''Arthur ''is a 1981 American
romantic comedy
Romantic comedy (also known as romcom or rom-com) is a sub-genre of comedy and Romance novel, romance fiction, focusing on lighthearted, humorous plot lines centered on romantic ideas, such as how true love is able to surmount all obstacles. Ro ...
film written and directed by
Steve Gordon. It stars
Dudley Moore as Arthur Bach, a drunken New York City millionaire who is on the brink of an
arranged marriage
Arranged marriage is a type of Marriage, marital union where the bride and groom are primarily selected by individuals other than the couple themselves, particularly by family members such as the parents. In some cultures, a professional matchmaki ...
to a wealthy heiress but ends up falling for a common working-class young woman from
Queens
Queens is the largest by area of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. Located near the western end of Long Island, it is bordered by the ...
. It was the sole film directed by Gordon, who died in 1982 of a heart attack at age 44.
The film earned over $95 million domestically, making it the
fourth highest-grossing film of 1981. Its title song, "
Arthur's Theme (Best That You Can Do)", won the
Academy Award for Best Original Song
The Academy Award for Best Original Song is one of the awards given annually to people working in the Film industry, motion picture industry by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). It is presented to the ''songwriters'' who h ...
. Co-written by
Christopher Cross
Christopher Cross (born Christopher Charles Geppert; May 3, 1951) is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist.
He won five Grammy Awards for his eponymous debut album released in 1979. The singles "Sailing" (1979), and " Arthur's Theme (Best ...
,
Burt Bacharach
Burt Freeman Bacharach ( ; May 12, 1928 – February 8, 2023) was an American composer, songwriter, record producer, and pianist who is widely regarded as one of the most important and influential figures of 20th-century popular music. Start ...
,
Carole Bayer Sager
Carole Bayer Sager (born Carol Bayer on March 8, 1944) is an American lyricist, singer, songwriter, and painter.
Early life and career
Carole Bayer was born in New York City, to Anita Nathan Bayer and Eli Bayer. Her family was Jewish. She gradu ...
, and
Peter Allen, it was performed by Cross.
Sir John Gielgud also won the Academy Award for
Best Supporting Actor. It was nominated for two other
Academy Awards
The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence in ...
for
Best Actor for Moore and
Best Original Screenplay
The Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay is the Academy Award (also known as an Oscar) for the best screenplay not based upon previously published material. It was created in 1940 as a separate writing award from the Academy Award for Best ...
for Gordon.
Plot
Arthur Bach is a spoiled, alcoholic man-child in
New York City
New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
, who likes to be driven in his chauffeured
Rolls-Royce Silver Wraith limousine through
Central Park
Central Park is an urban park between the Upper West Side and Upper East Side neighborhoods of Manhattan in New York City, and the first landscaped park in the United States. It is the List of parks in New York City, sixth-largest park in the ...
. Arthur is heir to a portion of his family's vast fortune, but only if he marries the
upper-class
Upper class in modern societies is the social class composed of people who hold the highest social status. Usually, these are the wealthiest members of class society, and wield the greatest political power. According to this view, the upper cla ...
Susan Johnson, the daughter of a business acquaintance of his father. He does not love Susan, but his family feels that she will make him finally grow up. During a shopping trip in
Manhattan
Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...
, accompanied by his valet, Hobson, Arthur witnesses a young woman, Linda Marolla,
shoplifting
Shoplifting (also known as shop theft, shop fraud, retail theft, or retail fraud) is the theft of goods from a retail establishment during business hours. The terms ''shoplifting'' and ''shoplifter'' are not usually defined in law, and genera ...
a necktie. He intercedes with the store security guard on her behalf, and later asks her for a date. Despite his attraction to her, Arthur remains pressured by his family to marry Susan.
While visiting his grandmother, Martha, Arthur shares his feelings for Linda, but is warned again that he will be
disowned if he does not marry Susan. Hobson, who has been more like a father to him than Arthur's real father, realizes that Arthur is beginning to grow up, and secretly encourages Linda to attend Arthur's engagement party. Hobson confides in Linda that he senses Arthur loves her. Linda crashes the party, held at the estate of Arthur's father, and she and Arthur eventually spend time alone together, which is tracked by both families. Hobson is later hospitalized, and Arthur rushes to his side, vowing to care for the person who has long cared for him. After several weeks, Hobson dies, and then Arthur, who has been sober the entire time, goes on a
drinking binge. On his wedding day, he visits the
diner
A diner is a type of restaurant found across the United States and Canada, as well as parts of Western Europe and Australia. Diners offer a wide range of cuisine, mostly American cuisine, a casual atmosphere, and, characteristically, a comb ...
where Linda works and proposes to her. At the church, he jilts Susan, resulting in her father, Burt Johnson, attempting to stab Arthur with a
cheese knife, though he is prevented by Martha.
A wounded Arthur announces in church there will be no wedding, then passes out soon after. Later, Linda tends to his wounds, and they discuss living a life of poverty. A horrified Martha tells Arthur that he can have his fortune, because no Bach has ever been
working class
The working class is a subset of employees who are compensated with wage or salary-based contracts, whose exact membership varies from definition to definition. Members of the working class rely primarily upon earnings from wage labour. Most c ...
