Editing Harry and Tonto

{{Short description|1974 film by Paul Mazursky}}
{{Use American English|date=January 2025}}
{{Infobox film
| name           = Harry and Tonto
| image          = Harryandtontoposter.jpg
| caption        = Early theatrical release poster
| director       = [[Paul Mazursky]]
| producer       = Paul Mazursky
| writer         = Paul Mazursky<br />[[Josh Greenfeld]]
| starring       = [[Art Carney]]<br />[[Herbert Berghof]]<br />[[Philip Bruns]]<br />[[Ellen Burstyn]]<br />[[Geraldine Fitzgerald]]<br />[[Larry Hagman]]<br />[[Chief Dan George]]<br />[[Melanie Mayron]]<br />[[Josh Mostel|Joshua Mostel]]<br />[[Arthur Hunnicutt]]<br />[[Barbara Rhoades]]<br />[[Cliff DeYoung]]<br />[[Avon Long]]<br />Tonto (cat)
| music          = [[Bill Conti]]
| cinematography = [[Michael Butler (cinematographer)|Michael Butler]]
| editing        = [[Richard Halsey]]
| distributor    = [[20th Century-Fox]]
| released       = {{Film date|1974|8|12}}
| runtime        = 115 minutes
| country        = United States
| language       = English
| budget         = $980,000
| gross          = $4.6 million {{small|(rentals)}}<ref>Solomon, Aubrey. ''Twentieth Century Fox: A Corporate and Financial History (The Scarecrow Filmmakers Series)''. Lanham, Maryland: Scarecrow Press, 1989. {{ISBN|978-0-8108-4244-1}}. p174.</ref>

}}
'''''Harry and Tonto''''' is a 1974 American [[Road movie|road]] [[Comedy drama|comedy-drama]] directed by [[Paul Mazursky]] and written by Mazursky and [[Josh Greenfeld]]. The film follows a man named Harry who travels cross-country with his pet cat, Tonto. [[Art Carney]] won the [[Academy Award for Best Actor]] for his performance as Harry.

==Plot==
Harry Coombes is an elderly widower and retired teacher who is evicted from his [[Upper West Side]] apartment in [[New York City]] because his building will be razed to build a parking lot. He initially stays with his eldest son Burt's family in the suburbs, but chooses to travel cross-country with his pet cat, Tonto.

Initially planning to fly to [[Chicago]], Harry has a problem with airport security checking his cat carrier. He instead boards a long-distance bus. He disembarks in the countryside so that Tonto can urinate, and the angry bus driver leaves him there. Harry buys a 1955 [[Chevrolet Bel Air]],<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.imcdb.org/vehicle_303014-Chevrolet-Bel-Air-1955.html |title=IMCDb.org: 1955 Chevrolet Bel Air in "Harry and Tonto, 1974" |access-date=2018-03-07 |archive-date=2018-03-08 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180308165201/http://www.imcdb.org/vehicle_303014-Chevrolet-Bel-Air-1955.html |url-status=live }}</ref> although his driver's license has expired. During his episodic journey, he befriends a Bible-quoting [[hitchhiker]] and an underage runaway named Ginger, with whom he visits an old sweetheart in a retirement home who barely remembers him. He visits his daughter, a bookstore owner in Chicago, with whom he shares a prickly but mutually admiring relationship. Harry's shy grandson and Ginger depart for a commune in Colorado in Harry's car, with his blessing, so he and Tonto are on their own again.

Continuing west, Harry accepts a ride with a health-food salesman, meets an attractive hooker on his way to [[Las Vegas]] and spends a night in jail with a friendly Indian. He eventually arrives in [[Los Angeles]], where he stays with his youngest son Eddie, a financially strapped real-estate salesman, before finding a place of his own with Tonto.

After Tonto dies, Harry is living alone, making new friends and enjoying the climate. He sees a young cat who looks exactly like Tonto and follows it to the beach, where a child is building a sand castle.

==Cast==
{{Cast listing|
* [[Art Carney]] as Harry Coombes
* Tonto as Tonto
* [[Herbert Berghof]] as Jacob Rivetowski
* [[Ellen Burstyn]] as Shirley Mallard
* [[Geraldine Fitzgerald]] as Jessie Stone
* [[Larry Hagman]] as Eddie Coombes
* [[Chief Dan George]] as Sam Two Feathers
* [[Melanie Mayron]] as Ginger
* [[Josh Mostel|Joshua Mostel]] as Norman Coombes
* [[Arthur Hunnicutt]] as Wade Carlton
* [[Barbara Rhoades]] as Stephanie, Hooker
* [[Cliff DeYoung]] as Burt Coombes Jr.
* [[Phil Bruns]] as Burt Coombes
* Dolly Jonah as Elaine Coombes
* [[Avon Long]] as Leroy
* [[Louis Guss]] as Dominic Santosi
* [[Cliff Norton]] as Nick Lewis, Used Car Dealer
* Rashel Novikoff as Mrs. Rothman
* [[Michael Butler (producer)|Michael Butler]] as Hitchhiker
* [[René Enríquez]] as Jesús, Deli Manager
* [[Michael McCleery]] as Mugger
* Muriel Beerman as Taxi Driver
}}
[[Sally Marr]], mother of [[Lenny Bruce]], also appears toward the end of the film.

