Film Night in the Park 2001
Walter Matthau
It's very hard to know the facts when you try to tell the life story of
Walter Matthau. For one thing, most biographies will tell you he was born
Walter Matuschanskayasky, and in fact, he once took a credit that way (in the
movie Earthquake). Every obituary you'll find of him will list that
as his real name because nobody does their homework, but the fact is, Matthau
was fond of making up names, and that particular tongue twister was probably
completely unknown to his father. Walter Matthau was born in New York
City, probably as Walter Matthow, and when he applied for his social security
card at the age of 17, he randomly decided to give his middle name as
"Foghorn." That stuck, too. After all, what's in a name?
Matthau really did make up his life as he went along. He told an
interviewer with a completely straight face that his father (who was in reality
a street vendor in Kiev) was an Orthodox priest in Czarist Russia, who was
removed from power after he claimed the Pope was infallible. It was
printed as fact in a major magazine article. No one ever knew when he was
"having them on."
In 1959, Matthau married his second wife, Carol Marcus, who was considered by
many to be the model for the character of Holly Golightly, in Truman Capote's Breakfast
at Tiffany's (although Doris Lilly, who also lived in New York at the time,
and was the author of How to Marry a Millionaire, also claims that
honor). Matthau once told an interviewer that Carol's full name was
Carol Wellington-Smythe Marcus, just to make her sound more aristocratic.
She co-starred with Matthau in the only film he ever directed, the 1960 Gangster
Story, a fairly hard to find low-budget film which got less than sterling
reviews.
We'll be showing just a few of Matthau's star turns in our tribute this summer.
Of course, the ultimate Matthau role is as Oscar Madison in The Odd Couple, so
don't miss that. Originally, the roles were to be reversed, with Matthau
playing Felix and Jack Lemmon playing Oscar. One can hardly imagine it.
In fact, the role of Oscar seems typecast for Matthau, who in real life was a
chronic smoker, ate an atrocious diet his entire life, and was a notoriously
addicted gambler -- he claimed to have lost well over $5 million through
gambling just by the time he'd reached middle age, and once, in the course of
one or two weeks had lost $183,000 just betting on spring training baseball
games. He suffered his first heart attack in the mid-1960s and
ultimately died from his bad health habits. "Every actor looks all
his life for a part that will combine his talents with his personality,"
Matthau has been quoted as saying. "The Odd Couple was mine.
That was the plutonium I needed. It all started happening after
that."
Both Charade and The Fortune Cookie feature wonderful Matthau
performances. In Charade, he is Hamilton Bartholomew, the detective
who seeks to help Audrey Hepburn untangle the web of intrigue in which she finds
herself. Do we trust him? Should she trust him? In
Billy Wilder's frenetic farce, The Fortune Cookie, he's one of the most
lovably infuriating characters in all comic film, Willie Gingrich, the original
sleazy lawyer we all want on our side or so we think at first. And
you thought your cousin Vinny was a good lawyer? You should see this guy!
(And you should see Matthau's Oscar winning performance in the role!)
And for a just plain winning performance, see him in the film that really
established the mold of kid sports films that were to follow -- none as good -- The
Bad News Bears, directed by Michael Ritchie (The Candidate, Fletch,, Downhill
Racer, Smile), who himself just died a few weeks ago (April 16,
2001).
Matthau never liked being called a "comedic" actor. To him,
actors were actors. He took his acting seriously. He created
characters, whether it was Kotch or Pete in Pete 'n' Tillie, or
Doc in Ensign Pulver, or multiple characters in Neil Simon's Plaza
Suite and California Suite. To see some of his more serious
roles in some great movies, catch him this summer in the park as Sheriff Johnson
in Lonely are the Brave. Or rent The Taking of Pelham 1-2-3,
or Don Siegel's taut suspense film, Charlie Varrick, or catch him as Ted
Caselle, the ill-fated detective in Edward Dmytryk's great 60s post-noir
thriller, Mirage. Better still, for a real acting lesson, watch how
he plays the arch-conservative hawk Groeteschele in Sidney Lumet's masterpiece
(a textbook on film direction), Fail Safe. You'll never think of
Matthau as "just" a comedic actor again.
And yet it's hard not to think of Oscar Madison in The Odd Couple, and
Max Goldman in Grumpy Old Menž and Willy Clark in The Sunshine Boys,
and Horace Vandergelder in Hello Dolly! and Walter Burns in The Front
Page. The plain fact is, Matthau was memorable, whatever he did,
because he was Matthau. The face, the look, the posture, the voice -- some
actors have such strong personalities, their own identities never get submerged
into the character. You always know you're watching that actor, to
the point of distraction. Matthau had that wonderful ability to balance
both: you completely believed in the character, but somehow he was still always
Matthau too. He was an original. That was his genius.
Matthau Salute Movies
CHARADE THE FORTUNE COOKIE LONELY ARE THE BRAVE THE ODD COUPLE
Film Night suggests that you arrive 1 hour before Showtime. There is music and pre-show entertainment, and don't forget the picnic dinner. Pillows, sleeping bags, blankets, backrests and LOW chairs are recommended. People arriving with TALL chairs (more than 8 inches off the ground) may be asked to move to the sides of the viewing area. Film Night suggests leaving pets at home, as they displace people at our popular screenings. Food and beverage is welcome, we just ask that you please clean up after yourself. ENJOY!
Film Night in the Park is a project of the A.P.P.L.E. FamilyWorks, in partnership with the CAMPAIGN FOR A HEALTHIER COMMUNITY FOR CHILDREN. Video Projection provided by SHARP ELECTRONICS.