The Iceman Cometh (1973)

A salesman with a sudden passion for reform has an idea to sell to his barfly buddies: throw away your pipe dreams. The drunkards, living in a flophouse above a saloon, resent the idea.

Director:

John Frankenheimer

Writers:

Thomas Quinn Curtiss, Eugene O'Neill (play)

Stars:

Lee Marvin, Fredric March, Robert Ryan

3 wins.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Lee Marvin	...	Hickey
Fredric March	...	Harry Hope
Robert Ryan	...	Larry Slade
Jeff Bridges	...	Don Parritt
Bradford Dillman	...	Willie Oban
Sorrell Booke	...	Hugo Kalmar
Hildy Brooks	...	Margie
Juno Dawson	...	Pearl (as Nancy Juno Dawson)
Evans Evans	...	Cora
Martyn Green	...	Cecil Lewis
Moses Gunn	...	Joe Mott
Clifton James	...	Pat McGloin
John McLiam	...	Jimmy Tomorrow
Stephen Pearlman	...	Chuck Morelo
Tom Pedi	...	Rocky Pioggi

Storyline

It's 1912 and the patrons of 'The Last Chance Saloon' have gathered for their evening of whiskey to contemplate their lost faith and dreams, when Hickey (Lee Marvin) arrives. Hickey is out to convince everyone that he can help them all find peace of mind by ridding them of the foolish dreams and by bringing them back to reality. Hickey is working especially hard on Larry Slade (Robert Ryan) a former anarchist who has lost his will for life and is awaiting the eventuality of death. Larry is not affected by the cajolings of Hickey but his young companion Parritt (Jeff Bridges) is strangely affected and this leads to revelations about his own mother and feelings of betrayal and loss. As the night wears on the mood changes as everyone has the their faith and dreams slowly destroyed by Hickey. As the anger builds everyone turns on Hickey about his wife and the iceman. This leads to more revelations and with Hickey having the faint questioning of his own new found convictions.

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Plot Keywords:

saloon | anarchist | flophouse | salesman | whiskey | 

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Genres:

Drama

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Certificate:

PG

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

10 November 1973 (USA)

Also Known As:

Buzcu Geliyor

Filming Locations:

20th Century Fox Studios - 10201 Pico Blvd., Century City, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Cinévision Ltée, The American Film Theatre

Technical Specs

Runtime:

239 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The original Broadway production of "The Iceman Cometh" by Eugene O'Neill opened at the Martin Beck Theater on October 9, 1946 and ran for 136 performances. The play had revivals in 1973/1974 and 1999.

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Quotes

Willie Oban: Would that Hickey or death would come!

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Connections

Referenced in The Cosby Show: The Iceman Bricketh (1991)

User Reviews

Fredric March appreciation

It seems that there have been a few actors psychologically and kinesthetically "born" to interpret the works of a certain great playwright (or director) as Toshiro Mifune/Akira Kurosawa for the cinema. It would seem that March and Jason Robards had this relationship with Eugene O'Neill. I've been told that March's performance in "Long Day's Journey into Night" in NYC in the 1950's was for the ages; this "ICEMAN" is another example. I had always thought that in his high gloss Hollywood films March appeared a bit flat and dull (excepting of course "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde"). In this film we can see a great actor regalvanized in one of the greatest supporting performances ever committed to film. Beneath the sheer coating of mordant humor which March provides with such finesse, we witness the total, volcanic deterioration and spiritual anguish of a human being. Probably the two greatest career finishes in cinema history were March and Robert Ryan in this movie.