Harry and Tonto (1974)

When his apartment building is torn down, a retired lifelong New Yorker goes on a cross country odyssey with his beloved cat Tonto.

Director:

Paul Mazursky

Writers:

Paul Mazursky, Josh Greenfeld

Stars:

Art Carney, Ellen Burstyn, René Enríquez

Won 1 Oscar. Another 3 wins & 3 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Art Carney	...	Harry
René Enríquez	...	Grocery Clerk
Herbert Berghof	...	Rivetowski
Michael McCleery	...	Mugger
Avon Long	...	Leroy
Rashel Novikoff	...	Mrs. Rothman
Philip Bruns	...	Burt (as Phil Bruns)
Cliff De Young	...	Burt Jr.
Josh Mostel	...	Norman (as Joshua Mostel)
Dolly Jonah	...	Elaine
Sybil Bowan	...	Old Landlady
Joe Madden	...	Panhandler
Bette Howard	...	Morgue Clerk
Patricia Fay	...	Airport Security Woman
Muriel Beerman	...	Taxi Driver

Storyline

Harry is a retired teacher in his 70s living in the Upper West Side of New York City, where his late wife and he raised his children, where he's lived all of his life. When the building, in which he lives, is torn down to make way for a parking garage, Harry and his beloved cat Tonto begin a journey across the U.S., visiting his children, seeing a world he never seemed to have the time to see before, making new friends, and saying goodbye to old friends.

---

Plot Keywords:

cat movie | road trip | character names as title | tonto the cat character | forename in title | 

---

Taglines:

Get a Lift

---

Genres:

Adventure | Comedy | Drama | Romance

---

Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

15 January 1975 (France)

Also Known As:

Harry & Tonto

Filming Locations:

Hollywood Walk of Fame, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$980,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Twentieth Century Fox

Technical Specs

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Co-Writer and Director Paul Mazursky was taking a cab to meet the casting director, and his cab driver talked so much, he thought she might be good in the movie. He had her park at the casting director's office and leave the meter running while she came inside and read for the part. She, Muriel Beerman, got the part as the taxi driver.

---

Goofs

Soon after Harry buys the old used car, we see him driving it while telling Tonto a story. First shot (exterior) shows Harry in the outside lane. The camera switches to inside the car and we see Harry in the inside lane.

---

Quotes

Harry: How old are you?
Ginger: Sixteen.
Harry: I guess I don't know much about being 16 these days.
Ginger: Neither do I.

---

Crazy Credits

Tonto is billed "and TONTO"

---

Alternate Versions

In the original theatrical version, Norman (Josh Mostel) says to Shirley (Ellen Burstyn), "I like you too, Aunt Shirley, but you're a c**t." When the ratings board gave the film an R rating because of this line, Mazursky changed the line to "But you're a bitch." All subsequent prints after the initial theatrical release contain this line, and the original has since disappeared.

---

Connections

Referenced in Duck (2005)

---

Soundtracks

Louise
(uncredited)
Music by Richard A. Whiting
Lyrics by Leo Robin
Sung by Art Carney

User Reviews

Touching Road Picture

"Harry and Tonto" is one of those films that surprises you. It seems very simplistic with an old man traveling with his trusty cat, however; there is more to the film than that. Harry(Art Carney) is a 72 year-old man displaced from his apartment building in New York that is scheduled for demolition. This is when his journey begins taking him from his son's home and comes across various people along the way including Ginger, a 16 year-old hitchhiker, a former lover with a shaky memory (Geraldine Fitzgerald), his bookstore owner daughter, Shirley(Ellen Burnstyn) in Chicago, a vitamin salesman, a Las Vegas hooker and an Indian Chief. Harry is an intelligent man in his twilight years prone to fussing over his aging cat. The film is good natured and at the same time sad. It plays as a slice of life movie but one thinks of the old saying, "It is not the destination but the journey that matters." Art Carney gives a very real, complex performance while being understated and I am not surprised that he won an Oscar for this film. I am glad that I finally came across this film and certainly appreciate it more as an adult than I did as a kid.