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20th Century Fox
Not part of a collection.
Greenwich Village, 1953. It was coffeehouses and high adventure, it was your first love and your best dream, it was girls who drank wine and your mother back home asking God to forgive you.
An aspiring Jewish actor moves out of his parents' Brooklyn apartment to seek his fortune in the bohemian life of Greenwich Village in 1953.
CinemaSerf
Jul 5, 2025 · via TMDB
There were loads of these type of films made in the mid 1970s about aspiring types finally out from under their parental wing and now hitting the big city with dreams and hormones racing. Here, the quite charismatic Lenny Baker is “Larry”, a Jewish lad who thinks he could be the next Marlon Brando, or maybe Laurence Olivier - even though a local beat cop reckons he might want to change professions altogether. He has moved away from his doting but overpowering mother (Shelley Winters) and takes up with his girlfriend “Sarah” (Ellen Greene) for the usual slew of castings, romantic interludes, fights and squabbles as he tries to keep his life on an even keel whilst he seeks that elusive break. Will it ever come? This is an observational look at a chunk of his life. We learn a little of his earlier life but for the most part we just follow their day-to-day antics as he tries to reconcile his ambitions with her’s and the reality of his new and bumpy Brooklyn life. There are no conclusions here, though maybe progress is made as he begins to realise that he is not the first in his family to want more, nor is he the only one with the talent to perhaps support that. He begins to appreciate that sacrifices have been made for him just as he has to make them now, himself. Winters doesn’t really feature that often, but when she does she delivers quite strongly with a short burst of Maria Callas livening things up and lightening the mood for a few moments too. Thanks to characters like Christopher Walken’s “Fulmer” and “Bernstein” from the man forever remembered as “Huggy Bear” (Antonio Fargas) it also manages to take a light-hearted swipe at the pomposity of the creative community and it’s occasionally flamboyant population. It’s an enthusiastic and lively production that does play a little to stereotype now and again, but it keeps clear of sentiment, is quite funny and worth a watch.
User reviews courtesy of TMDB.
Lenny Baker
Larry Lapinsky
Shelley Winters
Faye Lapinsky
Ellen Greene
Sarah Roth
Lois Smith
Anita Cunningham
Christopher Walken
Robert Fulmer
Dori Brenner
Connie
Antonio Fargas
Bernstein Chandler
Lou Jacobi
Herb
Mike Kellin
Ben Lapinsky
Rashel Novikoff
Mrs. Tupperman
Jeff Goldblum
Clyde Baxter
Joe Spinell
Cop
Denise Galik
Ellen
Rochelle Oliver
Doctor Marsha
Sol Frieder
Mr. Elkins
Helen Hanft
Herb's Wife
John Ford Noonan
Barney
Joe Madden
Old Poet
Milton Frome
Drugstore Customer (uncredited)
Paul Mazursky
Casting Director (uncredited)
Bill Murray
Nick Kessel (uncredited)
Vincent Schiavelli
Party Guest (uncredited)
Rutanya Alda
Party Guest (uncredited)
Stuart Pankin
Party Guest (uncredited)
Kandice Stroh
Acting Student (uncredited)
Billie Perkins
Hippie Girl (uncredited)
Albert Wolsky
Costume Design
Paul Mazursky
Director
Juliet Taylor
Casting
Anthony Ray
Producer
Paul Mazursky
Producer
Anthony Ray
Production Manager
Bill Conti
Original Music Composer
Paul Mazursky
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Stripper Wives
1999
Sally's Beauty Spot
1990
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Battle your watched movies head-to-head
Community Top Movies
Evil Dead II
1987 · 14 wins
The Dark Knight
2008 · 14 wins
Halloween
1978 · 13 wins
Final Destination
2000 · 12 wins
Halloween II
1981 · 11 wins
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