''Matilda'' is a 1978 American

comedy film The comedy film is a film genre that emphasizes humor. These films are designed to amuse audiences and make them laugh. Films in this genre typically have a happy ending, with dark comedy being an exception to this rule. Comedy is one of the o ...

directed by

Daniel Mann Daniel Chugerman (August 8, 1912 – November 21, 1991), known professionally as Daniel Mann, was an American stage, film director, film and television director. Originally trained as an actor by Sanford Meisner, between 1952 and 1987 he direct ...

and starring

Elliott Gould Elliott Gould (; né Goldstein; born August 29, 1938) is an American actor. Gould's breakthrough role was in the film ''Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice'' (1969), for which he received a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. The ...

Robert Mitchum Robert Charles Durman Mitchum (August 6, 1917 – July 1, 1997) was an American actor. He is known for his antihero roles and film noir appearances. He received nominations for an Academy Award and a BAFTA Award. He received a star on the Holl ...

and

Lionel Stander Lionel Jay Stander (January 11, 1908 – November 30, 1994) was an American actor, activist, and a founding member of the Screen Actors Guild. He had an extensive career in theatre, film, radio, and television that spanned nearly 70 years, ...

. The screenplay by Timothy Galfas and Albert S. Ruddy is based on the 1970 novel of the same name by

Paul Gallico Paul William Gallico (July 26, 1897 – July 15, 1976) was an American novelist and short story and sports writer.Ivins, Molly,, ''The New York Times'', July 17, 1976. Retrieved Oct. 25, 2020. Many of his works were adapted for motion pictures. ...

Plot

A small-time talent agent discovers an amazing boxing kangaroo and figures to use him as his stepping-stone into the big time by having him compete with a human pugilist.

Cast

– Bernie Bonnelli * Clive Revill – Billy Baker * Harry Guardino – Uncle Nono *

Roy Clark Roy Linwood Clark (April 15, 1933 – November 15, 2018) was an American singer, musician, and television presenter. He is best known for having hosted '' Hee Haw'', a nationally televised country variety show, from 1969 to 1997. Clark wa ...

– Wild Bill Wildman * Karen Carlson – Kathleen Smith * Art Metrano – Gordon Baum *

– Pinky Schwab *

Roberta Collins Roberta Collins (born Roberta Lee Hefley, November 17, 1944 – August 16, 2008) was a film and television actress who was known for her attractive physique, blonde, curly hair, and Marilyn Monroe appearance. She starred in many exploitation f ...

– Tanya Six * Larry Pennell – Lee Dockerty * Gary Morgan – Matilda *

– Duke Parkhurst * Lenny Montana – Hood #1 * Frank Avianca – Hood #2 *Joe De Fish – Hood #3 * Pat Henry – Hood #4

Production

The film was budgeted at $5.2 million. Producer Al Ruddy explained that "we debated over using both a real

kangaroo Kangaroos are marsupials from the family Macropodidae (macropods, meaning "large foot"). In common use, the term is used to describe the largest species from this family, the red kangaroo, as well as the antilopine kangaroo, eastern gre ...

and an actor in costume and opted for the latter as cross-cutting proved too jarring for the viewer. However the costume was a $30,000 investment that paid off as it not only allowed freedom of movement, but we were able to program it with transistors to allow us to direct the actor's tiniest gesture." Critic Tom Allen wrote in ''The Village Voice'' that "Matilda is worked by a person in a fur suit and fixed mask. ... The technicians do not even get the ears to wiggle and the mouth to pucker until the final minutes."Harry Medved and

Michael Medved Michael S. Medved (born October 3, 1948) is an American radio show host, author, political commentator, and film critic. His talk show, ''The Michael Medved Show'', is syndicated from his home station KTTH in Seattle. It is available via Cable ...

. ''

The Golden Turkey Awards ''The Golden Turkey Awards'' is a 1980 book by film critic Michael Medved and his brother Harry. About The book awards the titular "Golden Turkey Awards" to films judged by the authors as poor in quality, and to directors and actors judged to ha ...

'' London, Sydney, Melbourne, Singapore, Manila: Angus and Robertson Publishers, 1980. . page 157-8. Gould said "Al Ruddy wanted to buy back my position, my points in the picture, he offered me hundreds of thousands of dollars, which at that point I decided would be bad karma. That was bad judgment on my part.” Half the budget was provided by Melvin Simon Productions. TV rights were sold to CBS for $2.5 million, foreign sales were $1.6 million and AIP paid an advance of $1.8 million. This added up to $5.9 million meaning Simon made a profit of $450,000.

Soundtrack

*"When I'm with You, I'm Feelin' Good" - Music by Carol Connors, Lyrics by Ernie Shelton, Sung by Pat Boone & Debby Boone, Record Produced by Mike Curb *"Waltzing Matilda" - (uncredited), Lyrics by A.B. 'Banjo' Paterson, Music by Christina Macpherson

Notes

* List of American films of 1978

External links