Goodbye, Columbus (1969)

Director:

Larry Peerce

Writers:

Philip Roth (novel)
Arnold Schulman (writer)

Release Date:

21 May 1969 (France)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama | Romance

Tagline:

Every father's daughter is a virgin.

Plot:

A Jewish man and a jewish woman meet and while attracted to each other find that their worlds are very different...

Plot Keywords:

Jewish | Skinny Dipping | Nose Job | Librarian | Library Card

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 4 wins & 8 nominations

Cast

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

Runtime:

102 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

West Germany:18 | USA:PG (re-rating) (1972) | USA:R (original rating) | Finland:K-16 | Sweden:Btl | Ireland:(Banned)

Filming Locations:

Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA

Company:

Willow Tree

Trivia:

Future daytime diva Susan Lucci can be seen as one of the wedding guests.

Goofs:

Factual errors: 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].)

Quotes:

Neil Klugman: [discussing birth control] What do you take?
Brenda Patimkin: Nothing. Turn off the water.
Neil Klugman: Nothing?
Brenda Patimkin: Listen, I tried the pills, but they made me fat and made me sick, and besides every single day you read something new about them in the paper, so I decided I was better off with nothing.
Neil Klugman: [pause] Brenda, I'd like to talk to you about nothing.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Indie Sex: Censored (2007) (TV)

Soundtrack:

Goodbye, Columbus

A likable film from a different era.

The look of the film is very 1969 (the year it came out), but the attitudes are very much 1962. Two Dartmouth students yell with glee when they meet at a party that one is Class of '64 and the other is Class of '66. Brenda, the female lead character, relates how surprised she was when as a little girl her father had shown her 2 $100 bills. She had never seen a $100 bill before.

For a modern audience to enjoy this film, you have to look at it as a period piece. After all, the film's tag line is "Every father's daughter is a virgin". You know you are not in 2004. Not all of the biting satire still holds, but the romance does. Both Ali MacGraw and Jack Klugman give very warm, appealing performances.

It is amazing how many thing have changed in the last 35 years...and how many thing haven't changed. An interesting film from a time when there were "good girls" and "bad girls" and a bride wearing white meant something.