Editing Walter Matthau (section)

===1970s===
It was during this time that Matthau began to appear in more comedy films, including the [[black comedy]] ''[[A New Leaf (film)|A New Leaf]]'' (1971) and the comedy-drama ''[[Pete 'n' Tillie]]'' (1972). Oscar nominations would come his way again for ''[[Kotch]]'' (1971), directed by Lemmon, and ''[[The Sunshine Boys (1975 film)|The Sunshine Boys]]'' (1975). The latter was another adaptation of a Neil Simon stage play—this time about a pair of former [[vaudeville]] stars. For the latter, he won a [[Golden Globe Award|Golden Globe award]] for Best Actor in a Musical or Comedy, tying with his co-star [[George Burns]]. Meanwhile, their other co-star, [[Richard Benjamin]], won a supporting award.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Walter Matthau |url=https://www.goldenglobes.com/person/walter-matthau |access-date=2022-07-25 |website=www.goldenglobes.com}}</ref>

Matthau played three roles in the film version of Simon's ''[[Plaza Suite (film)|Plaza Suite]]'' (1971), and was in the cast of its followup ''[[California Suite (film)|California Suite]]'' (1978). He starred in ''[[House Calls (1978 film)|House Calls]]'' (1978), sharing the screen with [[Glenda Jackson]] and his ''Odd Couple'' stage partner, Carney.

Matthau starred in three crime dramas in the mid-1970s: as a detective investigating a mass murder on a bus in ''[[The Laughing Policeman (film)|The Laughing Policeman]]'' (1973), as a bank robber on the run from the Mafia and the law in ''[[Charley Varrick]]'' (also 1973) and as a New York transit official in the action-thriller ''[[The Taking of Pelham One Two Three (1974 film)|The Taking of Pelham One Two Three]]'' (1974). He also reunited with Lemmon in the black comedy-drama ''[[The Front Page (1974 film)|The Front Page]]'' (1974). A change of pace about misfits and delinquents on a [[Little League]] baseball team turned out to be a solid hit when Matthau starred as coach Morris Buttermaker in the comedy ''[[The Bad News Bears]]'' (1976).