The Odd Couple (1968)

Director:

Gene Saks

Writers:

Neil Simon (from the play by)
Neil Simon (screenplay)

Release Date:

27 May 1968 (Brazil)

Genre:

Comedy | Romance

Tagline:

Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau are The Odd Couple...say no more.

Plot:

Two friends try sharing an apartment, but their ideas of housekeeping and lifestyles are as different as night and day.

Plot Keywords:

Apartment | Poker Game | Meatloaf | Card Playing | Odd Couple

Awards:

Nominated for 2 Oscars. Another 4 wins & 6 nominations

Cast

Jack Lemmon	...	Felix Ungar
Walter Matthau	...	Oscar Madison
John Fiedler	...	Vinnie
Herb Edelman	...	Murray (as Herbert Edelman)
David Sheiner	...	Roy
Larry Haines	...	Speed
Monica Evans	...	Cecily Pigeon
Carole Shelley	...	Gwendolyn Pigeon
Iris Adrian	...	Waitress
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Matty Alou	...	Himself (uncredited)
Bill Baldwin	...	Sports Announcer (uncredited)
Al Barlick	...	Home Plate Umpire (uncredited)
John C. Becher	...	Hotel Clerk (uncredited)
Ted Beniades	...	Bartender (uncredited)
Billie Bird	...	Chambermaid (uncredited)
Patricia D. Bohannon	...	Bowler (uncredited)
Ken Boyer	...	Himself (uncredited)
Heywood Hale Broun	...	Himself - Sports Writer (uncredited)
Jerry Buchek	...	Himself (uncredited)
Roberto Clemente	...	Himself (uncredited)
Tommy Davis	...	Himself (uncredited)
Augie Donatelli	...	First Base Umpire (uncredited)
Jack Fisher	...	Himself (uncredited)
Ann Graeff	...	Scrubwoman (uncredited)
Bud Harrelson	...	Himself (uncredited)
Cleon Jones	...	Himself (uncredited)
Ed Kranepool	...	Himself (uncredited)
Vernon Law	...	Himself (uncredited)
Jack Lightcap	...	Public Address Announcer (uncredited)
Bill Mazeroski	...	Himself (uncredited)
Joe Palma	...	Butcher (uncredited)
Angelique Pettyjohn	...	Go-Go Dancer (uncredited)
Harry Spear	...	Janitor (uncredited)
Ralph Stantley	...	Cop (uncredited)
Maury Wills	...	Himself (uncredited)

Directed by
Gene Saks

Writing credits
Neil Simon		(from the play by)
Neil Simon		(screenplay)

Produced by
Howard W. Koch	....	producer

Original Music by
Neal Hefti		(music)

Cinematography by
Robert B. Hauser		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
Frank Bracht		(edited by)

Art Direction by
Hal Pereira
Walter H. Tyler		(as Walter Tyler)

Set Decoration by
Robert R. Benton		(set decoration) (as Robert Benton)
Ray Moyer		(set decoration)

Costume Design by
Jack Bear		(costumes designed by)

Makeup Department
Nellie Manley	....	hair style supervision
Jack Petty	....	makeup artist
Harry Ray	....	makeup artist
Wally Westmore	....	makeup supervision

Production Management
William Davidson	....	unit production manager (as William C. Davidson)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Hank Moonjean	....	assistant director

Sound Department
John R. Carter	....	sound recordist (as John Carter)
Charles Grenzbach	....	sound recordist

Visual Effects by
Paul K. Lerpae	....	special photographic effects

Camera and Electrical Department
Frank J. Calabria	....	additional photographer (uncredited)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
John A. Anderson	....	wardrobe: men's (as John Anderson)

Music Department
Lowell Marttin	....	orchestrator (uncredited)
Hal Mooney	....	orchestrator (uncredited)

Other crew
Luanna S. Poole	....	script continuity

Production Companies

• Paramount Pictures (A Howard Koch Production)

Distributors

• Paramount Pictures (1968) (USA) (theatrical) (A Gulf + Western Company)
• Les Films Paramount (1968) (France) (theatrical)
• Paramount (1968) (West Germany) (theatrical)
• American Broadcasting Company (ABC) (1972) (USA) (TV) (broadcast premiere) (pan/scan)
• Paramount Home Video (1995) (USA) (video) (laserdisc)
• Paramount Home Video (1998) (USA) (VHS) (pan/scan)
• Paramount Home Video (2000) (USA) (DVD)
• Paramount Home Entertainment (2002) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• Paramount (2006) (Sweden) (DVD)
• Paramount-Films (1968) (Finland) (theatrical)
• Yleisradio (YLE) (1976) (1980) (Finland) (TV)

Other Companies

• Saint Subber Theatrical Enterprises.  produced on the stage by (as Saint-Subber)

Also Known As:

Runtime:

105 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Canada:PG (Ontario) | Sweden:Btl | Australia:PG | Finland:S | Ireland:G | Netherlands:AL | Singapore:PG | Spain:13 | UK:PG | USA:G (PCA #21575) | West Germany:12 (nf)

Filming Locations:

190 Riverside Drive, Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA

Company:

Paramount Pictures

Trivia:

At one point in the story (set in New York), Oscar says "Getting a clear picture on Channel 2" is not his idea of a fun evening. For years through the mid- to late 70s and early 80s, this movie was a staple of WCBS Channel 2's "Late Show" movie in New York City.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Oscar is at the ballpark, the phone rings and he puts his hot dog down. When the man answers the phone, Oscar is typing and the hot dog disappears. When we cut back to Oscar, he is eating it again.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Felix Ungar:A room, please.
Hotel clerk:You alone?
[Felix nods]
Hotel clerk:Luggage?
[Felix shakes his head]
Hotel clerk:How long do you want it for?
Felix Ungar:Oh, not very long.
Hotel clerk:Five dollars.
[Felix isn't paying attention]
[...]

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "House M.D.: Wilson (#6.9)" (2009)

Soundtrack:

Rule Britannia

One of my all-time favorites plus one of the quintessential comedy pairings of 20th century

I simply can't get over how brilliant the pairing of Walter Matthau and Jack Lemmon is. It's like the movie doesn't even need additional characters because you can never get tired of the dialog between these two.

Lemmon had already been in several well-known films like Mr. Roberts and The Apartment and Matthau was fresh off his Oscar win for The Fortune Cookie (another Billy Wilder film also with Lemmon). That particular movie wasn't as great as this one because the story couldn't sustain such a long running time (I think it was almost 2 hours). However, this goes by at a brisk hour and a half, even though the introduction of the events leading up to Lemmon ending up at Matthau's apartment is a tad long (so was this sentence). That's a minor quibble though and for the rest of the running time you have a marvelous time.

I have already written a comment about how the follow-up to this film sucked and I won't go deeper into that. The reason why this is such a joy is probably that the movie was made just as the innocence of American movies was beginning to fade fast into oblivion. There are some sexual references but they are dealt with in such an innocent way that you couldn't even get a "Well, I never..." out of the most prudish person out there. It is kind of fun to see a movie from a long lost era and that was probably why the sequel didn't work because you had Matthau and Lemmon say quite a few f-words and that just doesn't fit them.

Of course, now they are both gone and you can just be happy that you still can enjoy them in a marvelous film like this. I think the only male actor in this film who is still alive is John Fiedler. Edelman died recently. So there you have it. Simply one of the best comedies and films ever.

Add: I have just learned recently that John Fiedler has died so to all the fans of him I am deeply sorry. I didn't mean any disrespect and I will try to be more careful of what I am blah blah blahing next time.