Going in Style (1979)

Director:

Martin Brest

Writers:

Edward Cannon (story)
Martin Brest (writer)

Release Date:

December 1979 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama

Tagline:

Meet three guys with an outrageous plan to beat the system ...

Plot:

Three friends who are living on the dole decide to organize a bank robbery.

Plot Keywords:

Glasses | Bank Robbery | Casino | Craps | Gambling

Awards:

1 win

Cast

George Burns	...	Joe
Art Carney	...	Al
Lee Strasberg	...	Willie
Charles Hallahan	...	Pete
Pamela Payton-Wright	...	Kathy
Siobhan Keegan	...	Colleen
Brian Neville	...	Kevin
Constantine Hartofolis	...	Boy in Park
Mary Testa	...	Teller
Jean Shevlin	...	Mrs. Fein
James Manis	...	Hot Dog Vendor
Tito Goya	...	Gypsy Cab Driver
William Pabst	...	Bank Guard
Christopher Wynkoop	...	Bank Manager
John McComb	...	Businessman in Bank

Runtime:

97 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Canada:PG (Ontario) | Iceland:L | Australia:PG | USA:PG | Singapore:PG

Filming Locations:

Kaufman Astoria Studios - 3412 36th Street, Astoria, Queens, New York City, New York, USA

Company:

Warner Bros. Pictures

Trivia:

In the scene where Joe (George Burns) is looking through his old photos and other memorabilia, he looks at a photo of a young couple

• presumably Joe and his wife - and it makes him start to cry. The photo is actually a picture of George Burns and his real (late) wife Gracie Allen. They were a famous show business team from vaudeville through early television. She died in 1964.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: In at least two scenes early in the movie, the microphone cables attached to the characters are visible. Both of the scenes show the three stars photographed from a distance with a telephoto lens as they walk toward the camera. They are walking on very crowded sidewalks. Look at Art Carney when he is on our right in one scene and you will plainly see the wire that is attached to his lapel microphone as it is easy to spot through his transparent shirt. It goes from his belt up to where it disappears inside his jacket. In a later scene still early in the movie George Burns has a very visible mic cable outline leading up to his lapel inside his jacket. George is on the left wearing a blue jacket.

Quotes:

Willie: What if we get shot?
[silence]
Joe: What's the difference?

Low Key Gem

Three seniors, bored with just sitting on a bench decide to rob a bank. What happens is probably a sweetened version of what might happen if it were to really happen, or would have back when this movie was made.

This is probably George Burns, Art Carney and Lee Strasberg's shining moment on film. The acting of the three leads is perfect and conveys the boredom of life before the robbery, the excitement of the robbery and the confusion of the fall out. Why aren't more movies like this being made?

This is not a comedy. Yes its funny but there is a dark side to the film concerning not only the fall out of the robbery but also what it means to be old in America.

This is a low key, off beat gem of a film that hooks me every time I run across it on TV. Its wonderful and though everything doesn't go right, its uplifting in its way simply because we get to see real old people trying to get by and not Hollywood's version of them.

See this movie.