A New Leaf (1971)

User Rating:

7.3/10   

Director:

Elaine May

Writers:

Elaine May (writer)
Jack Ritchie (story)

Release Date:

19 July 1971 (Sweden)

Genre:

Comedy | Romance

Tagline:

Romeo and Juliet, Bob and Bing, Ulysses and Grant, George and Martha, Martha and John, Bob and Carol, Ted and Alice, Bob and Alice, Ted and Carol, Bob and Ted, Carol and Alice, Pat and Dick, Julie and David, Byron and His Sister, Bill and Coo, Liz and Eddie, Liz and Mike, Liz and Dick, Dick and Sybil, Eddie and Debbie, Muck and Meyer, Hollywood and Vine, Anthony and Cleopatra, and now Henry & Henrietta... the love couple of the seventies... and the laugh riot of the year.

Plot:

Examines the vapid life of a born to wealth New Yorker. After he spends all of what was left to him...

Plot Keywords:

Murder | Botanist | Cynical | Marriage Proposal | Love

Awards:

Nominated for 2 Golden Globes. Another 1 nomination

Cast

Walter Matthau	...	Henry Graham
Elaine May	...	Henrietta Lowell
Jack Weston	...	Andy McPherson
George Rose	...	Harold
James Coco	...	Uncle Harry
Doris Roberts	...	Mrs. Traggert
Renée Taylor	...	Sally Hart
William Redfield	...	Beckett
Graham Jarvis	...	Bo
Jess Osuna	...	Frank
David Doyle	...	Mel
Fred Stewart	...	Mr. von Rensaeller
Gordon Mark	...	John
Rose Arrick	...	Gloria Cunliffe
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Ellen Stretton

Runtime:

102 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

UK:U | Finland:S | Sweden:Btl | USA:G

Filming Locations:

Maine, USA

Company:

Aries Productions

Trivia:

The running time before Robert Evans at Paramount had the film re-edited was 3 hours, and the actor who played the blackmailer (and whose part was cut from the film) was William Hickey.

Quotes:

Henry Graham: I have no mind as far as I can tell.

A buried treasure

Every now and then you stumble across a film that has been forgotten, or just ignored, and for the life of you, you can't figure out why. "A New Leaf" is such a film. Seeing this wonderful comedy for the first time was the movie-watching equivalent of discovering buried treasure.

One of the marks of an excellent comedy is one that you can watch a number of times and still laugh involuntarily even though you know what is coming. The performances of Matthau and May, as well as the supporting cast are that priceless.

So many funny and memorable scenes, but a couple of my favorites are: the meeting between Henry Graham (Matthau) and his accountant Beckett (Redfield) as Beckett tries to contain his frustration and explain to Matthau that his money is gone ("perfect"); and the scene where Graham crawls to his rich uncle (James Coco) to ask to borrow money while the uncle is favoring an electric pepper mill during his lavish meal (the expressions on Matthau's face are exquisite).

A delightful, black romantic comedy that somehow manages to be very light, and as a bonus even subtly tosses out some profound truths.