A Thousand Clowns (1965)

A middle-aged iconoclast, doggedly avoiding the tedium of employment and conventional life, faces the prospect of losing custody of his young ward.

Director:

Fred Coe

Writers:

Herb Gardner (screenplay), Herb Gardner (play)

Stars:

Jason Robards, Barbara Harris, Martin Balsam

Won 1 Oscar. Another 3 wins & 7 nominations.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Jason Robards	...	Murray
Barbara Harris	...	Sandra
Martin Balsam	...	Arnold
Gene Saks	...	Leo
William Daniels	...	Albert
Philip Bruns	...	The Man in The Restaurant (as Phil Bruns)
John McMartin	...	The Man in the Office (as John Macmartin)
Barry Gordon	...	Nick Burns / Wilbur Malcome Burns / Theodore Burns / Raphael Sabatini / Dr. Morris Fishbein / Woodrow Burns / Chevrolet Burns / Big Sam Burns / Lefty Burns

Storyline

Twelve-year-old Nick lives with his Uncle Murray, a Mr.Micawber-like Dickensian character who keeps hoping something won't turn up. What turns up is a social worker, who falls in love with Murray and a bit in love with Nick. As the child welfare people try to force Murray to become a conventional man (as the price they demand for allowing him to keep Nick), the nephew, who until now has gloried in his Uncle's iconoclastic approach to life, tries to play mediator. But when he succeeds, he is alarmed by the uncle's willingness to cave in to society in order to save the relationship.

---

Plot Keywords:

social worker | fruit | theatrical agent | uncle nephew relationship | tandem bicycle | 

---

Taglines:

...IT'S A LIFT FOR THE SPIRITS

---

Genres:

Comedy | Drama | Romance

---

Certificate:

Unrated

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

9 September 1966 (Finland)

Also Known As:

El payaso de la ciudad

Filming Locations:

Central Park, Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Harrell

Technical Specs

Runtime:

118 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Two of the names Nick adopted temporarily are those of specific real people. Dr. Morris Fishbein was the very controversial editor of the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) from 1924 to 1950. In 1947 Time Magazine described him as "the nation's most ubiquitous, the most widely maligned, and perhaps most influential medico." Rafael Sabatini was an author, and a few of his most popular novels were adapted for film. These films include Captain Blood and Scaramouche.

---

Goofs

As Murray puts on a shirt, his toothbrush appears and disappears in his mouth between shots.

---

Quotes

[first lines]
Murray Burns: [shouts at rows of houses] Neighbors, I have an announcement for you. I have never seen such a collection of dirty windows. Now I want to see all of you out there on the fire escape with your Mr. Clean bottles, and let's snap it up!

---

Crazy Credits

In opening credits: and introducing Barry Gordon as Nick. In the end credits, Gordon is credited to all the different names his character has tried: Nick Burns, Wilbur Malcome Burns, Theodore Burns, Raphael Sabatini, Dr. Morris Fishbein, Woodrow Burns, Chevrolet Burns, Big Sam Burns and Lefty Burns. In the film, however, he is just called Nick.

---

Connections

References King Kong (1933)

---

Soundtracks

"Hallelujah Chorus"
(1741) (uncredited)
from "Messiah"
Music by George Frideric Handel
In the score when Murray looks for a job

User Reviews

one of the great ones

A choice movie, and an original. The writing is sharp, the characters well played. Highlight is Martin Balsam's defense of "getting along," climaxing in "I am the best possible Arnold Burns." Robards holds it all together, but the supporting cast, especially Daniels and Sax, deserve lots of credit. And of course young Barry Gordon was perfect. Movie makers everywhere take note: It's the script, stupid!