Hello, Dolly! (1969)

Matchmaker Dolly Levi travels to Yonkers to find a partner for "half-a-millionaire" Horace Vandergelder, convincing his niece, his niece's intended, and his two clerks to travel to New York City along the way.

Director:

Gene Kelly

Writers:

Michael Stewart (book), Thornton Wilder (based on "The Matchmaker" by)

Stars:

Barbra Streisand, Walter Matthau, Michael Crawford

Won 3 Oscars. Another 1 win & 13 nominations.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Barbra Streisand	...	Dolly Levi
Walter Matthau	...	Horace Vandergelder
Michael Crawford	...	Cornelius Hackl
Marianne McAndrew	...	Irene Molloy
Danny Lockin	...	Barnaby Tucker
E.J. Peaker	...	Minnie Fay
Joyce Ames	...	Ermengarde
Tommy Tune	...	Ambrose Kemper
Judy Knaiz	...	Gussie Granger
David Hurst	...	Rudolph Reisenweber
Fritz Feld	...	Rudolph's Assistant
Richard Collier	...	Vandergelder's Barber
J. Pat O'Malley	...	Policeman in Park
Louis Armstrong	...	Orchestra Leader

Storyline

A matchmaker named Dolly Levi takes a trip to Yonkers, New York to see the "well-known unmarried half-a-millionaire," Horace Vandergelder. While there, she convinces him, his two stock clerks and his niece and her beau to go to New York City. In New York, she fixes Vandergelder's clerks up with the woman Vandergelder had been courting, and her shop assistant (Dolly has designs of her own on Mr. Vandergelder, you see).

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Plot Keywords:

matchmaker | new york city | widow | year 1890 | 19th century | 

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Genres:

Adventure | Comedy | Musical | Romance

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Certificate:

G

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

16 December 1969 (USA)

Also Known As:

Ernest Lehman's Production of Hello, Dolly!

Filming Locations:

Metro-North Station, Poughkeepsie, New York, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$25,000,000 (estimated)

Gross USA:

$33,136,000

Company Credits

Production Co:

Chenault Productions,Twentieth Century Fox

Technical Specs

Runtime:

146 min

Sound Mix:

70 mm 6-Track (70 mm prints) (Westrex Recording System) Mono (35 mm prints) DTS 70 mm (70mm re-release)

Color:

Color (Color by Deluxe)

Aspect Ratio:

2.39 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Louis Armstrong's final film. He was on set for half a day, and filmed all of his shots in one take. In 1964, his recording of "Hello, Dolly!" hit #1.

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Goofs

When Horace Vandergelder is being shaved, the barber shaves once side of his face twice, removing all the lather both times.

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Quotes

Dolly Levi: And on those cold winter nights, Horace, you can snuggle up to your cash register. It's a little lumpy, but it rings!

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Connections

Referenced in It's a Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie (2002)

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Soundtracks

Hello, Dolly! (Reprise)
(uncredited)
Written by Jerry Herman

User Reviews

You all are wearing me out.

Perhaps... just perhaps... Gene Kelly INTENTIONALLY cast Barbara Streisand as a younger, more sexual Dolly rather than the older version because he thought it would make more money... obviously wrong, but nonetheless an interesting strategy. I don't remember much of that time (late 60's) but I do remember seeing the movie with my mother at a drive-in way back then, and then catching a commercial-ridden version on a local TV station in the 80's after I had significantly fallen in love with Babs by way of Yentl. I believe, if I remember correctly, that Rudy's line at the Harmonia Gardens says that Dolly has not made an appearance there in over 2 years (not 20, not 40, not 50)... Let's assume that Ephraim died some 2 years ago and Dolly in despair cut herself out of her old life. Even at 27 (Babs age at the time), she could have been widowed at 25, which at the turn of the century would have been about 7 years of marriage for most ladies... How long did she have to have been married to qualify as "experienced". She purposefully picks on Horace because she has decided not to look for another "love of her life," but rather has chosen to affect someone who is bound to spend his life alone (like she has been facing) and make something more of his life than he alone could have done. Remember she even says in her prayer to Ephraim "Oh it won't be a marriage in the sense that we had one..." Get off the "She's too young" kick and look at the movie for what it is... a big, splashy, excellent produced bit of Americana. Movie musicals will never be this audaciously classy and clever ever again.