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in
Manhattan, unsuspecting heterosexual businessman Gaetano Proclo has taken refuge from his homicidal brother-in-law, mobster Carmine Vespucci – whose name he uses on the register. In the bathhouse, Gaetano stumbles across an assortment of oddball characters, including a rabid
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wrote, "I missed the play, but there is certainly something amiss with the film, and it appears to be
Richard Lester's direction, which fails to establish a rhythm perky enough to transform a farcical plot and set of conventions pleasurably from one medium to another."
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thought that unlike the play, "some binding poignancy is missing from the film" because
Richard Lester, as a heterosexual, was "making a picture about homosexuality from the outside." Nevertheless, she found many of the slapstick scenes "splendiferously funny."
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wrote that the film made the transition from the stage "surprisingly well, given the odds," with "two of the most flamboyantly entertaining and skillful comedy performances of the year" by Jack Weston and Rita Moreno. Gary Arnold of
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is either esoteric farce for the urban cosmopolite, or else one long tasteless and anachronistic
Fiftyish 'gay' joke. Richard Lester's latest effort is, more accurately, an uneven combination of both extremes."
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gave the film two-and-a-half stars out of four and wrote that it "never quite succeeds. Its ambition is clearly to be a screwball comedy in the tradition of the 1930s classics and such recent attempts as
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gave the film three stars out of four and wrote that "a good chunk of the film's humor seems forced... But 'The Ritz' grows on you as the film progresses."
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wrote that the film "does work to some degree" but the "acting is often more energetic than funny." Arthur D. Murphy of
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Rotten
Tomatoes reports that 67% of 12 surveyed critics gave the film a positive review; the average rating was 5.7/10.
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for her performance as Googie Gomez in the
Broadway production – and many others from the 1975 original cast, such as
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Arnold, Gary (October 19, 1976). "'The Ritz': All
Dressed Up, Going Nowhere".
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But it lacks the manic pacing, and the material grows thin." Richard Eder of
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nominations in the comedy category. It opened to mixed reviews.
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was released to DVD by Warner Home Video on
January 8, 2008.
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Gilliatt, Penelope (August 23, 1976). "The
Current Cinema".
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was used as one of the covers of its home video release.
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570:"Screen: An Unfunny Thing Happened to 'The Ritz'"
838:A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum
790:The Running Jumping & Standing Still Film
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436:wrote "Depending on where one's taste lies,
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1034:Films shot at Twickenham Film Studios
648:Champlin, Charles (October 6, 1976).
589:Murphy, Arthur D. (August 11, 1976).
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918:Butch and Sundance: The Early Days
230:is a 1976 British-American comedy
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610:Siskel, Gene (October 12, 1976).
568:Eder, Richard (August 13, 1976).
540:Ebert, Roger (October 12, 1976).
35:The theatrical release poster by
1029:Films directed by Richard Lester
358:Paul B. Price as Claude Perkins
822:The Knack ...and How to Get It
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1019:American films based on plays
650:"Gays and Gags in 'The Ritz'"
1049:1970s English-language films
958:The Return of the Musketeers
729:AFI Catalog of Feature Films
370:Christopher J. Brown as Duff
1014:American LGBT-related films
16:1976 film by Richard Lester
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1064:LGBTQ-related comedy films
1044:Films scored by Ken Thorne
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289:with sets designed by the
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181:August 12, 1976
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591:"Film Reviews: The Ritz"
994:1976 LGBT-related films
736:The Ritz
1009:American comedy films
806:The Mouse on the Moon
367:John Everson as Tiger
240:play of the same name
1054:1970s American films
1004:British comedy films
870:The Three Musketeers
862:The Bed Sitting Room
1059:1970s British films
886:The Four Musketeers
672:The Washington Post
470:The Washington Post
343:as Carmine Vespucci
76:by Terrence McNally
1039:Warner Bros. films
814:A Hard Day's Night
776:Films directed by
706:TCM Movie Database
575:The New York Times
427:The New York Times
283:Twickenham Studios
238:based on the 1975
999:1976 comedy films
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846:How I Won the War
655:Los Angeles Times
637:. pp. 70–71.
514:"The Ritz (1976)"
495:Continental Baths
463:Los Angeles Times
447:Penelope Gilliatt
407:Chicago Sun-Times
386:John Ratzenberger
353:F. Murray Abraham
331:as Gaetano Proclo
293:Philip Harrison.
264:F. Murray Abraham
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658:. Part IV: 1.
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599:. p. 19.
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291:art director
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276:Golden Globe
268:Kaye Ballard
234:directed by
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197:Running time
174:Release date
167:Warner Bros.
113:Kaye Ballard
85:Denis O'Dell
68:
18:
934:Superman II
894:Royal Flash
443:Gene Siskel
402:Roger Ebert
380:Bessie Love
335:Rita Moreno
329:Jack Weston
256:Jack Weston
248:Rita Moreno
138:Paul Wilson
103:Rita Moreno
98:Jack Weston
81:Produced by
45:Directed by
989:1976 films
983:Categories
878:Juggernaut
542:"The Ritz"
525:August 14,
501:References
382:as Maurine
312:go-go boys
252:Tony Award
246:. Actress
232:farce film
201:91 minutes
185:1976-08-12
157:Ken Thorne
147:John Bloom
55:Written by
394:Reception
388:as patron
374:Dave King
206:Countries
143:Edited by
74:1975 play
966:Get Back
910:The Ritz
723:The Ritz
717:AllMovie
712:The Ritz
701:The Ritz
690:The Ritz
489:See also
483:The Ritz
438:The Ritz
355:as Chris
227:The Ritz
216:Language
153:Music by
91:Starring
70:The Ritz
65:Based on
24:The Ritz
854:Petulia
739:at the
726:at the
704:at the
596:Variety
460:of the
433:Variety
404:of the
219:English
183: (
969:(1991)
961:(1989)
953:(1984)
945:(1983)
937:(1980)
929:(1979)
921:(1979)
913:(1976)
905:(1976)
897:(1975)
889:(1974)
881:(1974)
873:(1973)
865:(1969)
857:(1968)
849:(1967)
841:(1966)
833:(1965)
825:(1965)
817:(1964)
809:(1963)
801:(1962)
793:(1959)
287:London
262:, and
830:Help!
301:In a
926:Cuba
695:IMDb
555:2018
527:2023
417:and
322:Cast
316:drag
297:Plot
270:and
715:at
693:at
478:DVD
449:of
285:in
242:by
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258:,
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187:)
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
