The Ritz (1976)

User Rating:

7.7/10   

Director:

Richard Lester

Writers:

Terrence McNally (play)
Terrence McNally (writer)

Release Date:

26 December 1976 (Denmark)

Genre:

Comedy

Tagline:

...your key to hilarity.

Plot:

On his deathbed Carmine Vespucci's father tells him to "get Proclo". With "the hit" on, Gaetano tells...

Plot Keywords:

Bathhouse | Gay Bathhouse | Lip Synching | Rain | Amateur Night

Awards:

Nominated for 3 Golden Globes. Another 2 nominations

Cast

Jack Weston	...	Gaetano Proclo
Rita Moreno	...	Googie Gomez
Jerry Stiller	...	Carmine Vespucci
Kaye Ballard	...	Vivian Proclo
F. Murray Abraham	...	Chris
Paul B. Price	...	Claude Perkins
Treat Williams	...	Michael Brick
John Everson	...	Tiger
Christopher J. Brown	...	Duff
Dave King	...	Abe Lefkowitz
Bessie Love	...	Maurine
Tony De Santis	...	Balloon Man
Ben Aris	...	Patron With Bicycle
Peter Butterworth	...	Patron In Chaps
Ronnie Brody	...	Small Patron

Runtime:

91 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Argentina:16 | Australia:M | Sweden:11 | Finland:K-16 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Twickenham Film Studios, St Margarets, Twickenham, Middlesex, England, UK

Company:

Courtyard Films

Trivia:

F. Murray Abraham, Rita Moreno, Jerry Stiller, Jack Weston and Paul B. Price play the roles they created in the original Broadway production.

Goofs:

Errors made by characters (possibly deliberate errors by the filmmakers): After F. Murray Abraham's character Chris shows the "Chubby Chaser" to the room where Kay Ballard is hiding, he runs without looking where he is going and accidentally slams the side of his head into the narrow door jamb.

Quotes:

Abe Lefkowitz: I thought you'd sworn off this place.
Claude Perkins: I thought I had, too.
Abe Lefkowitz: You got homesick for us, right?
Claude Perkins: Well, I didn't have much choice. I've been barred from the Athenium.
Abe Lefkowitz: Come on! No one gets barred from the Athenium.
Claude Perkins: Well, there was this man there...
Abe Lefkowitz: A fat man, right?
Claude Perkins: Fat? He was the Magic Mountain! He threw me into one of my frenzies. I went beserk and kicked his door open, so they threw me out and told me never to come back again. I was willing to pay for it. I just wanted to talk to him. You know how I am.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in The Unknown Peter Sellers (2000) (TV)

Soundtrack:

The Three Caballeros

Hilarious from start to finish !

This has got to be one of the funniest films I've seen, Rita Moreno is excellent as Googie Gomez failed Broadway star and now singing in "the pits" at the Gay bathhouse "The Ritz"...Treat Williams had me in stitches with his voice and Jack Weston is superb as the man on the run and hiding "in the last place anyone would look for me"...Although this harks back to a time now gone the comedy is still as fresh as ever. Look out for the "Chubby Chaser" who constantly refuses to have anything to do with Lean muscled Treat because he's too skinny and chases Jack Weston around from start to finish! And the Andrews Sisters skit is a hoot.... If you haven't seen this film what are you waiting for..!