''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 t ...

, 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 Ton ...

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 Lois Arlene Smith (née Humbert; born November 3, 1930) is an American character actress whose career spans eight decades. She made her film debut in the 1955 drama film ''East of Eden (film), East of Eden'', and later played supporting roles i ...

, and Christopher Walken.

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 *

as Anita * Christopher Walken 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 ...

as Bernstein *

Mike Kellin Mike Kellin (born Myron Kellin, April 26, 1922 – August 26, 1983) was an American actor. Early life Kellin was born in Hartford, Connecticut, the son of Sophia and Samuel Kellin, Russian-Jewish immigrants. His younger sister, Shirley Ann ...

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 Jeffrey Lynn Goldblum (; born October 22, 1952) is an American actor and musician. He has starred in some of the highest-grossing films of his era, such as ''Jurassic Park'' (1993) and ''Independence Day'' (1996), as well as their sequels. ...

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 Joe Spinell (born Joseph Spagnuolo; October 28, 1936 – January 13, 1989) was an American character actor who appeared in films in the 1970s and 1980s, as well as various stage productions on and off Broadway. He played supporting roles in ''The ...

as Cop At El Station * Stuart Pankin (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 s ...

(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's 1953 film '' Fear and Desire'', 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.

and Christopher Walken (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