''Mister Buddwing'' is a 1966 American film drama directed by

Delbert Mann Delbert Martin Mann Jr. (January 30, 1920 – November 11, 2007) was an American television and film director. He won the Academy Award for Best Director for the film '' Marty'' (1955), adapted from a 1953 teleplay of the same name which he ...

and starring

James Garner James Garner (born James Scott Bumgarner; April 7, 1928 – July 19, 2014) was an American actor. He played leading roles in more than 50 theatrical films, including ''The Great Escape (film), The Great Escape'' (1963) with Steve McQueen; Paddy ...

. The film depicts a well-dressed man who finds himself on a bench in

Central Park Central Park is an urban park in New York City located between the Upper West and Upper East Sides of Manhattan. It is the fifth-largest park in the city, covering . It is the most visited urban park in the United States, with an estimated ...

with no idea who he is. He proceeds to wander around

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

meeting women ( Jean Simmons, Suzanne Pleshette,

Katharine Ross Katharine Juliet Ross (born January 29, 1940) is an American film, stage, and television actress. Her accolades include one Academy Award nomination, one BAFTA Award, and two Golden Globe Awards. A native of Los Angeles, Ross spent most of her ...

Angela Lansbury Dame Angela Brigid Lansbury (October 16, 1925 – October 11, 2022) was an Irish-British and American film, stage, and television actress. Her career spanned eight decades, much of it in the United States, and her work received a great deal ...

) as he desperately tries to figure out his own identity. Based on the 1964 novel ''Buddwing'' by Evan Hunter, the evocatively shot black-and-white drama was written by

Dale Wasserman Dale Wasserman (November 2, 1914 – December 21, 2008) was an American playwright, perhaps best known for his book for Man of La Mancha. Early life Dale Wasserman was born in Rhinelander, Wisconsin, the child of Russian immigrants Samuel ...

and the lively jazz musical score was written by

Kenyon Hopkins Kenyon Hopkins (January 15, 1912 – April 7, 1983) was an American composer who composed many film scores in a jazz idiom. He was once called "one of jazz's great composers and arrangers." Biography Early life and education Hopkins was ...

. In his memoirs, Garner said "I'd summarize the plot but to this day I have no clue what it is. Worst picture I ever made. What were they thinking? What was I thinking?"

Plot

A man (

) wakes up on a New York park bench to find that his mind is a total blank. He has no identification on him, just a slip of paper in his pocket with a phone number on it. The number leads to Gloria (

), who doesn't recognize him but gives him money out of pity. For the purpose of identifying himself to people he meets, he invents a name, spotting a

Budweiser Budweiser () is an American-style pale lager, part of AB InBev. Introduced in 1876 by Carl Conrad & Co. of St. Louis, Missouri, Budweiser has become a large selling beer company in the United States. ''Budweiser'' may also refer to an unrela ...

beer truck go by just as a jet plane wings by overhead. Now calling himself Buddwing, he spots a woman on the street he thinks he knows and calls out "Grace!" Turns out her name is Janet (

), but a flashback of a romance with her from college days goes through Buddwing's mind. He experiences similar flashbacks after meeting Fiddle Corwin ( Suzanne Pleshette), who is an actress. They share a romantic fling, but images of her contemplating suicide flash through his mind. The Blonde, a socialite, is on a

scavenger hunt ''Scavenger Hunt'' is a 1979 American comedy film with a large ensemble cast which includes Richard Benjamin, James Coco, Scatman Crothers, Ruth Gordon, Cloris Leachman, Cleavon Little, Roddy McDowall, Robert Morley, Richard Mulligan, Tony R ...

, just for kicks. Buddwing accompanies her to

Harlem Harlem is a neighborhood in Upper Manhattan, New York City. It is bounded roughly by the Hudson River on the west; the Harlem River and 155th Street on the north; Fifth Avenue on the east; and Central Park North on the south. The greater Ha ...

, where her goal is to get into a

dice game Dice games are games that use or incorporate one or more dice as their sole or central component, usually as a random device. The following are games which largely, if not entirely, depend on dice: Collectible dice games Patterned after the su ...

. While there, a passing remark jogs Buddwing's memory. He recovers from the shock of an incident involving his wife and a pregnancy, ultimately remembering who and where he was before his blackout.

Cast

as Mr. Buddwing * Jean Simmons as The Blonde * Suzanne Pleshette as Fiddle Corwin *

as Janet *

as Gloria * George Voskovec as Shabby Old Man * Jack Gilford as Mr. Schwartz *

Joe Mantell Joseph Mantell (né Mantel; December 21, 1915 – September 29, 2010) was an American film and television actor. He was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role as best friend Angie in the 1955 film '' Marty'', which ...

as 1st cab driver *

Billy Halop William Halop (February 11, 1920 – November 9, 1976) was an American actor. Early life Halop was born to Benjamin Cohen Halop and Lucille Elizabeth Halop on February 11, 1920. Halop came from a theatrical family; his mother was a dancer, and ...

as 2nd cab driver * Raymond St. Jacques as Hank *

Ken Lynch Kenneth E. Lynch (July 15, 1910 – February 13, 1990) was an American radio, film, and television actor with more than 180 credits to his name. He was generally known for portraying law enforcement officers and detectives. He may have been bes ...

as Dan *

Nichelle Nichols Nichelle Nichols (, born Grace Dell Nichols; December 28, 1932 – July 30, 2022) was an American actress, singer, and dancer best known for her portrayal of Nyota Uhura in ''Star Trek'' and its film sequels. Nichols' portrayal of Uhura was g ...

as Dice Player *

Charles Seel Charles Seel (April 29, 1897 – April 19, 1980) was an American actor. He acted in over 30 films from 1938 to 1974 and appeared in over one hundred titles for television from 1952 to 1974. He was also credited as Charles Seal and Charles F. S ...

as Printer

Awards and honors

The film was nominated for two

Academy Awards The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

; for Best Costume Design, Black and White ( Helen Rose) and Best Art Direction, Black and White ( George Davis, Paul Groesse, Henry Grace, and Hugh Hunt).

Notes

External links

* * * *
James Garner Interview on the ''Charlie Rose Show''

James Garner interview
at Archive of American Television {{Ed McBain 1966 films American drama films American black-and-white films 1966 drama films Films about amnesia Films based on American novels Films directed by Delbert Mann Films scored by Kenyon Hopkins Films set in New York City Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer films 1960s English-language films 1960s American films

Plot

Cast

Awards and honors

See also

Notes

External links