Film Forum

U.S., 1975
Directed by Melvin Frank
Starring Jack Lemmon, Anne Bancroft, Gene Saks
Screenplay by Neil Simon
Approx. 98 min. 35mm.

“Melvin Frank's direction…is ably aided by a cast headed by Jack Lemmon and Anne Bancroft, who project forcefully natural characterization that are as realistic as the authentic Second Avenue and other New York sites caught by the color cameras. Mr. Lemmon is frustrated and anxiety-ridden because of the faulty air-conditioning and inconsiderate neighbors in his high-rise apartment house, among other things. And, his fraying nerves aren't helped much when he is dismissed by his faltering firm. As a jobless ad executive, he cannot be blamed for railing at an unemployment office clerk. And he shouldn't be criticized for banging on fragile walls, cursing the neighbors, who douse him with water in retaliation, and developing neuroses inflamed by enforced idleness and visits to a non-committal psychiatrist. If Anne Bancroft, as his truly loving helpmate who resolutely gets a job to support them, becomes tense and confused to the point of paranoia, she, too, can't be faulted for her rising fears when she loses that job and must decide whether to accept financial help from her husband's concerned, if questioning, relatives. Mr. Lemmon, no stranger to Mr. Simon's work (THE ODD COUPLE, THE OUT OF TOWNERS), and Miss Bancroft are simply an unromanticized, believable team as recognizable in their comic and serious give-and-take as many of New York's scrambling millions.” – A. H. Weiler, The New York Times

Reviews

“Lemmon's descent into ill-concealed paranoia is a superb piece of acting, the graduations of which are almost unobservable so good is his technique.”
– Derek Malcolm, The Guardian