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IMDbPro

California Split

  • 19741974
  • RR
  • 1h 48m
IMDb RATING
7.2/10
7.1K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
11,916
2,321
California Split (1974)
ComedyDrama
When a casual gambler (Elliott Gould as Charlie) befriends a professional one (George Segal as Bill), he begins to mirror his life, sending both deeper into the sleazy gambling world where t... Read allWhen a casual gambler (Elliott Gould as Charlie) befriends a professional one (George Segal as Bill), he begins to mirror his life, sending both deeper into the sleazy gambling world where the stakes keep getting bigger.When a casual gambler (Elliott Gould as Charlie) befriends a professional one (George Segal as Bill), he begins to mirror his life, sending both deeper into the sleazy gambling world where the stakes keep getting bigger.
IMDb RATING
7.2/10
7.1K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
11,916
2,321
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Director
      • Robert Altman
    • Writer
      • Joseph Walsh
    • Stars
      • George Segal
      • Elliott Gould
      • Ann Prentiss
    Top credits
    • Director
      • Robert Altman
    • Writer
      • Joseph Walsh
    • Stars
      • George Segal
      • Elliott Gould
      • Ann Prentiss
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 54User reviews
    • 54Critic reviews
    • 84Metascore
  • See production, box office & company info
    • Awards
      • 1 nomination

    Photos86

    Elliott Gould and George Segal in California Split (1974)
    California Split (1974)
    Ann Prentiss in California Split (1974)
    Elliott Gould in California Split (1974)
    Ann Prentiss in California Split (1974)
    Ann Prentiss and Bert Remsen in California Split (1974)
    Elliott Gould and George Segal in California Split (1974)
    California Split (1974)
    California Split (1974)
    California Split (1974)
    California Split (1974)
    California Split (1974)

    Top cast

    Edit
    George Segal
    George Segal
    • Bill Denny
    Elliott Gould
    Elliott Gould
    • Charlie Waters
    Ann Prentiss
    Ann Prentiss
    • Barbara Miller
    Gwen Welles
    Gwen Welles
    • Susan Peters
    Edward Walsh
    • Lew
    Joseph Walsh
    Joseph Walsh
    • Sparkie
    Bert Remsen
    Bert Remsen
    • Helen Brown
    Barbara London
    • Lady on the Bus
    Barbara Ruick
    Barbara Ruick
    • Reno Barmaid
    Jay Fletcher
    Jay Fletcher
    • Robber
    Jeff Goldblum
    Jeff Goldblum
    • Lloyd Harris
    Barbara Colby
    Barbara Colby
    • Receptionist
    Vincent Palmieri
    • First Bartender
    • (as Vince Palmieri)
    Alyce Passman
    • Go-Go Girl
    Joanne Strauss
    Joanne Strauss
    • Mother
    Jack Riley
    Jack Riley
    • Second Bartender
    Sierra Bandit
    • Woman at Bar
    John Considine
    John Considine
    • Man at Bar
    • Director
      • Robert Altman
    • Writer
      • Joseph Walsh
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      The film is dedicated to actress Barbara Ruick who appears in the movie as a barmaid and who died on location during the filming. The end title card memorializing this reads: "FOR BARBARA 1933-1973".
    • Goofs
      Some of the balls hanging from Charlie's sombrero keep changing position throughout the scene.
    • Quotes

      Bill Denny: Goddamnit, lady, you don't throw oranges on an escalator!

    • Alternate versions
      The DVD cuts approximately three minutes worth of incidental scenes and bits, because the distributor was either unable or unwilling to reach an arrangement for music licensing.
    • Connections
      Featured in The 78th Annual Academy Awards (2006)
    • Soundtracks
      Peg o' My Heart
      (uncredited)

      Written by Al Bryan and Fred Fisher

    User reviews54

    Review
    Review
    Top review
    7/10
    Altman's Warm Up to "Nashville"
    Robert Altman returns to one of his favorite subjects -- men behaving badly -- in this rather slight 1974 effort. George Segal and Elliott Gould play chronic gamblers who meet by chance in a gaming room and embark upon a friendship founded entirely on each man's desire to seek out the next sure thing. They head to Reno, where Segal falls into an amazing streak of luck and wins hundreds of thousands of dollars.....and then the movie just sort of ends, not because the story itself reaches any sort of natural conclusion, but more because Altman runs out of things to say about it.

    Like many of Altman's films, "California Split" isn't as interested in telling a story as it is in establishing a tone, and that it does wonderfully. The ending does feel anti-climactic and abrupt, but then again, this is the tale of a gambling addict, whose whole existence consists of looking for and finding opportunities to feed his addiction. That Segal falls into a tired stupor after winning big, and experiences a glum letdown instead of the euphoria any normal person would feel from winning that much money, feels right for someone with an addiction. The obsession isn't with the catch, but with the chase.

    I think Segal is the weaker of the two lead actors, though he's got the larger role. He plays up the comic elements in the film too broadly, whereas Gould feels more at home with Altman's sarcastic, off-the-cuff sense of humour. The first time I saw this, I thought there were distinct homoerotic undertones, and I felt that again after a second viewing. Segal obviously has feelings of inadequacy that his gambling helps him overcome, or at least forget. From where does that sense of inadequacy spring? Several moments in the film -- mention of a failed marriage, his reaction to someone calling him a "faggot," an aborted attempt at lovemaking with a ditzy hooker -- suggest that Segal's character has homosexual tendencies that he's trying to suppress, or at the very least that his shaky sense of his own manhood suggests to HIM that he has homosexual tendencies.

    This isn't really fleshed out in the movie, but then nothing else is either. "California Split" feels like a warm up to Altman's masterpiece, "Nashville," released a year later, but it doesn't have that movie's sense of scope or amazing cast of characters, so it feels underdeveloped and lightweight.

    Still, it kept me interested for 105 minutes, and it is a fascinating look into the chronic gambler's mind, if nothing else.

    Grade: B
    helpful•8
    2
    • evanston_dad
    • Jun 5, 2007

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • August 1974 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • Slide
    • Filming locations
      • Los Angeles, California, USA
    • Production companies
      • Spelling Goldberg
      • Reno Associates
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Gross US & Canada
      • $10,900,000
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      1 hour 48 minutes
    • Sound mix
      • Mono
    • Aspect ratio
      • 2.35 : 1

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