. Arthur declines, but at the last minute, he talks privately to Martha. When he returns to Linda's side, he tells her that he declined again – Martha's dinner invitation, he means – but he did accept $750 million. Arthur's pleased
chauffeur
A chauffeur () is a person employed to drive a passenger motor vehicle, especially a luxury vehicle such as a large sedan or a limousine.
Initially, such drivers were often personal employees of the vehicle owner, but this has changed to s ...
Bitterman drives the couple through Central Park.
Cast
Production
Gordon originally wrote the
title character
The title character in a narrative work is one who is named or referred to in the title of the work. In a performed work such as a play or film, the performer who plays the title character is said to have the title role of the piëce. The title o ...
with an American actor in mind. Prior to the casting of Moore,
Al Pacino
Alfredo James Pacino ( ; ; born April 25, 1940) is an American actor. Known for his intense performances on stage and screen, Pacino is widely regarded as one of the greatest actors of all time. His career spans more than five decades, duri ...
,
Jack Nicholson
John Joseph Nicholson (born April 22, 1937) is an American retired actor and filmmaker. Nicholson is widely regarded as one of the greatest actors of the 20th century, often playing rebels fighting against the social structure. Over his five-de ...
,
John Travolta
John Joseph Travolta (born February 18, 1954) is an American actor. He began acting in television before transitioning into a leading man in films. List of awards and nominations received by John Travolta, His accolades include a Primetime Em ...
,
Richard Dreyfuss
Richard Stephen Dreyfuss ( ; Dreyfus; born October 29, 1947) is an American actor. He emerged from the New Hollywood wave of American cinema, finding fame with a succession of leading man parts in the 1970s. He has received an Academy Award, a ...
, and
James Caan
James Edmund Caan ( ; March 26, 1940 – July 6, 2022) was an American actor. He came to prominence playing Sonny Corleone in ''The Godfather'' (1972), for which he was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor, Academy Award an ...
were all considered for the role. In addition,
Alec Guinness
Sir Alec Guinness (born Alec Guinness de Cuffe; 2 April 1914 – 5 August 2000) was an English actor. In the BFI, British Film Institute listing of 1999 of BFI Top 100 British films, the 100 most important British films of the 20th century ...
and
David Niven were considered for the role of Hobson.
John Belushi
John Adam Belushi ( ; January 24, 1949 – March 5, 1982) was an American comedian, actor, singer and musician. He was one of seven ''Saturday Night Live'' cast members of the first season. He was arguably the most popular member of the ''Satur ...
was also considered for Arthur. Initially, Gordon wanted Moore to perform the role with an American accent, but this proved contentious as Moore had trouble doing so and eventually convinced Gordon to let him use his natural English accent. While some critiques objected to the obvious difference in accent between Arthur and his biological father, others were quick to catch the deeper implication that Hobson taught Arthur to speak.
Debra Winger reportedly turned down the role of Linda.
Goldie Hawn
Goldie Jeanne Hawn (born November 21, 1945) is an American actress, producer, dancer, and singer. She achieved stardom and acclaim for playing lighthearted comedic roles in film and television. In a career spanning six decades, she has received ...
,
Diane Keaton
Diane Keaton (née Hall; born January 5, 1946) is an American actress. She has received List of awards and nominations received by Diane Keaton, various accolades throughout her career spanning over five decades, including an Academy Award, a Bri ...
,
Gilda Radner, and
Meryl Streep
Mary Louise "Meryl" Streep (born June 22, 1949) is an American actress. Known for her versatility and adept accent work, she has been described as "the best actress of her generation". She has received numerous accolades throughout her career ...
were also considered for the role of Linda.
Although the project was initially in the works at
Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures Corporation, commonly known as Paramount Pictures or simply Paramount, is an American film production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the flagship namesake subsidiary of Paramount ...
, studio executives eventually dropped the project and
Orion Pictures
Orion Releasing, LLC (Trade name, doing business as Orion Pictures) is an American film production and film distribution, distribution company owned by the Amazon MGM Studios subsidiary of Amazon (company), Amazon.
It was founded in 1978 as Ori ...
stepped in.
Promoting the film proved to be a challenge; reportedly six ad campaigns were discarded before a final one was decided upon.
Soundtrack
Christopher Cross was initially asked to
score the film, but writer-director Steven Gordon did not feel comfortable with his lack of experience in composing for film and the job was given to
Burt Bacharach
Burt Freeman Bacharach ( ; May 12, 1928 – February 8, 2023) was an American composer, songwriter, record producer, and pianist who is widely regarded as one of the most important and influential figures of 20th-century popular music. Start ...
.
Cross was asked to compose a song for the film which he did, "
Arthur's Theme", which he wrote with Bacharach along with Carole Bayer Sager and Peter Allen.
[
]
Reception
The film had a disappointing opening at the box office but improved its performance over its run, becoming the seventh highest-grossing film of the summer. It eventually earned over $95 million domestically, making it the fourth highest-grossing film of 1981.
