Minnie and Moskowitz (1971)

A museum curator falls in love with a crazy parking attendant.

Director:

John Cassavetes

Writer:

John Cassavetes

Stars:

Gena Rowlands, Seymour Cassel, Val Avery

2 nominations.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Gena Rowlands	...	Minnie
Seymour Cassel	...	Moskowitz
Val Avery	...	Zelmo Swift
Timothy Carey	...	Morgan Morgan (as Tim Carey)
Katherine Cassavetes	...	Sheba Moskowitz
Elizabeth Deering	...	Girl
Elsie Ames	...	Florence
Lady Rowlands	...	Georgia Moore
Holly Near	...	Irish
Judith Roberts	...	Wife
Jack Danskin	...	Dick Henderson
Eleanor Zee	...	Mrs. Grass
Sean Joyce	...	Ned
David Rowlands	...	Minister
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Darren Moloney	...	Jim's Son

Storyline

Minnie breaks up with her married boyfriend and becomes disillusioned. However, she begins to learn that there is hope for love and romance in a desperate world when she meets a crazy car-parker named Seymour.

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Plot Keywords:

three word title | written by director | date | cigarette smoking | swimming pool | 

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama | Romance

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Certificate:

GP

Did You Know?

Trivia

The sixth feature film directed by John Cassavetes.

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Goofs

When Moskowitz is carrying Minnie in the living room, she has a lit cigarette in her hand. After he carries her upstairs to her bedroom and puts her down on the bed, she has no cigarette in her hand.

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Quotes

Minnie Moore: Seymour likes cars. He's very happy with cars.

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Connections

Features Casablanca (1942)

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Soundtracks

I Know What Youre Doing
(uncredited)
Written by Bo Harwood

User Reviews

An attack from within.

This is an incredible achievement for John Cassavetes. Not only has he made an outstanding screwball/romantic comedy, but he has also made a deep and biting attack on the way we let the movies(and also our culture) shape the way we see the world. For those of you who are seeking a love story, Cassavetes provides an extremely lovely one. The rules of the screwball genre are strictly followed. A man meets a woman, they are an impossible match in terms of personality, they try to fall in love, then comes the inevitable 'hiccups' in their relationship, and last but not least, the happy ending. But, as has always been the case with Cassavetes, that is only a very small fraction of what you'll get. He obviously has got a lot more to say. The 'surface' story is not the only story here. Beneath it lies another 'story'. And I don't think the other story will ever get past you unnoticed. The real story here is a 'cultural' one. It is a biting attack on the way we let movies and our culture influence our way of seeing the world. How does he present this attack? Well let me give you an example. The other day I watched this film with a friend. He made quite a few comments but the most striking one was when he complained about how is it that someone as unattractive as Seymour Moskowitz could get a woman as pretty as Minnie to like him(when you see the film you'll see). Now that is exactly the kind of attitude that Cassavetes is attacking. Why must everyone be 'handsome' or 'good looking' to be able to get a girl to like him? Minnie will constantly say to Seymour in the film that, "That's not the right face. You're not the man I'm in love with." It's a subtle attack but no less powerful. There's even one instance where Minnie, while in conversation with her friend, talks about movies as being a conspiracy because "They set you up. And no matter how bright you are you still believe it." This is a shining example of the fact that it is not enough to just recognise the problem, because it doesn't mean anything until you do something about it. There's a lot more, but I don't think it will be fun if I talked about everything. Part of the thrill of watching a movie like this is figuring it out. So I'll just talk about the 'surface' story a little bit more. A lot of people has called this movie 'earnestly real'. But don't be put off by that because like this world we live in, it's not all grim and grin. This isn't a Ken Loach film. While Cassavetes definitely does show us how ugly the world really is and can be, he has got enough insight to also show us that life can also be wonderful. I can give you a lot more examples, but I think it's best if you discover them for yourself. My comment here does not do justice to the movie. There's too much for me to say. And I don't think the space here allows it. So just go and see the movie. It'll be worth every minute.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

21 July 1972 (Sweden)

Also Known As:

John Cassavetes' Minnie and Moskowitz

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles County Museum of Art - 5905 Wilshire Blvd., Hancock Park, Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$900,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Faces Music, Universal Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

114 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1