''Next Stop, Greenwich Village'' is a 1976 American

comedy-drama Comedy drama, also known by the portmanteau ''dramedy'', is a genre of dramatic works that combines elements of comedy and drama. The modern, scripted-television examples tend to have more humorous bits than simple comic relief seen in a typical ...

film written and directed by

Paul Mazursky Irwin Lawrence "Paul" Mazursky (April 25, 1930 – June 30, 2014) was an American film director, screenwriter, and actor. Known for his dramatic comedies that often dealt with modern social issues, he was nominated for five Academy Awards: three ...

, featuring

Lenny Baker Leonard Joel Baker (January 17, 1945 – April 12, 1982) was an American actor of stage, film, and television, best known for his Golden-Globe-nominated performance in the 1976 Paul Mazursky film ''Next Stop, Greenwich Village'' and his 1977 T ...

Shelley Winters Shelley Winters (born Shirley Schrift; August 18, 1920 – January 14, 2006) was an American actress whose career spanned seven decades. She appeared in numerous films. She won Academy Awards for ''The Diary of Anne Frank'' (1959) and ''A Patch o ...

Ellen Greene Ellen Greene is an American actress and singer. She has had a long and varied career as a singer, particularly in cabaret, as an actress and singer in numerous stage productions, particularly musical theatre, as well as having performed in many ...

, Lois Smith, and

Christopher Walken Christopher Walken (born Ronald Walken; March 31, 1943) is an American actor. Prolific in film, television and on stage, Walken is the recipient of numerous accolades including an Academy Award, a BAFTA Award, and a Screen Actors Guild Awa ...

Plot

The film takes place in 1953. Larry Lipinsky is a 22-year old Jewish boy from Brownsville in Brooklyn, New York, who has dreams of stardom. He moves to

Greenwich Village Greenwich Village ( , , ) is a neighborhood on the west side of Lower Manhattan in New York City, bounded by 14th Street to the north, Broadway to the east, Houston Street to the south, and the Hudson River to the west. Greenwich Village ...

, much to the chagrin of his extremely over-protective mother. Larry ends up hanging out with an eccentric bunch of characters while waiting for his big break. He has a group of tight-knit friends, which includes a wacky girl named Connie; Anita, an emotionally distraught woman who constantly contemplates suicide; Robert, a young WASP who fancies himself a poet; and Bernstein, an African-American gay man. All the while, he tries to maintain a stormy relationship with Sarah, his girlfriend. This band of outsiders becomes Larry's new family as he struggles as an actor and works toward a break in Hollywood.

Cast

as Larry Lapinsky *

as Fay Lapinsky *

as Sarah * Lois Smith as Anita *

as Robert (as Chris Walken) *

Antonio Fargas Antonio Juan Fargas (born August 14, 1946) is an American actor known for his roles in 1970s blaxploitation and comedy movies, as well as his portrayal as Huggy Bear in the 1970s TV series ''Starsky & Hutch''. Early life Fargas was born in New Y ...

as Bernstein * Mike Kellin as Ben Lapinsky *

Lou Jacobi Lou Jacobi (born Louis Harold Jacobovitch; December 28, 1913October 23, 2009) was a Canadian character actor. Life and early career Jacobi was born Louis Harold Jacobovitch in Toronto, Canada, to Joseph and Fay Jacobovitch. Jacobi began acting ...

as Herb * Dori Brenner as Connie * Jeff Goldblum as Clyde Baxter * Rashel Novikoff as Mrs. Tupperman * Michael Egan as Herbert Berghof, Acting Coach *

Bill Murray William James Murray (born September 21, 1950) is an American actor and comedian. He is known for his deadpan delivery. He rose to fame on ''The National Lampoon Radio Hour'' (1973–1974) before becoming a national presence on '' Saturday Nig ...

(uncredited) as Nick Kessler * Joe Spinell as Cop At El Station *

Stuart Pankin Stuart Pankin (born April 8, 1946) is an American actor. He is known for his role as anchor Bob Charles in '' Not Necessarily the News'' and as the voice of Earl Sinclair in ''Dinosaurs''. Stuart is also known for his portrayal of Commander Edward ...

(uncredited) as Man At Party *

Vincent Schiavelli Vincent Andrew Schiavelli (; November 11, 1948 – December 26, 2005) was an American character actor noted for his work on stage, screen, and television. Described as an "instantly recognizable sad-faced actor", he was diagnosed with Marfan sy ...

(uncredited) as Man At Rent Party *

Rochelle Oliver Rochelle Oliver (born April 15, 1937) is an American acting coach and former actress. Career Oliver studied acting with Uta Hagen. Her stage appearances include ''The Brothers Karamazov'', ''The Cave Dwellers'', '' The Diary of Anne Frank'' an ...

as Dr. Marsha

Production

Filmmaker Mazursky had made his acting debut in

Stanley Kubrick Stanley Kubrick (; July 26, 1928 – March 7, 1999) was an American film director, producer, screenwriter, and photographer. Widely considered one of the greatest filmmakers of all time, his films, almost all of which are adaptations of nove ...

's 1953 film ''

Fear and Desire ''Fear and Desire'' is a 1952 American anti-war film directed, produced, and edited by Stanley Kubrick, and written by Howard Sackler. With a production team of fifteen people, the film, which originally premiered at the Venice Film Festival unde ...

'', and ''Next Stop, Greenwich Village'' is a semi-autobiographical account of Mazursky's early life as an actor. The film was entered into the 1976 Cannes Film Festival. Paul Mazursky discusses the making of this film in an interview published in ''Filmmakers Newsletter'' April, 1976, Volume 9, Number 6, pp. 30ff by Nicholas Pasquariello

Casting

This film is also notable for being

's first film, with Murray having a few minutes of screen time. Jeff Goldblum and

(credited as Chris Walken) were early in their careers.

Reception

Critical reception

The film generally was well received by critics. Rotten Tomatoes gave the film a "fresh" score of 84% based on 19 reviews.

References

External links

* * * {{Paul Mazursky 1976 films 1970s coming-of-age comedy-drama films 1970s romantic comedy-drama films 20th Century Fox films American coming-of-age comedy-drama films American romantic comedy-drama films Films about actors Films about Jews and Judaism Films directed by Paul Mazursky Films scored by Bill Conti Films set in 1953 Films set in Manhattan Films shot in New York City Greenwich Village 1970s English-language films 1970s American films