A New Yorker newly separated from his wife moves in with his best friend, a divorced sportswriter, but their ideas of housekeeping and lifestyles are as different as night and day.A New Yorker newly separated from his wife moves in with his best friend, a divorced sportswriter, but their ideas of housekeeping and lifestyles are as different as night and day.A New Yorker newly separated from his wife moves in with his best friend, a divorced sportswriter, but their ideas of housekeeping and lifestyles are as different as night and day.
- Nominated for 2 Oscars
- 3 wins & 9 nominations total
- Murray
- (as Herbert Edelman)
- Matty Alou
- (uncredited)
- Sports Announcer
- (uncredited)
- Home Plate Umpire
- (uncredited)
- Hotel Clerk
- (uncredited)
- Bartender
- (uncredited)
- Chambermaid
- (uncredited)
- Bowler
- (uncredited)
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaWalter Matthau, who played Oscar in both the original Broadway play and the movie, asked the play's author, Neil Simon, if he could play Felix instead. This was because Matthau thought Oscar's personality was too similar to his own and the role would be too easy; whereas playing the persnickety Felix would be a real acting challenge. Simon replied, "Walter, go and be an actor in somebody else's play. Please be Oscar in mine." Matthau finally agreed to it.
- GoofsThe copyright date is shown as MCMXLVII (1947) instead of MCMLXVII (1967) as the copyright year for the film during the opening credits.
- Quotes
Oscar Madison: I can't take it anymore, Felix, I'm cracking up. Everything you do irritates me. And when you're not here, the things I know you're gonna do when you come in irritate me. You leave me little notes on my pillow. Told you 158 times I can't stand little notes on my pillow. "We're all out of cornflakes. F.U." Took me three hours to figure out F.U. was Felix Ungar!
- Crazy creditsWhen the credits for Cecily and Gwendolyn Pigeon are displayed, they are first in the wrong order (since Oscar also keeps mixing them up) and after a couple of seconds they shift to their correct positions.
- ConnectionsEdited into The Kid Stays in the Picture (2002)
- SoundtracksRule Britannia
(1740) (uncredited)
Music by Thomas Augustine Arne
Words by James Thomson
Briefly sung a cappella by Walter Matthau
And what a fine example of ensemble acting are the poker-playing buddies, even if they never seem to play. Then too, get a load of the giddy Pigeon sisters. I love it when killjoy Felix gets them out of a romantic mood with a good cry. No wonder I-need-to-touch-something-soft Oscar wants to throttle him. And I'm still wondering whether Simon came up with the name "Felix Unger" because of the loaded initials or just happened to notice them. Anyway, the initials provide a good laugh.
Of course, filming a stage play is always tricky since there're minimal scene changes. Here there're basically only two sets. But I hardly notice because director Saks manages to keep somebody moving all the time. That, plus the quality of writing and acting, keeps attention from wandering. One thing I did notice. Catch how the poker players are bunched on one side of the table so that the camera can have an unobstructed angle. It's artificial but understandable.
Anyway, this is one of my favorite comedies, and I catch re-runs of the TV series when I can. Thanks Neil Simon for a truly inspired comedic set-up.
- dougdoepke
- Jun 28, 2014
- Permalink
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Official site
- Language
- Also known as
- Extraña pareja
- Filming locations
- Production company
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- $1,200,000 (estimated)
- Gross US & Canada
- $44,527,234
- Gross worldwide
- $44,527,234
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