Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore (1974)

A recently widowed woman on the road with her precocious young son, determined to make a new life for herself as a singer.

Director:

Martin Scorsese

Writer:

Robert Getchell

Stars:

Mia Bendixsen, Ellen Burstyn, Alfred Lutter III

Won 1 Oscar. Another 5 wins & 9 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Mia Bendixsen	...	Alice - Age 8
Ellen Burstyn	...	Alice Hyatt
Alfred Lutter III	...	Tommy (as Alfred Lutter)
Billy Green Bush	...	Donald
Lelia Goldoni	...	Bea
Ola Moore	...	Old Woman
Harry Northup	...	Joe & Jim's Bartender
Marty Brinton	...	Lenny (as Martin Brinton)
Dean Casper	...	Chicken
Murray Moston	...	Jacobs
Harvey Keitel	...	Ben
Lane Bradbury	...	Rita
Diane Ladd	...	Flo
Vic Tayback	...	Mel
Valerie Curtin	...	Vera

Storyline

Despite admitting that she was scared of him in her never-ending quest to please him, thirty-five year old housewife and mother Alice Hyatt is devastated when her husband Donald is killed in an on the job traffic accident. With few job skills except that as a singer, Alice, along with her precocious eleven year old son Tommy, decides to move from their current home in Socorro, New Mexico to her home town of Monterrey, California, the only place she has ever felt happy. She plans on getting singing gigs along the way to earn money to get back to Monterrey by the end of the summer and the start of Tommy's school year. Alice's quest for a job at each stop leaves Tommy often to fend for himself, which may make Tommy even more precocious. His behavior is fostered by Alice, as their relationship is often more as trouble-making friends than mother and son. Alice's plans often do not end up as she envisions, especially as she is forced to take a waitressing job at Mel and Ruby's Diner in ...

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Plot Keywords:

singer | phoenix arizona | on the road | diner | spouse | 

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Taglines:

A picture for anyone who has ever dreamed of a second chance!

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Genres:

Drama | Romance

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Certificate:

PG

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

30 May 1975 (France)

Also Known As:

Alicia ya no vive aquí

Filming Locations:

Amado, Arizona, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$1,800,000 (estimated)

Gross:

SEK 3,444,810 (Sweden)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Warner Bros

Technical Specs

Runtime:

112 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Lead actress Ellen Burstyn had brought the project to'Martin Scorsese and hired him to direct, it. Scorsese then surrounded himself with an extraordinarily supportive staff of strong--and very well-connected- women, who included his lover Sandra Weintraub (daughter of producer Fred Weintraub )as associate producer; Marcia Lucas (wife of George Lucas ) as film editor; and Toby Carr Rafelson (wife of director/producer Bob Rafelson' ) as production designer.

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Goofs

When Alice and her son leave in their station wagon for Arizona, the rear view mirror is removed during close-ups of Alice and Tommy together shot through the windshield (56:53-58:14 and 59:33-59:35).

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Quotes

Ben: [Brandishing a switchblade, at Rita] If you don't drag your ass, out that door or, I'll cut you. I'll cut your ass
[Kicks Rita, on the backside]
Ben: , GET OUT!

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Crazy Credits

introducing Alfred Lutter as Tommy

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Connections

Features Hello Frisco, Hello (1943)

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Soundtracks

"Cuddle Up a Little Closer, Lovey Mine"
(1908)
Music by Karl Hoschna
Lyrics by Otto A. Harbach (as Otto Harbach)
Sung by Betty Grable
From the film Coney Island

User Reviews

Burstyn Is One of the Greats

Ellen Burstyn could play a tree stump and make it interesting. She's one of the unsung heroes of post-studio cinema. At a time when meaty women's roles were becoming more and more scarce, Burstyn was fighting for and winning one great part after another. She's probably never been better than she is here, though she showed tremendous range in "Same Time, Next Year" and gave one of the most heartbreakingly harrowing performances I've ever seen as recently as 2000, in "Requiem for a Dream." Women's picture and Martin Scorsese are not two phrases that would seem to be tailor made for each other, but a terrific women's picture is exactly what Scorsese gives us with "Alice..." Though I hate using the term women's picture, as if men can't enjoy stories about women, or as if women's pictures are isolated from the rest of "real" movies. Actually and ironically, maybe it was Scorsese's penchant for the tough-guy milieu that made him so right for this film, because "Alice" doesn't suffer from the burn-your-bra self-righteousness of other women's lib movies of its era, like "Un Unmarried Woman." These other films ultimately feel phony, because they were created for the most part by men, who, however noble their intentions, simply didn't have an understanding for the material. But Scorsese gets the character of Alice, and Burstyn knows exactly what she's doing. So the conflict isn't between Alice and the male world, but between the Alice who doesn't have the confidence to be anything other than a doormat and the Alice who wants to make a life for herself on her own terms.

There are some hilarious scenes between Alice and her son in this film, most particularly the scenes of them driving to California (like when Alice calls him Hellen Keller because he keeps asking "what?" to everything she says). Also, a subplot about the evolving friendship between Alice and Flo (played by Diane Ladd) becomes one of the film's highlights, not in the least because both actresses handle it expertly.

This is a winner, and must be seen by anyone who thinks Scorses is out of his element anywhere but the mean streets of NYC.

Grade: A