Harry and Tonto (1974)
Harry is a retired teacher in his 70s living in the Upper West Side of New York City where his late wife and he raised his children--where he's lived all his life. When the building he lives in is torn down to make way for a parking garage, Harry and his beloved cat Tonto begin a journey across the United States, visiting his children, seeing a world he never seemed to have the time to see before, making new friends, and saying goodbye to old friends.
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When a movie has you begging for it to end not even half way through it's pure crap. We've all seen this movie and this characters millions of times, nothing new in it. Don't waste your time.
It's an amazing and heartbreaking story.
The movie really just wants to entertain people.
It is a whirlwind of delight --- attractive actors, stunning couture, spectacular sets and outrageous parties. It's a feast for the eyes. But what really makes this dramedy work is the acting.
Art Carney just cant handle a dramatic role. His performance here is shallow. He appears to be adlibbing half the lines. For a road movie, he is literally walking through it. The viewer never really understands where any of the characters are coming from because the writing is so superficial & the characters underdeveloped. Characters come & go with just minutes of screen time. Therefore it's difficult to care for them or the story. The only decent scene is at the end with Larry Hagman playing one of Harry's down-on-his-luck sons. The scene is poignant & uncomfortable with father & son barely having anything to talk about but even here we don't understand why the son is a failure or why they can't communicate. Then the film ends with cliché's. And Tonto really adds nothing to the story. Final note: it's also uncomfortable watching the actors holding the cat constantly in an awkward manner. Can't recommend it.
This is one of those movies that when it is over, one wishes it had not ended. It involves Harry, played by Art Carney (of course, Ed Norton on The Honeymooners), who has had to take his cat and leave his apartment building, which is being torn down to make way for a parking garage. He leave all the old men he usually hangs out with and heads west. He visits a son who sends him packing, a daughter, and has a host of experiences, including meeting a hitchhiking hooker and being in thrown in jail with an elderly Indian man (Chief Dan George from "Little Big Man."). As he travels the road, literally and figuratively, he comes to realize that those around him have their troubles and that he is a pretty happy man, despite being uprooted. This is touching, poignant, and loving. Art Carney won the Oscar for best actor.
There's an old saying, "When life gives you lemons, Make lemonade! Retired Teacher, elderly Harry Coombs is physically forced out of his New York Apartment to live with his son Burt and his three children. Harry feels like he's in the way. Burt suggests that his Dad should fly out to Chicago and stay with his daughter Shirley. Harry has the flight jitters and decides to take a u-turn to the bus station complete with Cat Tonto by his side. A few hours into the greyhound experience Tonto has to relieve himself but won't make in the rear toilet of the bus so he orders the driver to stop. Out goes Harry and Tonto as the driver insists on keeping his schedule in tact but tells Harry there will be another bus in a while and he could catch that one. Harry at this point wants no part of planes, buses or any form of public transportation as he stumbles upon used car salesman Cliff Norton. One of many characters to come in this unique cross-country adventure. There goes our weathered Harry and cat in a 50's type vehicle crawling along the interstate with an expired license. Harry meets through a hitchhiker a runaway girl Ginger played by Melanie Mayron who joins him en route to the windy city.They debate as to how old she really is during their encounters and discussions which brings up a lost love. On the way another stop in Indiana at a Nursing home to meet up with a past love Jessie. Harry spoke fondly earlier to Ginger about there romance back in those early days. Grandson Norman Played by Josh Mostel plays Harry's Grandson and has some funny quips at condescending Aunt Shirley Mallard Played by Ellen Burstyn upon arrival at her bookshop /apartment. Norman is suppose to bring Harry back home but instead decides to join him in his beat up jalopy westward bound with violin. Norman decides to travel to a commune in Colorado with new companion Ginger. That leaves Harry alone in the dessert with his luggage and cat by his lonesome.The rest of the journey makes you wish for your free time ahead during your retirement.Meeting salesman, Native Americans, high priced hookers and any thing else Harry encounters makes for an enjoyable ride to the finish! So collect your social security check and with that money. Buy some popcorn and a beverage and you'll be singing Roamin in The Gloamin.
When his apartment building is torn down, a retired lifelong New Yorker (Art Carney) goes on a cross country odyssey with his beloved cat Tonto.Carney beat Albert Finney, Dustin Hoffman, Jack Nicholson and Al Pacino, for their performances in Murder on the Orient Express, Lenny, Chinatown and The Godfather Part II respectively, for the 1974 Academy Award for Best Actor. This is quite an achievement considering that of the five, "Harry and Tonto" is probably the least known. Now, that is not to say he did not deserve the award, but wow. In retrospect, it seems like the odd one out.There is something about the "road movie", a person going from one place to another and meeting interesting characters. if done right, it is always a simple but effective formula. This is a great one, worthy of being alongside the best.