==Production==
Mazursky wanted [[James Cagney]] for the role of Harry, but Cagney declined the offer, as did [[Laurence Olivier]] and [[Cary Grant]]. Mazursky then saw Art Carney in a play and approached him. Carney initially declined as well, in part because he was about 15 years younger than Harry, but he eventually agreed.<ref name="afi">{{cite web |url=http://catalog.afi.com/Film/55233-HARRY-AND-TONTO?sid=d67e7904-7a08-4f0a-a4b1-56b0bdbcce03&sr=3.0097103&cp=1&pos=0#1 |title=Harry and Tonto - History |website=[[AFI Catalog of Feature Films]] |access-date=November 23, 2018 |archive-date=November 24, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181124105907/http://catalog.afi.com/Film/55233-HARRY-AND-TONTO?sid=d67e7904-7a08-4f0a-a4b1-56b0bdbcce03&sr=3.0097103&cp=1&pos=0#1 |url-status=live }}</ref> Cast as an elderly man, Carney, who was born in 1918, was actually only 13 years older than the actors who played his sons, [[Larry Hagman]] and [[Phil Bruns]], and 14 years older than [[Ellen Burstyn]], who played his daughter. Thanks to the makeup of Emmy-winning artist Bob O'Bradovich, Carney was transformed into the elderly Harry.

Carney did not like cats prior to his work in ''Harry and Tonto'', but he established a good relationship with the cats in the film.<ref>{{cite magazine | url = http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,917351,00.html | title = Show Business: Art Who? | magazine = [[Time (magazine)|Time]] | date = April 21, 1975 | access-date = October 29, 2007 | archive-date = January 22, 2011 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110122073428/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,917351,00.html | url-status = dead }}</ref> After filming, the animal wrangler offered Mazursky one of the two cats who played Tonto, but Mazursky declined because his wife had become allergic to them.

Muriel Beerman, who plays the cab driver, was a talkative part-time taxi driver who had driven Mazursky to the casting office one day.

==Reception==
[[Nora Sayre]] of ''[[The New York Times]]'' wrote that ''Harry and Tonto'' had been "directed at far too slow a pace, which means that the comic possibilities and the social comment have been diminished. The muted style robs the picture of the point it's meant to make: that imaginative energy transcends the generations."<ref>{{cite journal |last=Sayre |first=Nora |author-link=Nora Sayre |date=August 13, 1974 |title=' Harry and Tonto,' Film Of Independence at 72 |journal=[[The New York Times]] |page=24 }}</ref>

''[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]'' called the film "pleasant, if commercially unexciting," with an "excellent" performance by Carney.<ref>{{cite journal |date=July 31, 1974 |title=Harry And Tonto |journal=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]] |page=18}}</ref>

[[Roger Ebert]] awarded the film 4 stars out of 4, praising Carney for a performance that was "totally original, all his own, and worthy of the Academy Award it received."<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/harry-and-tonto-1974 |title=Harry and Tonto |last=Ebert |first=Roger |author-link=Roger Ebert |website=[[RogerEbert.com]] |access-date=November 23, 2018 |archive-date=November 24, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181124105804/https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/harry-and-tonto-1974 |url-status=live }}</ref>

[[Gene Siskel]] of the ''[[Chicago Tribune]]'' awarded 3.5 out of 4 stars, calling it "an extremely funny movie without a single gag or a [[Bob Hope]] punch line. Rather, it's crammed full of believable people who say the kind of screwball things that make your head spin and smile."<ref>[[Gene Siskel|Siskel, Gene]] (October 21, 1974). "Harry and Tonto". ''[[Chicago Tribune]]''. Section 3, p. 17.</ref>

In ''[[The Monthly Film Bulletin]]'', [[Jonathan Rosenbaum]] wrote that the film "presumes to say something smart and 'sophisticated' about everything from urban renewal to [[Carlos Castaneda]]'s medicinal lore, along with a continuous lesson about growing old gracefully that is dished out at every opportunity; yet it winds up telling us virtually nothing at all."<ref>{{cite journal |last=Rosenbaum |first=Jonathan |author-link=Jonathan Rosenbaum |date=January 1975 |title=Harry and Tonto |journal=[[The Monthly Film Bulletin]] |volume=42 |issue=492 |page=10 }}</ref>

The film holds a score of 88% on [[Rotten Tomatoes]] based on 32 reviews, with an average grade of 7.3 of 10. The critics' consensus states: "Making his sorely belated debut in a big-screen leading role, Art Carney brings ''Harry and Tonto'' brilliantly to life."<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/harry_and_tonto/ |title=Harry and Tonto |website=[[Rotten Tomatoes]] |access-date=July 19, 2021 |archive-date=May 2, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190502155655/https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/harry_and_tonto |url-status=live }}</ref>

