A daydreamer convinces his radio personality brother to help fund one of his get-rich-quick schemes.
Related News
-
Bruce Dern movies: 15 greatest films, ranked worst to best, include ‘Coming Home,’ ‘Nebraska,’ ‘The Great Gatsby’
04 June 2019 | Gold Derby -
Bruce Dern movies: 15 greatest films ranked worst to best
04 June 2019 | Gold Derby -
Stay Hungry
02 December 2017 | Trailers from Hell
User Lists
Related lists from IMDb users
Share this Rating
Title: The King of Marvin Gardens (1972)
Want to share IMDb's rating on your own site? Use the HTML below.
Learn more
More Like This
A Safe Place
(1971)
Certificate: GP
Drama
Director:
Henry Jaglom
Stars:
Tuesday Weld,
Orson Welles,
Jack Nicholson
Five Easy Pieces
(1970)
Drama
Director:
Bob Rafelson
Stars:
Jack Nicholson,
Karen Black,
Billy Green Bush
The Last Detail
(1973)
Comedy
|
Drama
Director:
Hal Ashby
Stars:
Jack Nicholson,
Randy Quaid,
Otis Young
The Fortune
(1975)
Comedy
|
Crime
|
Romance
Director:
Mike Nichols
Stars:
Stockard Channing,
Jack Nicholson,
Warren Beatty
Carnal Knowledge
(1971)
Drama
Director:
Mike Nichols
Stars:
Jack Nicholson,
Candice Bergen,
Ann-Margret
Head
(1968)
Comedy
|
Fantasy
|
Musical
Director:
Bob Rafelson
Stars:
Peter Tork,
Davy Jones,
Micky Dolenz
The Border
(1982)
Crime
|
Drama
Director:
Tony Richardson
Stars:
Jack Nicholson,
Harvey Keitel,
Valerie Perrine
Comedy
|
Drama
|
Sport
Director:
Jack Nicholson
Stars:
William Tepper,
Karen Black,
Michael Margotta
Crime
|
Drama
|
Romance
Director:
Bob Rafelson
Stars:
Jack Nicholson,
Jessica Lange,
John Colicos
Blood and Wine
(1996)
Crime
|
Drama
|
Thriller
Director:
Bob Rafelson
Stars:
Jack Nicholson,
Michael Caine,
Stephen Dorff
The Passenger
(1975)
Drama
|
Thriller
Director:
Michelangelo Antonioni
Stars:
Jack Nicholson,
Maria Schneider,
Jenny Runacre
The Shooting
(1966)
Western
Director:
Monte Hellman
Stars:
Millie Perkins,
Jack Nicholson,
Will Hutchins
Edit
Cast
| Cast overview, first billed only: | |||
| Jack Nicholson | ... | David Staebler | |
| Bruce Dern | ... | Jason Staebler | |
| Ellen Burstyn | ... | Sally | |
| Julia Anne Robinson | ... | Jessica | |
| Scatman Crothers | ... | Lewis (as Benjamin 'Scatman' Crothers) | |
| Charles LaVine | ... | Grandfather | |
| Arnold Williams | ... | Rosko | |
| John P. Ryan | ... | Surtees (as John Ryan) | |
| Sully Boyar | ... | Lebowitz | |
| Josh Mostel | ... | Frank | |
 |
William Pabst | ... | Bidlack |
|
|
Garry Goodrow | ... | Nervous Man (as Gary Goodrow) |
|
|
Imogene Bliss | ... | Magda |
|
|
Ann Thomas | ... | Bambi |
|
|
Tom Overton | ... | Spot Operator |
Edit
Plot Summary
|
Add Synopsis
See All (234) »
Storyline
'It's Monopoly out there'. Jason Staebler, The King of Marvin Gardens, has gone directly to jail, lives on the Boardwalk and fronts for the local mob in Atlantic City. He is also a dreamer who asks his brother, David, a radio personality from Philadelphia to help him build a paradise on a Pacific Island - asking him to believe in yet another of his dreams, yet another of his get-rich-quick schemes. But luck is against them both and the game ends badly - real life reduced to radio drama. Written by Dave Cook <cookd@mcmail.cis.mcmaster.ca>
Plot Keywords:
watching tv | cutting one's hair | betrayal | gambling license | jail |Genres:
DramaParents Guide:
View content advisory »
Edit
See full technical specs »
Details
Country:
USARelease Date:
26 April 1973 (France) See more »Also Known As:
The Philosopher King See more »Company Credits
Show more on
IMDbPro »
Technical Specs
Runtime:
Sound Mix:
MonoColor:
Color (Eastmancolor)Aspect Ratio:
1.85 : 1
Edit
David Staebler: I promised that I would tell you... why I never eat fish. When we all moved into my grandfather's house... it somehow fell to me to keep the old man's mind off of things. We would play casino over an old card table. He never let me win. One time he put one of those tiny model trains... into my hamburger. He was a practical joker. I broke my tooth on it. On Friday evenings we had fish at our house. Every Friday. Not on religious grounds, but because... Grandpa was a fish enthusiast....
[...]
See more »
(uncredited)
Written by Bernie Wayne
Performed by Jack Nicholson
See more »
Did You Know?
Trivia
Jack Nicholson and Scatman Crothers appeared in The Fortune (1975), One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975), and The Shining (1980). See more »Goofs
David listens to tape recording he made but during close-up of tape recorder, none of the buttons that would allow it to play are depressed. See more »Quotes
[first lines]David Staebler: I promised that I would tell you... why I never eat fish. When we all moved into my grandfather's house... it somehow fell to me to keep the old man's mind off of things. We would play casino over an old card table. He never let me win. One time he put one of those tiny model trains... into my hamburger. He was a practical joker. I broke my tooth on it. On Friday evenings we had fish at our house. Every Friday. Not on religious grounds, but because... Grandpa was a fish enthusiast....
[...]
See more »
Crazy Credits
The Columbia Pictures logo does not appear on this film. See more »Soundtracks
Here She Come, Miss America(uncredited)
Written by Bernie Wayne
Performed by Jack Nicholson
See more »
Frequently Asked Questions
This FAQ is empty. Add the first question.
Explore popular and recently added TV series available to stream now with Prime Video.
A truly great film and sadly overlooked and under rated, following up Five Easy Pieces and showing Nicholson at his most awesome. A far better take on Atlantic City than the Louis Malle's film of that name. Incredible acting from Nicholson, Dern, Burstyn... great direction and cinamatography. The movie is set in a pre-casino Atlantic City, sort of Coney Island perfected. A real actors film that we rarely see anymore. Perhaps difficult to watch because of that yet immensely rewarding. A film that perfectly captures the time and place. Dern plays an over the top hustler while Nicholson, of all things, plays an intellectual radio dweeb. Go on... see it... "no one reads anymore..."