Arthur (1981)

Director:

Steve Gordon

Writer:

Steve Gordon (written by)

Release Date:

17 July 1981 (USA)

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 | Outspoken | Forbidden Love | Opposites Attract | Culture Clash

Awards:

Won 2 Oscars. Another 10 wins & 5 nominations

Cast

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
Marjorie Barnes	...	Hooker
Dillon Evans	...	Plaza Maitre D'
Maurice Copeland	...	Uncle Peter
Justine Johnston	...	Aunt Pearl
Paul Vincent	...	Plaza Waiter
Mary Alan Hokanson	...	Secretary
Paul Gleason	...	Executive
Phyllis Somerville	...	Saleslady
Irving Metzman	...	Security Guard
Joe Doolan	...	Kid in Street
John Doolan	...	Kid in Street
Melissa Ballan	...	Kid in Street
Florence Tarlow	...	Mrs. Nesbitt
Lou Jacobi	...	Plant Store Owner
Gordon Press	...	Prize Man
Bob Maroff	...	Prize Man
Marcella Lowery	...	Harriet (as Marcella Lowry)
Jerome Collamore	...	Johnson Butler
Mark Fleischman	...	Waiter
Helen Hanft	...	Perry's Wife
John Bentley	...	Perry
Raymond Serra	...	Racetrack Owner
Peter Evans	...	Preston
Dominic Guastaferro	...	Party Guest
Phil Oxnam	...	Orderly
Richard Hamilton	...	Bill
George Riddle	...	Bartender
Lawrence Tierney	...	Man in Coffee Shop
Bobo Lewis	...	Lady in Coffee Shop
B. Constance Barry	...	Wedding Guest
Kurt Schlesinger	...	Wedding Guest
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Bella Jarrett
Steve James	...	Man Outside Tie Store (uncredited)
Mark Margolis	...	Wedding Guest (uncredited)
Judi Passeltiner	...	Wedding Guest (uncredited)

Directed by
Steve Gordon

Writing credits
Steve Gordon		(written by)

Produced by
Robert Greenhut	....	producer
Charles H. Joffe	....	executive producer

Original Music by
Burt Bacharach

Cinematography by
Fred Schuler		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
Susan E. Morse

Casting by
Howard Feuer
Jeremy Ritzer
Juliet Taylor

Production Design by
Stephen Hendrickson

Set Decoration by
Carol Joffe
Steven J. Jordan		(as Steven Jordan)

Costume Design by
Jane Greenwood

Makeup Department
Fern Buchner	....	makeup artist
Romaine Greene	....	hair stylist
Jay Cannistraci	....	additional makeup artist (uncredited)

Production Management
Michael Peyser	....	production manager
Ezra Swerdlow	....	assistant unit production manager
Joel Chernoff	....	executive in charge of production (uncredited)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Robert Greenhut	....	first assistant director
Jerry Olinick	....	dga trainee
Thomas A. Reilly	....	second assistant director (as Thomas Reilly)

Art Department
Joseph Badalucco Jr.	....	chief set dresser
Paul Eads	....	assistant art director
W. Steven Graham	....	assistant art director
James Mazzola	....	property master (as Jim Mazzola)
Arne Olsen	....	construction grip
Cosmo Sorice	....	stand-by scenic artist
James Sorice	....	master scenic artist
Edward Swanson	....	construction coordinator
Carl Landi	....	carpenter (uncredited)

Sound Department
Louis Bertini	....	assistant sound editor
Marjorie Deutsch	....	sound editor
Melissa A. Higgins	....	apprentice sound editor
Vito L. Ilardi	....	boom operator (as Vito Ilardi)
Sanford Rackow	....	supervising sound editor
James Sabat	....	sound mixer
Louis Sabat	....	sound recordist
Dick Vorisek	....	re-recording mixer: Trans Audio, Inc. (as Richard Vorisek)
Bob Olari	....	sound recordist (uncredited)

Stunts
Edgard Mourino	....	stunts

Camera and Electrical Department
Ricki-Ellen Brooke	....	second assistant camera
Sandy Brooke	....	assistant camera
Norman Buck	....	key grip
Brian Hamill	....	still photographer
Dick Mingalone	....	camera operator
David L. Quaid	....	additional photographer (as David Quaid)
William Ward	....	gaffer (as Bill Ward)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
William A. Campbell	....	wardrobe supervisor (as Bill Campbell)
David Charles	....	assistant costume designer
Patricia Eiben	....	wardrobe supervisor
Helen Tarr	....	wardrobe supervisor

Editorial Department
Pamela Scott Arnold	....	assistant film editor (as Pamela S. Arnold)
Jonathan Oppenheim	....	assistant film editor
Meri Weingarten	....	assistant film editor

Music Department
Jim Boyer	....	music recording engineer
Randy Brecker	....	musician: Flugelhorn solo
Ron Dante	....	musician: vocal soloist
Richard Hazard	....	music orchestrator (as Dick Hazard)
Artie Kaplan	....	musical contractor
Bernie Leighton	....	musician: piano solo
George Marge	....	musician: oboe solo
Dan Pinsky	....	music editor
Toots Thielemans	....	musician: harmonica solo
Roy B. Yokelson	....	music recording engineer (uncredited)

Transportation Department
Walter Charleston	....	transportation captain
Michael Lindgren	....	vehicle consultant
Bobby Marsh	....	driver (uncredited)

