The King of Marvin Gardens (1972)

A daydreamer convinces his radio personality brother to help fund one of his get-rich-quick schemes.

Director:

Bob Rafelson

Writers:

Jacob Brackman (screenplay), Bob Rafelson (story)

Stars:

Jack Nicholson, Bruce Dern, Ellen Burstyn

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

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.

---

Plot Keywords:

watching tv | cutting one's hair | betrayal | gambling license | false promise of the american dream | 

---

Genres:

Drama

---

Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English Japanese

Release Date:

26 April 1973 (France)

Also Known As:

The Philosopher King

Filming Locations:

Atlantic City, New Jersey, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

BBS Productions, Columbia Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

103 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The name "Marvin Gardens" is derived from Margate City and Ventnor City NJ, and is a housing area in Margate City, Atlantic County, New Jersey, United States, located two miles south of Atlantic City. Marven Gardens is famous as a yellow property on the original version of the Monopoly game board, although the game misspelled the name as "Marvin Garden." It is the only property on the Monopoly board that is not located within Atlantic City.

---

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.

---

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....
[...]

---

Crazy Credits

The Columbia Pictures logo does not appear on this film.

---

Connections

Referenced in The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson: James Garner/Bruce Dern/Terry Galanoy (1972)

---

Soundtracks

Here She Come, Miss America
(uncredited)
Written by Bernie Wayne
Performed by Jack Nicholson

User Reviews

Under-rated Rafelson flick!

I thought this superior to CARNAL KNOWLEDGE and am a bit surprised by the reaction to it at time of release. After FIVE EASY PIECES and before STAY HUNGRY this '72 film was thrown aside and dismissed. I guess Nicholson wasn't using his eyebrows enough for public taste. Bruce Dern gives a superb performance as his shyster-dreamer brother with big plans. Ellen Burstyn is paranoid justifiably and gives a lovely performance. The young girl Julie Ann Robinson is terrible.

A 7 out of 10. Best performance = Bruce Dern. Throw in Scatman and John Ryan and you have a fascinating mood piece. What happened to Bob Rafelson?