Arthur (1981)

Director:

Steve Gordon

Writer:

Steve Gordon (written by)

Release Date:

7 August 1981 (Brazil)

Genre:

Comedy | Romance

Tagline:

Not everyone who drinks is a poet, some of us drink because we're not.

Plot:

Arthur is a happy drunk with no pretensions at any ambition. He is also the heir to a vast fortune which...

Plot Keywords:

Love | Inheritance | Domestic Servant | New York City | Alcoholic

Awards:

Won 2 Oscars. Another 9 wins & 6 nominations

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

Dudley Moore	...	Arthur Bach
Liza Minnelli	...	Linda Marolla
John Gielgud	...	Hobson
Geraldine Fitzgerald	...	Martha Bach
Jill Eikenberry	...	Susan Johnson
Stephen Elliott	...	Burt Johnson
Ted Ross	...	Bitterman
Barney Martin	...	Ralph Marolla
Thomas Barbour	...	Stanford Bach
Anne De Salvo	...	Gloria - Hooker
Marjorie Barnes	...	Hooker
Dillon Evans	...	Plaza Maitre d'
Maurice Copeland	...	Uncle Peter Bach
Justine Johnston	...	Aunt Pearl Bach
Paul Vincent	...	Plaza Waiter

Runtime:

97 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Canada:PG (Manitoba/Ontario) | Singapore:PG | Australia:M | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Canada:A (Nova Scotia) | Netherlands:6 | New Zealand:PG | Australia:PG (TV rating) | Argentina:13 | Chile:14 | Finland:K-12 | Iceland:L | Norway:12 (1981) | Sweden:11 | UK:15 | USA:PG

Filming Locations:

5th Avenue, Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA

Company:

Orion Pictures Corporation

Trivia:

Dudley Moore was said to have based his performance partly on Peter Cook, whose excessive drinking had soured his and Moore's comedic partnership in the '70s.

Goofs:

Continuity: Position of Arthur's top hat changes in the bathtub scene after Hobson places it on the edge.

Quotes:

[to Arthur, after Linda Marolla stole a necktie from a store]
Hobson: Yes, I see no reason for prolonging this conversation, unless you're planning to knock over a fruit stand later in the evening.
Hobson: [to Linda] Good luck in prison.

Movie Connections:

Featured in AFI's 100 Years... 100 Laughs: America's Funniest Movies (2000) (TV)

Soundtrack:

Poor Rich Boy

A charmer

Dudley Moore, one of the most likable actors around, stars as a drunken millionaire who has to choose between marrying rich heiress Jill Eikenberry and keeping all his money or staying with his true love, poor waitress Liza Minnelli, and losing the lot. It's a warm film with a performance from Moore that could so easily have been overly sentimental or off-putting but is in fact excellent; John Gielgud as Hobson the butler is cracking too and gets most of the best lines. It suffers from the occasional flat patch but by and large this is funny stuff. 'Arthur 2: On The Rocks' followed, and while it's inferior to the original it's certainly not bad.