Goodbye, Columbus (1969)

A Jewish man and a jewish woman meet and while attracted to each other find that their worlds are very different. She is the archetypical Jewish-American-Princess, very emotionally involved... See full summary »

Director:

Larry Peerce

Writers:

Philip Roth (novel), Arnold Schulman

Stars:

Richard Benjamin, Ali MacGraw, Jack Klugman

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 4 wins & 8 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Richard Benjamin	...	Neil Klugman
Ali MacGraw	...	Brenda Patimkin
Jack Klugman	...	Ben Patimkin
Nan Martin	...	Mrs. Ben Patimkin
Michael Meyers	...	Ron Patimkin
Lori Shelle	...	Julie Patimkin
Monroe Arnold	...	Uncle Leo
Kay Cummings	...	Doris Klugman
Sylvie Strause	...	Aunt Gladys
Royce Wallace	...	Carlotta
Anthony McGowan	...	Boy in Library
Mari Gorman	...	Laura Simpson Sockaloe
Chris Schenkel	...	Voice on Columbus Record (voice)
Jay Jostyn	...	Voice on Columbus Record (voice)
Jan Peerce	...	Uncle Manny

Storyline

A Jewish man and a jewish woman meet and while attracted to each other find that their worlds are very different. She is the archetypical Jewish-American-Princess, very emotionally involved with her parents world and the world they have created for her while he is much less dependent on his family. They begin an affair which brings more differences to the surface.

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Plot Keywords:

jewish | arizona | library | jew | female frontal nudity | 

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Taglines:

Every father's daughter is a virgin.

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama | Romance

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

21 May 1969 (France)

Also Known As:

Goodbye Columbus

Filming Locations:

Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Willow Tree

Technical Specs

Runtime:

102 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Jaclyn Smith's film debut.

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Goofs

At one point Chris Schenkel mentions the "red and white" in reference to Ohio State. Anyone who was ever near Columbus (or followed the Ohio State-Michigan rivalry) knows that the colors are "scarlet and gray". (The incorrect "red/white" reference to the Ohio State Buckeyes comes from Philip Roth's book itself; see in Chapter 7, page 104, line 7 from the top [Houghton Mifflin Co. edition, 1959].)

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Quotes

Ben Patimkin: Let me tell ya somethin'. In the real world you need a little gonif in ya. You know what that means: gonif?
Neil Klugman: Thief.

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Connections

Featured in Indie Sex: Censored (2007)

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Soundtracks

"So Kind To Me"
Written by Terry Kirkman
Sung by The Association

User Reviews

Mildly interesting social commentary.

Many of Philip Roth's novels plough the same furrow. A sane, rational, sensible Jewish man has a difficult life because of oppressive Jewish society amongst well-off New Yorkers, in which women are capricious, malevolent, and obsessed with frippery and social position. This one is an example.

Richard Benjamin, often looking remarkably like Rowan Atkinson, plays Philip Roth (under the name of Neil Klugman), opposite Ali McGraw in her first cinema role. She's a Jewish-American Princess - and this was probably the movie which exposed this species to the world outside New York State.

Everybody except Roth is incredibly shallow and boneheaded, although the father, nicely played by Jack Klugman, is allowed a certain rough honest grace and decency.

The main message one gets from the film is that the wealthy of Westchester County are unpleasant people, Jewish-American Princesses especially so, but even they pale in comparison with their ghastly mothers.

In the book, Roth's ability as a writer enlivens the proceedings, but his verbal felicity isn't translated into the visuals of the screenplay, and the film is laboured.