based upon the play of the same name, which was written by Neil Simon.Felix and Oscar are two divorced men....
.
Sequel
A sequel, The Odd Couple IIThe Odd Couple II
The Odd Couple II is the 1998 sequel to 1968's The Odd Couple. The movie reunites Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau in their last film together.- Plot :...
, reunited Jack Lemmon and Walther Matthau in their original roles and was released 30 years later, breaking the record for the length of time between a movie and its sequel featuring the original cast.
Theme music
The award-winning jazz instrumental theme was composed by Neal HeftiNeal Hefti
Neal Hefti was an American jazz trumpeter, composer, tune writer, and arranger. He was perhaps best known for composing the theme music for the Batman television series of the 1960s, and for scoring the 1968 film The Odd Couple and the subsequent TV series of the same name.He began arranging...
. The theme was used throughout the movie's sequel
Sequel
A sequel is a narrative, documental, or other work of literature, film, theatre, or music that continues the story of or expands upon issues presented in some previous work...
, starring Lemmon and Matthau and released 30 years later, and also adapted for the 1970 TV series and used over the opening credits. The song also has seldom-heard lyrics, written by Sammy Cahn
Sammy Cahn
Sammy Cahn was an American lyricist, songwriter and musician. He is best known for his romantic lyrics to films and Broadway songs, as well as stand-alone songs premiered by recording companies in the Greater Los Angeles Area...
.
Awards and honors
- Neil SimonNeil SimonNeil Simon is an American playwright and screenwriter. He has written numerous Broadway plays, including Brighton Beach Memoirs, Biloxi Blues, and The Odd Couple. He won the 1991 Pulitzer Prize for Drama for his play Lost In Yonkers. He has written the screenplays for several of his plays that...
was nominated for the Academy Award for Writing-Adapted ScreenplayAcademy Award for Writing Adapted ScreenplayThe Academy Award for Writing Adapted Screenplay is one of the Academy Awards, the most prominent film awards in the United States. It is awarded each year to the writer of a screenplay adapted from another source... - Frank Bracht was nominated for the Academy Award for Film EditingAcademy Award for Film EditingThe Academy Award for Film Editing is one of the annual awards of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Nominations for this award are closely correlated with the Academy Award for Best Picture. Since 1981, every film selected as Best Picture has also been nominated for the Film Editing...
and for the American Cinema EditorsAmerican Cinema EditorsFounded in 1950, American Cinema Editors is an honorary society of film editors that are voted in based on the qualities of professional achievements, their education of others, and their dedication to editing itself. The society is not to be confused with an industry union, such as the I.A.T.S.E...
"Eddie" award for Best Edited Feature Film. - The film was nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy
- Jack LemmonJack LemmonJohn Uhler "Jack" Lemmon III was an American actor and musician. He starred in more than 60 films including Some Like It Hot, The Apartment, Mister Roberts , Days of Wine and Roses, The Great Race, Irma la Douce, The Odd Couple, Save the Tiger John Uhler "Jack" Lemmon III (February 8, 1925June...
and Walter MatthauWalter MatthauWalter Matthau was an American actor best known for his role as Oscar Madison in The Odd Couple and his frequent collaborations with Odd Couple star Jack Lemmon, as well as his role as Coach Buttermaker in the 1976 comedy The Bad News Bears...
were each nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor - Motion Picture Musical or ComedyGolden Globe Award for Best Actor - Motion Picture Musical or ComedyThe Golden Globe Award for Best Actor - Motion Picture Musical or Comedy was first awarded by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association as a separate category in 1951... - Gene SaksGene SaksGene Saks is an American stage and film director.-Life and career:Saks was born in New York City, the son of Beatrix and Morris J. Saks...
was nominated for the Directors Guild of America Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Feature Film.
American Film Institute
American Film Institute
The American Film Institute is an independent non-profit organization created by the National Endowment for the Arts, which was established in 1967 when President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the National Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities Act...
recognition
- AFI's 100 Years... 100 LaughsAFI's 100 Years... 100 LaughsPart of the AFI 100 Years… series, AFI's 100 Years…100 Laughs is a list of the top 100 funniest movies in American cinema. A wide variety of comedies were nominated for the distinction that included slapstick comedy, screwball comedy, romantic comedy, satire, black comedy, musical comedy, comedy of...
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