IMDb RATING
7.1/10
6.7K
YOUR RATING
A vaudeville duo agree to reunite for a television special, but it turns out that they can't stand each other.A vaudeville duo agree to reunite for a television special, but it turns out that they can't stand each other.A vaudeville duo agree to reunite for a television special, but it turns out that they can't stand each other.
- Won 1 Oscar
- 6 wins & 7 nominations total
Rosetta LeNoire
- Odessa - Willy's Nurse
- (as Rosetta Le Noire)
Jennifer Lee Pryor
- Helen Clark
- (as Jennifer Lee)
- Director
- Writer
- Neil Simon(uncredited)
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaGeorge Burns turned up at rehearsals having learned the entire film script by heart. Burns figured that this would make it harder for the producers to fire him if they wanted to.
- GoofsBen refers to the Actors' Home as being in New Brunswick, NJ. It is, in fact, in Englewood.
- Quotes
Ben Clark: I'm getting chest pains. You give me chest pains!
Willy Clark: It's my fault you get excited?
Ben Clark: Yes! I only get chest pains on Wednesdays!
Willy Clark: So come Tuesdays.
- ConnectionsFeatured in The Sunshine Boys (1975)
- SoundtracksMake 'Em Laugh
(uncredited)
Music by Nacio Herb Brown
Lyrics by Arthur Freed
Arranged by Conrad Salinger
Featured review
One of my favorite Stage to film transfers.
The Sunshine Boys is one of my favorite feel good movies. I first saw it when it as the Christmas attraction at Radio City Music Hall when it first came out and loved it ever since. I ended up seeing it 6 times in the theaters, and if it was playing today I'd go out to see it again.
Now a lot of the reviews here mentioned the wonderful performances of the leads. Matthau was brilliant, but had the misfortune of being nominated against Jack Nicholson's Oscar winning performance of Randall P. MacMurphy in "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's nest. Burns did win, though Richard Benjiman deserved at least to be nominated as well. Even the smallest roles were played to perfection, like Fritz Feld auditioning for the potato chips commercial.
Which brings me to my reason for reviewing this film, the direction of the greatly underrated Herbert Ross. Ross who previously brought a two person play, "The Owl And The Pussycat" to the screen and made a full movie out of it, does it again. He opens the plays out without making them look like a photographic stage play. He fleashens out the story and the characters.
Here we're 20 minutes into the film before we get to the scene that opens the play, where Ben Clark comes to see his uncle and tell him about the comedy special. Though there are dialogue from the play during the first twenty minutes, the sequence itself is totally new. A few years ago I did see at the broadway revival of the play with Jack Klugman and Tony Randall, which was wonderful. But I think that Ross and screenwriter, playwright Simon improved on it. It's just a wonderful film.
Now a lot of the reviews here mentioned the wonderful performances of the leads. Matthau was brilliant, but had the misfortune of being nominated against Jack Nicholson's Oscar winning performance of Randall P. MacMurphy in "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's nest. Burns did win, though Richard Benjiman deserved at least to be nominated as well. Even the smallest roles were played to perfection, like Fritz Feld auditioning for the potato chips commercial.
Which brings me to my reason for reviewing this film, the direction of the greatly underrated Herbert Ross. Ross who previously brought a two person play, "The Owl And The Pussycat" to the screen and made a full movie out of it, does it again. He opens the plays out without making them look like a photographic stage play. He fleashens out the story and the characters.
Here we're 20 minutes into the film before we get to the scene that opens the play, where Ben Clark comes to see his uncle and tell him about the comedy special. Though there are dialogue from the play during the first twenty minutes, the sequence itself is totally new. A few years ago I did see at the broadway revival of the play with Jack Klugman and Tony Randall, which was wonderful. But I think that Ross and screenwriter, playwright Simon improved on it. It's just a wonderful film.
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- allenblank
- Mar 30, 2004
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Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Language
- Also known as
- Neil Simon's The Sunshine Boys
- Filming locations
- Ansonia Hotel - 74th & Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA(exteriors of Willy's apartment)
- Production company
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
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