The film received critical acclaim upon its release and is considered by many as one of the best films of 1981. On the review aggregator
A review aggregator is a system that collects reviews and ratings of products and services, such as films, books, video games, music, software, hardware, or cars. This system then stores the reviews to be used for supporting a website where user ...
website Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is an American review aggregator, review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee ...
, the film holds an approval rating of 86% based on 36 reviews, with an average rating of 7.2/10. The website's critics consensus reads, "Dudley Moore brings a boozy charm to ''Arthur'', a coming of age tale for a wayward millionaire that deploys energetic cast chemistry and spiffy humor to jovial effect."
Then-U.S. President
The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president directs the Federal government of the United States#Executive branch, executive branch of the Federal government of t ...
Ronald Reagan
Ronald Wilson Reagan (February 6, 1911 – June 5, 2004) was an American politician and actor who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He was a member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party a ...
viewed this film at Camp David
Camp David is a country retreat for the president of the United States. It lies in the wooded hills of Catoctin Mountain Park, in Frederick County, Maryland, near the towns of Thurmont, Maryland, Thurmont and Emmitsburg, Maryland, Emmitsburg, a ...
on July 25, 1981.
Accolades
Honors
The film was ranked 10 on Bravo's "100 Funniest Movies".
The film is recognized by American Film Institute
The American Film Institute (AFI) is an American nonprofit film organization that educates filmmakers and honors the heritage of the History of cinema in the United States, motion picture arts in the United States. AFI is supported by private fu ...
in these lists:
* 2000: AFI's 100 Years...100 Laughs – No. 53
* 2004: AFI's 100 Years...100 Songs:
** " Arthur's Theme (Best That You Can Do)" – No. 79
Related films
Sequel
The film was followed by a sequel in 1988, '' Arthur 2: On the Rocks''. Lead players Moore, Minnelli, and Gielgud reprised their roles, as well as supporting players such as Fitzgerald and Martin. The sequel was a critical and financial failure.
Remake
The 2011 version was first reported in 2008 with news that ''Arthur'' was to be remade by Warner Bros.
Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (WBEI), commonly known as Warner Bros. (WB), is an American filmed entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California and the main namesake subsidiary of Warner Bro ...
, with Russell Brand
Russell Edward Brand (born 4 June 1975) is an English comedian, actor, podcaster and media personality. He established himself as a stand-up comedian and radio host before becoming a film actor. After beginning his career as a comedian and la ...
in the lead role. Brand confirmed this during his March 10, 2009, appearance on ''The Howard Stern Show
''The Howard Stern Show'' is an American radio show hosted by Howard Stern that gained wide recognition when it was radio syndication, nationally syndicated on terrestrial radio from WINS-FM, WXRK in New York City, between 1986 and 2005. The sho ...
''. The remake was an overall critical and financial failure.
Indian versions
The film had three Indian remakes: the 1984 Hindi
Modern Standard Hindi (, ), commonly referred to as Hindi, is the Standard language, standardised variety of the Hindustani language written in the Devanagari script. It is an official language of India, official language of the Government ...
-language film '' Sharaabi'', the 1985 Kannada
Kannada () is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly in the state of Karnataka in southwestern India, and spoken by a minority of the population in all neighbouring states. It has 44 million native speakers, and is additionally a ...
-language film '' Nee Thanda Kanike'', and the 2004 Hindi '' Tumsa Nahin Dekha: A Love Story''.
In popular culture
The animated series ''The Critic
''The Critic'' is an American Adult animation, adult animated sitcom revolving around the life of New York film critic Jay Sherman, voiced by Jon Lovitz. It was created by writing partners Al Jean and Mike Reiss, who had previously worked as w ...
'' starring Jon Lovitz shows a parody of ''Arthur'' called ''Arthur 3: Revenge of the Liver'', where the character of Arthur Bach (voiced by Maurice LaMarche
Maurice LaMarche (born March 30, 1958) is a Canadian voice actor. Across a career spanning more than four decades he has voiced Chief Quimby on Inspector Gadget, Egon Spengler on ''The Real Ghostbusters'', The Brain on ''Animaniacs'' and its spi ...
impersonating Dudley Moore) is shown intoxicated and is informed that he has cirrhosis of the liver.
References
External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Arthur (1981 Film)
Arthur (film series)
1981 films
1981 comedy-drama films
1981 directorial debut films
1981 romantic comedy films
1981 romantic drama films
1980s American films
1980s English-language films
1980s romantic comedy-drama films
American romantic comedy-drama films
Best Musical or Comedy Picture Golden Globe winners
Films about alcoholism
Films about inheritances
Films about interclass romance
Films about the upper class
Films featuring a Best Musical or Comedy Actor Golden Globe winning performance
Films featuring a Best Supporting Actor Academy Award–winning performance
Films featuring a Best Supporting Actor Golden Globe winning performance
Films scored by Burt Bacharach
Films set in New York City
Films shot in New York City
Films that won the Best Original Song Academy Award
Orion Pictures films
Warner Bros. films
English-language romantic comedy-drama films