Being There (1979)

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

Writers:

Jerzy Kosinski (novel), Jerzy Kosinski (screenplay),

Stars:

Peter Sellers, Shirley MacLaine, Melvyn Douglas

Won 1 Oscar. Another 15 wins & 10 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Peter Sellers	...	Chance
Shirley MacLaine	...	Eve Rand
Melvyn Douglas	...	Benjamin Rand
Jack Warden	...	President 'Bobby'
Richard Dysart	...	Dr. Robert Allenby
Richard Basehart	...	Vladimir Skrapinov
Ruth Attaway	...	Louise
David Clennon	...	Thomas Franklin (as Dave Clennon)
Fran Brill	...	Sally Hayes
Denise DuBarry	...	Johanna Franklin
Oteil Burbridge	...	Lolo
Ravenell Keller III	...	Abbaz
Brian Corrigan	...	Policeman by White House
Alfredine P. Brown	...	Old Woman asked for lunch (as Alfredine Brown)
Don Jacob	...	David (as Donald Jacob)

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.

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Plot Keywords:

gardener | washington d.c. | businessman | television | u.s. president | 

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Taglines:

Getting there is half the fun; being there is all of it!

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Genres:

Drama | Comedy

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Certificate:

PG

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English Russian Italian

Release Date:

19 December 1979 (USA)

Also Known As:

Chance

Filming Locations:

Asheville, North Carolina, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

BSB, CIP, Lorimar Film Entertainment

Technical Specs

Runtime:

130 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Henry B. Dawkins, who plays Billings the X-Ray Technician, really was an X-Ray technician. In the 1990s he became head of the Radiology Department at Asheville-Buncombe Technical Community College in Asheville, North Carolina, one of this film's shooting locations.

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Goofs

While at dinner for the first evening with Ben and Eve, Chauncey's wine glass fills and empties within seconds.

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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]

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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.

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Connections

Spoofs 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)

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Soundtracks

"Gnossiennes #4 & #5"
by Erik Satie
Rearranged by Johnny Mandel

User Reviews

Stellar Sellers

Melvyn Douglas as Ben Rand and Shirley MacLaine as Eve Rand were only two examples of the great casting in this film. The best casting of course was to place Peter Sellers in the role of Chauncey "Chance" Gardener. I have watched this film many times and each time I see something else to enjoy in Peter Sellers' performance along with something else to mourn for his passing. In "Being There" Sellers abandons the crowd pleasing slapstick which attracted the droves for the "Pink Panther" series to offer a far more sincere performance that to me is flawlessly in-character and ultimately believable. I am constantly debating with myself whether "Dr. Strangelove" or "Being There" was Sellers' best work. "Being There" is very enjoyable and I never seem to get tired of it. Apart from Sellers standout performance, "Being There" from every angle is an extremely well made film that holds up well to remain engaging 25 years later and is no doubt a source of pride for all involved in any regard. In short, this is a movie that, "I like to watch!"