California Suite (1978)

Misadventures of four groups of guests at the Beverly Hills Hotel.

Director:

Herbert Ross

Writer:

Neil Simon (screenplay)

Stars:

Jane Fonda, Alan Alda, Maggie Smith

Won 1 Oscar. Another 7 wins & 5 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Jane Fonda	...	Hannah Warren
Alan Alda	...	Bill Warren
Maggie Smith	...	Diana Barrie
Michael Caine	...	Sidney Cochran
Walter Matthau	...	Marvin Michaels
Elaine May	...	Millie Michaels
Herb Edelman	...	Harry Michaels (as Herbert Edelman)
Denise Galik	...	Bunny
Richard Pryor	...	Dr. Chauncey Gump
Bill Cosby	...	Dr. Willis Panama
Gloria Gifford	...	Lola Gump
Sheila Frazier	...	Bettina Panama
David Sheehan	...	David Sheehan
Michael Boyle	...	Desk Clerk
Len Lawson	...	Frank

Storyline

4 totally different and seperated stories of guests in a hotel. Maggie Smith and Michael Caine came from England to attend the Oscars; Jane Fonda came from New York, Alan Alda is her ex who lives in California; in the slapsticky part Bill Cosby, Richard Pryor and their wives come to the hotel to relax and play tennis and find there is only one room vacant; in the fourth segment Walter Matthau has come a day before his wife for his nephew's Bar Mitzvah, his brother: sends a prostitute to his room.

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Plot Keywords:

hotel | tennis | oscars | prostitute | actress | 

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Taglines:

The best two-hour vacation in town!

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Genres:

Comedy | Romance

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Certificate:

PG

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

15 December 1978 (USA)

Also Known As:

Neil Simon's California Suite

Filming Locations:

21932 Pacific Coast Highway, Malibu, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Rastar Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

103 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The original production of the "California Suite" by Neil Simon, a play in two acts, opened on 2nd April 1976 at the Ahmanson Theatre in Los Angeles and ran until 5th June 1976. The Broadway production of "California Suite" opened at the Eugene O'Neill Theatre on 10th June 1976 and ran for 445 performances until 2nd July 1977.

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Quotes

[first lines]
[a two-seater plane is flying over snow-capped mountains]
Harold: For heaven's sake, Wendy - look for an airport. Will you look for the airport?
Diana Barrie: Oh don't make such a fuss. Just put it down on a mountain.
Harold: What do you mean 'just put it down'? I'm lucky I can keep it up. I told you I never flew before.
Diana Barrie: Don't shout at me - I'm a first-class passenger.
Harold: You're a first class lunatic. It's all over Wendy - our relationship has a quarter of a tank to go.
Diana Barrie: Yes, but - you do love me, don't you Harold? ...
[...]

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Crazy Credits

In the opening credits, famous 70s artworks of British artist David Hockney are featured. The painting before Elaine May's name is entitled "Portrait of an Artist (Pool with two figures), 1972" and features a swimming pool with the Hollywood hills in the backdrop. The "two figures", both male, one swimming and the other standing over watching have been mysteriously edited out of the picture for some unknown reason.

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Connections

Features Gilda (1946)

User Reviews

My brief review of the film

An ensemble cast that dreams are made of is present in this film, and all deliver quite well, even Walter Matthau who goes a bit over-the-top. Smith deservedly won an Oscar for her role as a screen actress loses her first Oscar nomination in a very long career. As her husband, Caine is also good, but the next two best performances come from Fonda and Alda as a bickering divorced couple. Those four performers, however, only cover two out of four tales in this film, and the other two are not as well as acted and neither are they filled with the same quality of witty dialogue. It is bit weird to watch the overall film, as it becomes fragmented by the transitions between each of the stories, and towards the end the lesser interesting tales dominate. With just the Fonda/Alda and Smith/Caine stories, this is excellent, very well written stuff. With all four put together, it is still quite interesting stuff, but nothing too great.