Other crew
Nicholas Bernstein	....	production assistant
Ruth Bonomo	....	production assistant
Jack Brubach	....	assistant location auditor
Kay Chapin	....	script supervisor
Peggy Crago	....	production assistant
Steven Giovinco	....	production assistant
Wendi Lazar-Pillot	....	location supervisor
Ellen Levene	....	unit publicist
Gail Matthews	....	assistant: Mr. Gordon
Louis Phillips	....	production assistant
Helen Robin	....	production coordinator
Margaret Roiphe	....	location auditor
Todd M. Thaler	....	production assistant (as Todd Thaler)

Thanks
Elizabeth Forsling Harris	....	the producers gratefully acknowledge the cooperation of: executive director, The New York State Office for Motion Picture and Television Development
Leona Johnpoll	....	the producers gratefully acknowledge the cooperation of: associate director, The New York State Office for Motion Picture and Television Development
Ed Koch	....	the producers gratefully acknowledge the cooperation of: Mayor
Nancy Littlefield	....	the producers gratefully acknowledge the cooperation of: executive director, Mayors Office for Motion Pictures and Television

Production Companies

• Orion Pictures Corporation

Distributors

• Orion Pictures Corporation (1981) (USA) (theatrical)
• Warner Bros. (1982) (France) (theatrical)
• Warner Bros. (1982) (West Germany) (theatrical)
• Warner Bros. (1982) (Netherlands) (theatrical)
• Argentina Video Home (198?) (Argentina) (VHS)
• Argentina Video Home (1999) (Argentina) (DVD)
• Argentina Video Home (1999) (Argentina) (VHS) (re-edited)
• Warner Bros. (1999) (Argentina) (all media) (re-release)
• Warner Home Video (19??) (Australia) (VHS)
• Warner Home Video (1990) (Germany) (VHS)
• Warner Home Video (1999) (Germany) (DVD)
• Warner Home Video (1999) (UK) (DVD)
• Warner Home Video (1999) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• Warner Home Video (19??) (Netherlands) (VHS)
• Warner Home Video (1991) (USA) (video) (laserdisc)
• Warner Home Video (1992) (USA) (VHS)
• Warner Home Video (1997) (USA) (DVD)
• Warner Home Vídeo (1999) (Brazil) (DVD)
• Warner Home Vídeo (19??) (Brazil) (VHS)

Other Companies

• Technicolor  prints by
• ARRI / Camera Service Center  camera equipment provided by
• Bernstein and Freedman P.C.  production accountants
• Halston  select wardrobe: for Liza Minnelli
• Mayor's Office for Motion Pictures & Television  the producers gratefully acknowledge the cooperation of (as Mayors Office for Motion Pictures and Television)
• Navarro-Bertoni Casting  extras casting
• New York State Office for Motion Picture and Television Development  the producers gratefully acknowledge the cooperation of (as The New York State Office for Motion Picture and Television Development)
• Trans Audio  re-recording mixer

Also Known As:

Runtime:

97 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

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

Filming Locations:

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

Company:

Orion Pictures Corporation

Trivia:

This film is considered a modern reworking of the P.G. Wodehouse's Jeeves and Wooster tales, Arthur is the equivalent of Bertie Wooster and his servant Hobson the equivalent of Jeeves.

Goofs:

Continuity: At the engagement party, Linda leans over the gentleman's shoulder to get her cigarette lit. Seconds later, while stepping back to observe the party, she asks the same gentleman to light the same cigarette.

Quotes:

Arthur:Do you HATE Perry's wife?

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "3rd Rock from the Sun: Mary Loves Scoochie: Part 2 (#6.18)" (2001)

Soundtrack:

Strangers in the Night

Still a Charmer a Quarter Century Later Especially for the Well-Missed Talents of Moore and Gielgud

This 1981 comedy still sparkles thanks to the combined efforts of writer/director Steve Gordon and stars Dudley Moore and John Gielgud. Sadly, Gordon, only in his early forties, died soon after completing this, his only feature film. It's an especially unfortunate loss since he shows a truly deft hand at character-driven farce that makes the whole film irresistible. It plays almost like a 1930's-style screwball comedy revamped for contemporary tastes. The plot centers on Arthur Bach, a drunken, diminutive millionaire playboy who is at risk of losing his $750 million inheritance if he doesn't marry the dowdy and boring Susan Johnson, an heiress handpicked by his old-money father and dotty grandmother. Of course, he doesn't love her and by chance, runs into Linda Marolla, a working-class waitress (and of course, aspiring actress) after she pilfers a Bergdorf Goodman tie for her father.

The standard complications ensue but in a most endearing way with loads of alcohol-fueled slapstick executed with classic élan by Moore. That he makes such a spoiled character likable is a credit not only to his comic talents but to Gielgud's feisty, acidic turn as Hobson, Arthur's devoted but reality-grounded valet. It's the type of role he could play in his sleep, but Gielgud makes Hobson such a truly memorable character that his fate in the film brings a welcome injection of poignancy in the proceedings. In probably her most likable film role, Liza Minnelli hands the picture to her male co-stars by toning down her usual razzle-dazzle personality and making Linda quite genuine in motivation.

A pre-"LA Law" Jill Eikenberry plays Susan just at the right passive-aggressive note, while Barney Martin (Jerry's dad on "Seinfeld") steals all his scenes as Linda's slovenly father Ralph. The one fly in the ointment is veteran actress Geraldine Fitzgerald, who overdoes the eccentricities of the grandmother. And I have to admit that I still can't stand the very dated, overplayed Christopher Cross song that inevitably won the Oscar for that year's best song. Unfortunately, the 1997 DVD, certainly in need of remastering, has no extras worth noting except some photos and production notes.