''Perfect Gentlemen'' is a 1978 American

made-for-television A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie or TV film/movie, is a feature-length film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a television network, in contrast to theatrical films made fo ...

comedy Comedy is a genre of fiction that consists of discourses or works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. The term o ...

crime film starring Lauren Bacall (in her television film debut),

Ruth Gordon Ruth Gordon Jones (October 30, 1896 – August 28, 1985) was an American actress, screenwriter, and playwright. She began her career performing on Broadway at age 19. Known for her nasal voice and distinctive personality, Gordon gained internati ...

Sandy Dennis Sandra Dale Dennis (April 27, 1937 – March 2, 1992) was an American actress. She made her film debut in the drama ''Splendor in the Grass'' (1961). For her performance in the comedy-drama film ''Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?'' (1966), she rec ...

and Lisa Pelikan. The film, produced and directed by Jackie Cooper from a screenplay written by

Nora Ephron Nora Ephron ( ; May 19, 1941 – June 26, 2012) was an American journalist, writer, and filmmaker. She is best known for her romantic comedy films and was nominated three times for the Writers Guild of America Award and the Academy Award for ...

, was filmed on location in Claremont, California and

Hollywood, California Hollywood is a neighborhood in the central region of Los Angeles, California. Its name has come to be a shorthand reference for the U.S. film industry and the people associated with it. Many notable film studios, such as Columbia Pictures, ...

from October 27, 1977 to November 1977. It originally premiered on March 14, 1978 on

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...

Plot

Three women with totally different backgrounds who share a common bond: each needs a large sum of money and each has a husband serving time at a maximum security prison. Lizzie Martin (Lauren Bacall) has been instructed by her husband Ed (Robert Alda) to deliver a $1 million bribe in order to get him an instant parole; however, when she learns he has been having an affair with his secretary, Lizzie wants to disappear but fears for her life if she doesn't carry out his instructions. Sophie Rosenman (Sandy Dennis) needs money to save the family's bankrupt delicatessen; Annie Cavagnaro (Lisa Pelikan) needs money because she's pregnant, and Lizzie could use the funds to escape from Ed, so the three women devise an elaborate scheme to deliver the bribe money and then steal it back. Mrs. Cavagnaro (Ruth Gordon), Annie's mother-in-law, joins the trio when they discover they need her because of her safe-cracking expertise.

Cast

* Lauren Bacall as Lizzie Martin *

as Mrs. Cavagnaro *

as Sophie Rosenman * Lisa Pelikan as Annie Cavagnaro *

Robert Alda Robert Alda (born Alfonso Giuseppe Giovanni Roberto D'Abruzzo; February 26, 1914 – May 3, 1986) was an Italian-American theatrical and film actor, a singer, and a dancer. He was the father of actors Alan and Antony Alda. Alda was featured in a ...

as Ed Martin * Stephen Pearlman as Murray Rosenman * Steve Allie Collura as Vinnie Cavagnaro *

Dick O'Neill Richard Francis O'Neill (August 29, 1928 – November 17, 1998) was an American stage, film and television character actor best known for playing Irish cops, fathers, judges and army generals. He began his acting career as an original company ...

as Mr. Appleton

References

External links

* * *
''Perfect Gentlemen''
at

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

1978 television films 1978 films 1970s crime comedy-drama films 1970s heist films American crime comedy-drama films American heist films CBS network films Films with screenplays by Nora Ephron Films set in Los Angeles Films shot in Los Angeles Films directed by Jackie Cooper American comedy-drama television films 1970s English-language films 1970s American films {{US-tv-film-stub