The History of The Odd Couple

Posted on February 17, 2015 at 8:00 am

“The Odd Couple” is coming back to television, starring “Friends'” Matthew Perry as the slob and writer/actor Thomas Lennon as the neatnik. The long-running television series starred Tony Randall and Jack Klugman. There have also been versions with a black odd couple, a female odd couple, and even an animated cat and dog odd couple.

But before that, it was a Broadway play and then a movie starring Walter Matthau and Jack Lemmon. And before that, it was kind of a true story.

Neil Simon, the most successful comic playwright of the last half-century, wrote the play based on his brother, comedy writer Danny Simon, who moved in with a friend following his divorce. It may also have been inspired in part by Mel Brooks (who was a writer with both Simon brothers on Sid Caesar’s “Show of Shows”). He also briefly lived with a friend following a divorce. Danny also inspired characters in his brother’s other plays, including “Plaza Suite,” “Laughter on the 23rd Floor,” and “Brighton Beach Memoirs.”

Matthau and Lemmon are ideal as Oscar and Felix, and the movie is well worth putting in your Netflix queue.

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Film History For Your Netflix Queue

Cactus Flower

Posted on February 7, 2011 at 8:00 am

B+

Lowest Recommended Age:	Middle School
MPAA Rating:	PG
Profanity:	None
Alcohol/ Drugs:	Drinking, characters get tipsy
Violence/ Scariness:	Suicide attempt
Diversity Issues:	None
Date Released to Theaters:	1969
Date Released to DVD:	April 23, 202
Amazon.com ASIN:	B0000633R9

This week’s release of Adam Sandler’s remake of “Cactus Flower” is a good reason to check out the 1969 original with Walter Matthau, Ingrid Bergman, and, in her Oscar-winning screen debut, Goldie Hawn.

It began as a French play, adapted into a smash success on Broadway, and then this movie version, brightly directed by Gene Saks. Matthau plays Julian, a dentist who tells the girls he dates that he is married to avoid any long-term romantic entanglements. But when his much-younger girlfriend Toni (Hawn) attempts suicide he realizes how much he loves her and tells her he wants to get married. She is worried about being a home wrecker and insists on meeting his wife to be sure that she wants a divorce. Rather than tell Toni the truth, Julian persuades his starchy nurse (Bergman) to pretend to be his wife. Various romantic complications are all straightened out by the happy ending.

The Original: The Taking of Pelham 123

Posted on June 7, 2009 at 8:52 am

The 1974 version of “The Taking of Pelham 123” is one of my favorite thrillers, with a brilliant cast that includes Robert Shaw, Walter Matthau, and Jerry Stiller and a terrific score by David Shire. I’m hoping that this week’s release of the remake with John Travolta and Denzel Washington will be as good. Here’s a reminder of the original.

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For Your Netflix Queue