Fat City (1972)

Director:

John Huston

Writer:

Leonard Gardner (novel)

Release Date:

26 July 1972 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Sport

Plot:

Two brothers, working as professional boxers, come to blows when their careers each begin to take opposite momentum.

Plot Keywords:

Boxer | Title Fight | Money | Loneliness | Comeback

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 3 wins

Cast

Stacy Keach	...	Tully
Jeff Bridges	...	Ernie
Susan Tyrrell	...	Oma
Candy Clark	...	Faye
Nicholas Colasanto	...	Ruben
Art Aragon	...	Babe
Curtis Cokes	...	Earl
Sixto Rodriguez	...	Lucero
Billy Walker	...	Wes
Wayne Mahan	...	Buford
Ruben Navarro	...	Fuentes
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Álvaro López	...	Rosales (uncredited)
Carl D. Parker	...	Paymaster (uncredited)
Al Silvani	...	Referee at Tully-Lucero Fight (uncredited)

Directed by
John Huston

Writing credits
Leonard Gardner		(novel "Fat City")

Produced by
David Dworski	....	associate producer
John Huston	....	producer
Ray Stark	....	producer

Cinematography by
Conrad L. Hall		(as Conrad Hall)

Film Editing by
Walter Thompson

Casting by
Fred Roos
Jennifer Shull

Production Design by
Richard Sylbert

Set Decoration by
Morris Hoffman

Costume Design by
Dorothy Jeakins

Makeup Department
Virginia Jones	....	hair stylist
Jack H. Young	....	makeup artist (as Jack Young)

Production Management
Russell Saunders	....	unit production manager (as Russ Saunders)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Russell Saunders	....	assistant director (as Russ Saunders)
Terry Carr	....	second assistant director (uncredited)
Al Silvani	....	second assistant director (uncredited)

Art Department
Richard M. Rubin	....	property master
Charles Gay	....	leadman (uncredited)
Bob Lawless	....	painter (uncredited)
George Luxemberg	....	props (uncredited)
Bill Parks	....	construction coordinator (uncredited)
Hank Stonecipher	....	construction coordinator (uncredited)

Sound Department
Tom Overton	....	sound
Arthur Piantadosi	....	sound
Dennis Jones	....	boom operator (uncredited)

Special Effects by
Paul Stewart	....	special effects

Stunts
Nick Bullom	....	stunts (uncredited)
Rachel Schedler	....	stunts (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Howard Boyles	....	grip (uncredited)
James Dean	....	grip (uncredited)
Thomas Del Ruth	....	assistant camera (uncredited)
Jack Gereghty	....	still photographer (uncredited)
Danny Gordon	....	grip (uncredited)
Keith McClintock	....	electrician (uncredited)
Richard Moore	....	additional photographer (uncredited)
Martin Rhode	....	camera assistant (uncredited)
Larry Ricketts	....	best boy (uncredited)
Larry Stott	....	electrician (uncredited)
Harry Sundby	....	gaffer (uncredited)
Don Vervase	....	camera operator (uncredited)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
John A. Anderson	....	wardrobe (uncredited)

Editorial Department
Margaret Booth	....	supervising editor
Abe Lincoln Jr.	....	assistant editor (uncredited)

Music Department
Kenneth Hall	....	music editor (as Ken Hall)
Marvin Hamlisch	....	music supervisor

Transportation Department
Bob Fish	....	driver: Hollywood (uncredited)
Bob Fish	....	driver: honeywagon (uncredited)
Vern Jacobs	....	driver: generator (uncredited)
Vern Jacobs	....	driver: trailer (uncredited)
Vern Jacobs	....	transportation gaffer (uncredited)
Duke Robbins	....	driver: Hollywood (uncredited)
Duke Robbins	....	driver: mobile equipment truck (uncredited)

Other crew
Wayne Fitzgerald	....	title designer
Gladys Hill	....	assistant: John Huston
Marshall Schlom	....	script supervisor
Denny Shanahan	....	unit publicist
Art 'Klondike' Jones	....	craft serviceman (uncredited)
Vince Martinez	....	auditor (uncredited)
Lorry McCauley	....	secretary to producer (uncredited)
Chuck Mierkey	....	police contact (uncredited)
Edwin Perlstein	....	business affairs (uncredited)
Al Silvani	....	fight consultant (uncredited)
Brad Siniard	....	first aid (uncredited)
Bob Wood	....	location manager (uncredited)
Bob Ziegler	....	location manager (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Columbia Pictures Corporation
• Rastar Pictures

Distributors

• Columbia Pictures (1972) (USA) (theatrical)
• Warner-Columbia Filmverleih (1973) (West Germany) (theatrical)
• American Broadcasting Company (ABC) (1978) (USA) (TV)
• RCA/Columbia Pictures Home Video (1988) (USA) (VHS)
• Sony Pictures Home Entertainment (2009) (Germany) (DVD)
• Columbia Pictures (Spain)

Also Known As:

Runtime:

100 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Spanish

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Certification:

Finland:K-16 | Spain:18 | Sweden:15 | USA:PG | Canada:PG | Australia:M

Filming Locations:

Stockton Memorial Civic Auditorium, Stockton, California, USA

Company:

Columbia Pictures Corporation

Trivia:

In an October 30, 1984 taping of the Family Feud, Richard Dawson comments that Fat City is his favorite movie, but he is disappointed that it hadn't been re-released.

Goofs:

Continuity: During the bar scene, the barrette in Susan Tyrrell's hair moves all over the place from shot to shot.

Quotes:

Tully:[first lines]
Tully:Hey kid. You want to spar a little?

Movie Connections:

Referenced in John Huston: The Man, the Movies, the Maverick (1989)

Soundtrack:

The Look of Love

Yet another overlooked 70s gem...

The 1970s produced some of the greatest American movies of all time, that's indisputable. But while everyone focuses on (the admittedly very good) more famous works by Scorsese and Coppola, many equally worthwhile movies get little attention - 'Bring Me The Head Of Alfredo Garcia', 'Scarecrow', 'Fingers', 'Tracks', 'The Panic In Needle Park', 'Blue Collar', and this one, arguably John Huston's most underrated film. The four leads Stacey Keach ('The Ninth Configuration'), Jeff Bridges ('The Last Picture Show'), Susan Tyrrell ('The Killer Inside Me'), and Candy Clark ('American Graffiti') are all outstanding, and in Keach's case it's possibly his finest performance to date. What an underrated actor Keach is! This is a powerful and haunting look at the underbelly of American working class life, a subject very rarely dealt with honestly in contemporary Hollywood films. 'Fat City' doesn't deserve its obscurity. It is a small masterpiece. Highly recommended to people who value downbeat and realist dramas more than dumbed down popcorn "entertainment".