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Being There (1979) 8.0
Chance, a simple gardener, has never left the estate until his employer dies. His simple TV-informed utterances are mistaken for profundity. Director:Hal Ashby |
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Cast
| Cast overview, first billed only: | |||
| Peter Sellers | ... | ||
| Shirley MacLaine | ... | ||
| Melvyn Douglas | ... |
Benjamin Rand
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| Jack Warden | ... |
President 'Bobby'
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| Richard Dysart | ... | ||
| Richard Basehart | ... |
Vladimir Skrapinov
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Ruth Attaway | ... |
Louise
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| David Clennon | ... |
Thomas Franklin
(as Dave Clennon)
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Fran Brill | ... |
Sally Hayes
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| Denise DuBarry | ... |
Johanna Franklin
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Oteil Burbridge | ... |
Lolo
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Ravenell Keller III | ... |
Abbaz
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Brian Corrigan | ... |
Policeman by White House
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Alfredine P. Brown | ... |
Old Woman asked for lunch
(as Alfredine Brown)
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Don Jacob | ... |
David
(as Donald Jacob)
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Edit
Plot Summary
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Plot Synopsis
Storyline
A simple-minded gardener named Chance has spent all his life in the Washington D.C. house of an old man. When the man dies, Chance is put out on the street with no knowledge of the world except what he has learned from television. After a run in with a limousine, he ends up a guest of a woman (Eve) and her husband Ben, an influential but sickly businessman. Now called Chauncey Gardner, Chance becomes friend and confidante to Ben, and an unlikely political insider. Written by Scott Renshaw <as.idc@forsythe.stanford.edu>
Taglines:
A story of chance See more »Parents Guide:
View content advisory »
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See full technical specs »
Details
Country:
USARelease Date:
19 December 1979 (USA) See more »Also Known As:
Chance See more »Company Credits
Show detailed
company contact information
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IMDbPro »
Technical Specs
Runtime:
Sound Mix:
MonoColor:
Color (Technicolor)Aspect Ratio:
1.85 : 1
Edit
Chance the Gardener: Good morning, Louise.
Louise: He's dead, Chance. The old man's dead.
Chance the Gardener: I see.
[Chance goes back to watching TV]
See more »
known as "The Pastoral Symphony"
Composed by Ludwig van Beethoven
(1808)
See more »
Did You Know?
Trivia
Originally there was a different last shot planned for the funeral sequence at the end of the film. Director Hal Ashby was chatting with another director one day about filming when he commented how well everything was going. "It's like walking on air," he said, then suddenly was struck with a thought. He changed the last shot to the one that appears now in the movie. See more »Goofs
When Eve enters Chance's room as he is eating breakfast in bed, the napkin beneath his chin changes position back and forth between shots. See more »Quotes
[first lines]Chance the Gardener: Good morning, Louise.
Louise: He's dead, Chance. The old man's dead.
Chance the Gardener: I see.
[Chance goes back to watching TV]
See more »
Crazy Credits
Under the end titles of the theatrical release are outtakes of Peter Sellers as Chance recounting the encounter with Abbaz. Sellers breaks character and laughs during each attempt. The lines do not appear in the movie. Certain versions of the film have credits with white text on a black background without the outtakes. See more »Soundtracks
"Symphony N°6 in F Major (opus 68)"known as "The Pastoral Symphony"
Composed by Ludwig van Beethoven
(1808)
See more »
Matched with her introverted opposite, the on-screen DC gardener Chance, Peter Sellers, Shirley Maclaine is the extroverted Eve, who uses sensuality striving to draw the most ultimately withdrawn mild-mannered man out of his cocoon.
There is a terrifically comical scene when MacLaine is on a fur rug beside Sellers' bed. She's gyrating in every imaginable orgasmic way while the asexual gardener watches the world (instead of her) the only way he knows how: on television.
The problem is, the gentleman of the house has deceased. This means that Sellers will have to leave and face a world he doesn't know.
Given that MacLaine usually plays quite extroverted and hilarious characters and Sellers usually played understated and bumblingly hilarious characters, mixing the two of them in "Being There" became a smash hit. This may be one of her finest performances. It should be viewed as Sellers' pen-ultimate finale.
In fact, the scene when he walks away is literally eerie. I won't say why because I want you to watch "Being There," to find out.