Who Is Harry Kellerman and Why Is He Saying Those Terrible Things About Me? (1971)

Director:

Ulu Grosbard

Writer:

Herb Gardner (screenplay)
(more)

Release Date:

1 November 1971 (Denmark)

Genre:

Drama | Comedy

Tagline:

Dustin Hoffman wants to know...

Plot:

Georgie Soloway, a pop hit love song writer who cannot love, himself, or others. He spends his days with various women flying his plane...

Plot Keywords:

Punctuation In Title | Question Mark In Title | Long Title | Question In Title | Independent Film

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar.

Cast

Dustin Hoffman	...	Georgie Soloway
Barbara Harris	...	Allison Densmore
Jack Warden	...	Dr. Solomon F. Moses
David Burns	...	Leon Soloway
Gabriel Dell	...	Sidney Gill
Betty Walker	...	Margot Soloway
Rose Gregorio	...	Gloria Soloway
Dom DeLuise	...	Irwin Marcy
Regina Baff	...	Ruthie Tresh
David Galef	...	Leonard Soloway
Ed Zimmermann	...	Peter Halloran
Amy Levitt	...	Susan
Joseph R. Sicari	...	Marty (as Joe Sicari)
Rudy Bond	...	Newsdealer
Walter Hyman	...	Flower Vendor
Josip Elic	...	Chomsky
Herbie Faye	...	Divorcee
James Hall	...	Lemuel
Sherry Rooney	...	Marilyn
Robyn Millan	...	Samantha
Walter Hyman Jr.	...	Danny Charleston
Shel Silverstein	...	Bernie
Irwin Rose	...	Photographer
Candice Azzara	...	Sally (as Candy Azzara)
Marty Greene	...	Uncle Louis (as Martin Greene)
Sidney Armus	...	Marvin
Susan Bell	...	Sky Phone Operator
Steve Eppolito	...	Dustin as a Boy
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Dr. Hook & The Medicine Show	...	Themselves (uncredited)

Directed by
Ulu Grosbard

Writing credits
Herb Gardner		(short story) uncredited
Herb Gardner		(screenplay)

Produced by
Fred C. Caruso	....	associate producer
Herb Gardner	....	co-producer
Ulu Grosbard	....	co-producer

Original Music by
Shel Silverstein

Cinematography by
Victor J. Kemper

Film Editing by
Barry Malkin

Casting by
Shirley Rich

Production Design by
Harry Horner

Set Decoration by
Leif Pederen		(as Leif B. Pederen)

Costume Design by
Anna Hill Johnstone

Makeup Department
William A. Farley	....	hair stylist (as William Farley)
Dick Smith	....	makeup artist

Production Management
Fred C. Caruso	....	production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Peter R. Scoppa	....	first assistant director (as Peter Scoppa)

Art Department
Richard Adee	....	set designer
Stanley Cappiello	....	scenic artist
Joseph M. Caracciolo	....	props (as Joseph Caracciolo)
Willis Conner	....	assistant art director
Robert Miller	....	construction grip
Carlos Quiles	....	carpenter

Sound Department
Jack C. Jacobsen	....	sound
Robert M. Reitano	....	dubbing editor (as Robert Reitano)
John Strauss	....	sound editor
Dick Vorisek	....	sound re-recording mixer (as Richard Vorisek)

Special Effects by
Bernard Hajdenberg	....	special effects editor (as Bernardo Hajdenberg)
Joseph Weintraub	....	special effects editor

Camera and Electrical Department
Edward R. Brown	....	camera operator (as Edward Brown)
James Finnerty	....	key grip (as James Finnerty)
Richard Quinlan	....	gaffer (as Richard Quinlan Jr.)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
George Newman	....	wardrobe

Editorial Department
Marianna Majchrzyk	....	assistant editor
Craig McKay	....	associate film editor
David H. Kramer	....	apprentice editor (uncredited)

Music Department
Ron Haffkine	....	musical director

Transportation Department
James Fanning	....	transportation

Other crew
Ted Albert	....	publicist
Robert Barth	....	location coordinator
Elizabeth Bleiweiss	....	production assistant
Sidney Gecker	....	script supervisor (as Sid Gecker)
Lois Kramer Hartwick	....	production secretary (as Lois Kramer)
Ellie Linas	....	accountant
Charles Ryder	....	production assistant
Bill Sheally	....	auditor

Production Companies

• Cinema Center Films

Distributors

• National General Pictures (1971) (USA) (theatrical)
• Sthlm (1972) (Sweden) (theatrical)
• 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment (1999) (video)

Also Known As:

MPAA:

Rated R for brief nudity

Runtime:

108 min | West Germany:90 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Argentina:13 | Peru:14 | West Germany:16 (f) | Finland:K-8 | Sweden:11 | USA:GP (original rating) | USA:R

Filming Locations:

GM Building - 59th Street & 5th Avenue, Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA

Company:

Cinema Center Films

Trivia:

To achieve maximum realism, Ulu Grosbard insisted that Dustin Hoffman appear live at the now-shuttered rock palace Fillmore East. Cameras captured the reaction of the regular Friday night audience gathered for an actual Grateful Dead concert.

Quotes:

Georgie's father:Life, it's like an appetiser. It's here, it's gone.

Movie Connections:

References The Wizard of Oz (1939)

Soundtrack:

Painting the Clouds with Sunshine

A clear-eyed, surprisingly meditative personal odyssey...

Despite the nudging, rambling title and Dustin Hoffman's mildly hippie appearance, "Who Is Harry Kellerman..." is rather old-fashioned in its quest to find substantial meaning in life, which screenwriter Herb Gardner sees as always being undermined by the inevitability of death. There are no pretenses here towards embracing a pseudo-hip scenario, and the lack of mod-ish overtones keeps the film relevant and fresh. Hoffman plays an East Coast songwriter, currently being hailed by Time magazine as a prophet, who sees nothing meaningful in his existence, hearkening back on his ordinary boyhood in order to make peace with the present. Accentuated by bursts of rock music, and defined by little bits of mordant truth, the film blessedly isn't a silly phantasmagoria, although some may see all this as a con--written by somebody who is out of step with the times (Gardner wrote the coy "A Thousand Clowns", after all). Yet, somehow, the movie strikes a melancholic, sobering, almost disenfranchised chord, and smart director Ulu Grosbard is actually interested in revealing something tangible through his characters. Hoffman's Georgie Soloway can't enjoy living without relating it to dying, and so has suicidal flights-of-fancy, paranoiac personal dramas, and surreal sessions with a Viennese analyst. It's a good role for Dustin, while Barbara Harris is wonderful in the small role of a struggling actress who's still in love with 1957. It takes a while to get into the movie's groove, but there are some worthwhile thoughts here, helped immeasurably by Victor Kemper's non-fussy cinematography and Grosbard's deep connection with the material. It's a near-triumph. **1/2 from ****