Husbands (1970)

A common friend's sudden death brings three men, married with children, to reconsider their lives and ultimately leave together. But mindless enthusiasm for regained freedom will be ... See full summary »

Director:

John Cassavetes

Writer:

John Cassavetes

Stars:

Ben Gazzara, Peter Falk, John Cassavetes

Nominated for 1 Golden Globe.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Ben Gazzara	...	Harry
Peter Falk	...	Archie Black
John Cassavetes	...	Gus Demetri
Jenny Runacre	...	Mary Tynan
Jenny Lee Wright	...	Pearl Billingham
Noelle Kao	...	Julie
John Kullers	...	Red
Meta Shaw Stevens	...	Annie (as Meta Shaw)
Leola Harlow	...	Leola
Delores Delmar	...	The Countess
Eleanor Zee	...	Mrs. Hines
Claire Malis	...	Stuart's Wife
Peggy Lashbrook	...	Diana Mallabee
Eleanor Cody Gould	...	'Normandy' Singer
Sarah Felcher	...	Sarah

Storyline

A common friend's sudden death brings three men, married with children, to reconsider their lives and ultimately leave together. But mindless enthusiasm for regained freedom will be short-lived.

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Plot Keywords:

friend | funeral | death | vomiting | domestic violence | 

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Taglines:

A comedy about life, death and freedom

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for mature thematic elements including sexual situations, language, drunkenness, and brief domestic violence

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English French Italian Cantonese

Release Date:

8 December 1970 (USA)

Also Known As:

Husbands: A Comedy About Life, Death and Freedom

Filming Locations:

London, England, UK

Box Office

Budget:

$1,000,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Faces Music

Technical Specs

Runtime:

138 min (original release) 131 min (TV) 154 min 142 min (dubbed)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The scene at the bar where Leola Harlow tries to sing "It Was Just a Little Love Affair" and is repeatedly interrupted and harshly criticized by the drunken three main characters, was completely improvised. Harlow reportedly had no idea that they were filming and thought the lead actors were actually criticizing her performance in the scene, causing the very real hurt apparent in her performance.

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Quotes

Harry: Like I've been telling my wife for years. Aside from sex, and she's very good a it, God damn it; I like you guys better.

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Crazy Credits

There are no closing credits and no "THE END" title card. The screen just goes black. In the opening credits, everyone involved in the film (even the "little people") are credited on two "tell all" title cards, right on down from the actors to the grips, a total of 82 credits.

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Connections

Referenced in Mean Streets (1973)

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Soundtracks

Show Me the Way to Go Home
(1925) (uncredited)
Written by Irving King
Sung a cappella by Ben Gazzara, Peter Falk and John Cassavetes

User Reviews

A movie that every man and woman should see...

I wouldn't say that this is my favourite Cassavetes movie. That changes almost every week. But I can very safely say that this is his most profound and the one that everyone should see. Why? Because here he explores things that almost any human being would encounter at some point in their lives. And my, my, did he do it with such painful precision and beauty or what? The questions that this movie asks are actually simple. But I don't think that many people actually take time to ask themselves these questions, let alone deal with them. The movie simply asks us questions like what would marriage entail? What will it be like 20 or 30 years down the line? Are you truly prepared to face what marriage would entail? And the movie doesn't even provide any answers to these questions. But, chances are you would be glad that you actually saw the movie. It may be appallingly difficult to take at first. The first 30 or so minutes are just as crazy as the first 20 minutes or so of Faces(another Cassavetes masterpiece). But stick around and you'll be surprised at how touching and profound the film is. You'll be forced to think about things that you would rather not think about, sure. But you'll be thankful later that you actually did think about those things. Or at the very least you'll be thankful that someone did point out those things to you, even though you still hadn't put much thought into it. It'll be one long crazy ride(the film is about 2 hours and 20 minutes long), but it's such an important enough ride that everyone should take it. Every man should see it so that they could get to know themselves better. Every woman should see it because maybe it can help them understand men better. So go see it everyone, and thank John Cassavetes later for the experience.