Bye Bye Braverman (1968)

Director:

Sidney Lumet

Writers:

Wallace Markfield (novel)
Herbert Sargent (screenplay)

Release Date:

21 February 1968 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama

Tagline:

This motion picture is conceived to erase the memory of Leslie Braverman who had the poor taste to drop dead, without warning, thereby inflicting on his family and friends all sorts of burdensome inconveniences--like, for openers, the funeral...

Plot:

Four Jewish intellectuals carpool to the funeral of their old friend Leslie Braverman, who died suddenly at age 41.

Plot Keywords:

Funeral | Intellectual | Carpool | Journey | Writer

Cast

George Segal	...	Morroe Rieff
Jack Warden	...	Barnet Weinstein
Jessica Walter	...	Inez Braverman
Godfrey Cambridge	...	Taxi Driver
Phyllis Newman	...	Myra Mandelbaum
Joseph Wiseman	...	Felix Ottensteen
Sorrell Booke	...	Holly Levine
Zohra Lampert	...	Etta Rieff
Alan King	...	The Rabbi
Susan Wyler	...	Pilar
Leib Lensky	...	Custodian
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Peter Gumeny	...	Man on Bus (uncredited)
Anthony Holland	...	Max Ottenstein (uncredited)
Graham Jarvis	...	Man on Bus (uncredited)
Hal Taggart	...	Mourner at Synagogue (uncredited)
Ira Waldinger	...	Boy walking across lot (uncredited)

Directed by
Sidney Lumet

Writing credits
Wallace Markfield		(novel "To an Early Grave")
Herbert Sargent		(screenplay)

Produced by
Sidney Lumet	....	producer
Charles H. Maguire	....	associate producer

Original Music by
Peter Matz

Cinematography by
Boris Kaufman

Film Editing by
Gerald B. Greenberg

Art Direction by
Ben Kasazkow

Set Decoration by
John Godfrey

Costume Design by
Anna Hill Johnstone

Makeup Department
William Chiarelli	....	hair stylist
William Herman	....	makeup artist

Production Management
Kenneth Utt	....	production supervisor

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Burtt Harris	....	assistant director
Alan Hopkins	....	assistant director

Art Department
Stanley Cappiello	....	scenic artist
Kenneth Fitzpatrick	....	master property man
William J. Gerrity	....	chief construction grip
Gil Gerstein	....	chief carpenter

Sound Department
Fred Bosch	....	sound engineer
Alan Heim	....	sound editor
Dick Vorisek	....	sound mixer

Camera and Electrical Department
Charles Kolb	....	key grip
Willie Meyerhoff	....	gaffer
Hank Muller	....	camera operator

Editorial Department
Lynn Lewis Lovett	....	assistant film editor (as Lynn Lewis)

Other crew
Maggie James	....	script supervisor
Jessica Skippon	....	production secretary

Production Companies

• Warner Brothers/Seven Arts

Distributors

• Warner Brothers/Seven Arts (1968) (USA) (theatrical)
• National Broadcasting Company (NBC) (1977) (USA) (TV)
• Warner Home Video (2009) (USA) (DVD) (DVD-R)

Other Companies

• Warner Bros. Entertainment  DVD package design

Also Known As:

Runtime:

USA:94 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

USA:Approved

Filming Locations:

Broklyn Queens Expressway, Brooklyn, New York City, New York, USA

Company:

Warner Brothers/Seven Arts

Trivia:

At the funeral home where Alan King, as the Rabbi, is delivering a eulogy he references living one's life as "007." The next shot is of Joseph Wiseman who played "Dr No" in the James Bond movie of the same name; Wiseman's character.

Goofs:

Continuity: When the VW is first seen it has a license plate of 2G-9193, but after it is hit by a taxi, the plate is 2G-9194 for the remainder of the movie. (Of note, the characters do not change vehicles as this occurs during a driving scene.)

Quotes:

Morroe Rieff:[Walking through the cemetery] Look at them. quite a crowd!
Felix Ottensteen:[Crankily] Nobody here. all I see is granite!

Movie Connections:

References Strangers on a Train (1951)

a personal experience

to me this movie turns the biblical story of the Exodus on its head. Instead of leading His people into the Promised Land, Monroe(Segal)leads His people out of the Promised Land(Manhattan), and into the desert(Brooklyn), and they wander and wander. While there, each character comes to question his faith. The four main characters, assimilated Jews, have abandoned their traditions when we first meet them. Upon their return to their roots(Brooklyn),characters and situations confront them, that force them to look inward at themselves, and what they have become. Listen to the speeches carefully. King's, Cambridges'(brilliant cameo), and don't overlook Segal's at the cemetery addressing the headstones(just beautiful. Strange that this move as released in 1968,at the height of so much turmoil. BBB is an overlooked classic. This movie is so important to me, that when it finally is released on DVD, I will be the first on line to buy it. And, I don't even own A DVD player! But for this movie I might just buy one.