== Release ==

=== Home media ===
The film was released in [[VHS]] format in [[1984]] by [[Key Video]] and on [[DVD]] in 2005 by [[20th Century Home Entertainment|Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Amazon.com: Harry and Tonto : Art Carney, Ellen Burstyn, René Enríquez, Herbert Berghof, Michael McCleery, Avon Long, Rashel Novikoff, Philip Bruns, Cliff De Young, Josh Mostel, Dolly Jonah, Sybil Bowan, Michael C. Butler, Paul Mazursky, Richard Halsey, Anthony Ray, Paul Mazursky, Josh Greenfeld, Paul Mazursky: Movies & TV |url=https://www.amazon.com/Harry-Tonto-Art-Carney/dp/B0009X75O2 |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20210826140637/https://www.amazon.com/Harry-Tonto-Art-Carney/dp/B0009X75O2 |archive-date=2021-08-26 |access-date=2025-03-04 |website=www.amazon.com |language=en-us}}</ref>

== Awards and nominations ==
{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders"
|-
! Award
! Category
! Nominee(s)
! Result
! Ref.
|-
| rowspan="2"| [[47th Academy Awards|Academy Awards]]
| [[Academy Award for Best Actor|Best Actor]]
| [[Art Carney]]
| {{won}}
| align="center" rowspan="2"| <ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1975 |title=The 47th Academy Awards (1975) Nominees and Winners |publisher=[[Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences]] |access-date=October 2, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402004005/http://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1975 |archive-date=April 2, 2015 |url-status=live}}</ref>
|-
| [[Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay|Best Original Screenplay]]
| [[Paul Mazursky]] and [[Josh Greenfeld]]
| {{nom}}
|-
| rowspan="2"| [[32nd Golden Globe Awards|Golden Globe Awards]]
| colspan="2"| [[Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy|Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy]]
| {{nom}}
| align="center" rowspan="2"| <ref>{{cite web |url=https://goldenglobes.com/film/harry-tonto/ |title=Harry & Tonto |publisher=[[Golden Globe Awards]] |access-date=August 18, 2024}}</ref>
|-
| [[Golden Globe Award for Best Actor in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy|Best Actor in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy]]
| Art Carney
| {{won}}
|-
| [[Kinema Junpo|Kinema Junpo Awards]]
| Best Foreign Language Film
| Paul Mazursky
| {{won}}
| align="center"| 
|-
| [[National Board of Review Awards 1974|National Board of Review Awards]]
| colspan="2"| [[National Board of Review: Top Ten Films|Top Ten Films]]
| {{draw|5th Place}}
| align="center"| <ref>{{cite web |url=https://nationalboardofreview.org/award-years/1974/ |title=1974 Award Winners |publisher=[[National Board of Review]] |access-date=August 18, 2024}}</ref>
|-
| [[PATSY Award]]s
| Best Animal Performer in a Motion Picture
| Tonto the Cat
| {{won}}
| align="center"| <ref name="afi" />
|-
| [[27th Writers Guild of America Awards|Writers Guild of America Awards]]
| [[Writers Guild of America Award for Best Original Screenplay|Best Drama – Written Directly for the Screen]]
| Paul Mazursky and Josh Greenfeld
| {{nom}}
| align="center"| <ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.wga.org/awards/awardssub.aspx?id=1551 |title=Awards Winners |date= |publisher=[[Writers Guild of America Awards]] |archive-url=https://archive.today/20121205095022/http://www.wga.org/awards/awardssub.aspx?id=1551 |archive-date=December 5, 2012 |access-date=June 6, 2010}}</ref>
|}

==See also==
* [[List of American films of 1974]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* {{IMDb title|id=0071598}}
* {{TCMDb title|77438}}
* {{AFI film|55233}}
* {{rotten-tomatoes|id=harry_and_tonto}}

{{Paul Mazursky}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Harry And Tonto}}
[[Category:1970s road comedy-drama films]]
[[Category:1974 comedy-drama films]]
[[Category:1974 films]]
[[Category:20th Century Fox films]]
[[Category:American road comedy-drama films]]
[[Category:1970s English-language films]]
[[Category:Fictional duos]]
[[Category:Films about cats]]
[[Category:Films about old age]]
[[Category:Films directed by Paul Mazursky]]
[[Category:Films featuring a Best Actor Academy Award–winning performance]]
[[Category:Films featuring a Best Musical or Comedy Actor Golden Globe winning performance]]
[[Category:Films scored by Bill Conti]]
[[Category:Films shot in California]]
[[Category:Films shot in Illinois]]
[[Category:Films shot in New York City]]
[[Category:Films shot in New York (state)]]
[[Category:Films shot in the Las Vegas Valley]]
[[Category:1970s American films]]
[[Category:English-language road comedy-drama films]]