The Odd Couple

"...say no more."

1968 1h 46m EN

👍

7.4

SOLID

★7.4TMDB · 680

Comedy

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

In New York, Felix, a neurotic news writer who just broke up with his wife, is urged by his chaotic friend Oscar, a sports journalist, to move in with him, but their lifestyles are as different as night and day are, so Felix's ideas about housekeeping soon begin to irritate Oscar.

“...say no more.”

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Cast

Jack Lemmon
Felix Ungar
Walter Matthau
Oscar Madison
John Fiedler
Vinnie
Herb Edelman
Murray
David Sheiner
Roy
Monica Evans
Cecily
Carole Shelley
Gwendolyn
Iris Adrian
Waitress

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Gene Saks
Writers: Neil Simon
Languages: English
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Shot for just $1.2M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Grossed $45M — a 37.1× return. The kind of profit studios chase for a decade.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

ERA

Did you know

58 years old — a genuine piece of film history.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

CINEMA

Did you know

Part of the "The Odd Couple Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Gene Saks, shot by Robert B. Hauser. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Neal Hefti. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Frank Bracht shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau and John Fiedler carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Gene Saks directs. Robert B. Hauser behind the camera. Neal Hefti scores. Frank Bracht cuts. Made its budget back several times over at the box office. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Shot for just $1.2M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.
2Grossed $45M — a 37.1× return. The kind of profit studios chase for a decade.
358 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
4Part of the "The Odd Couple Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.
5Directed by Gene Saks, shot by Robert B. Hauser. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
6Original score by Neal Hefti. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
7Editor Frank Bracht shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
8Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau and John Fiedler carry the top of the cast.
9Marketing tagline: "...say no more.".
10IMDB entry: tt0063374 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
11Classified under 13 themes, including "new york city", "roommates", "male friendship", "based on play or musical".
12Released under 11 different titles around the world.

The technical file

Cinematography: Robert B. Hauser
Original score: Neal Hefti
Editing: Frank Bracht
Makeup / hair: Wally Westmore
Runtime: 106 min · 1h 46m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $1,200,000
Box office: $44,527,234
Return: 3711% of budget
Original language: EN
IMDB: The Odd Couple (1968)

Part of

The Odd Couple Collection

The Odd Couple is a 1968 American comedy film written by Neil Simon, based on his play The Odd Couple, directed by Gene Saks, and starring Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau. A sequel, The Odd Couple II, reunited Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau in their original roles and was released 30 years later, breaking the record for the length of time between an original movie and a sequel featuring the same cast. The Odd Couple is a movie that one just has to see every two or three years to stay happy. The poker-game sequence in which Oscar's cronies seem to be falling under the sway of fussy Felix's talent for making sandwiches is priceless.

Also by

Gene Saks

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Community reviews

What people are saying

CinemaSerf2022-07-15
★ 7/10
"Felix" (Jack Lemmon) and "Oscar" (Walter Matthau) are best pals who get together once a week with their friends to play poker and shoot the breeze. Their friendship is about to be severely tested, though, when the former man announced that he has split up with his wife. "Oscar" rides to the rescue with an offer for him to move in with him, and what now ensues are a cleverly written, and generally entertaining, series of domestic scenarios in which these two men must learn to cohabit. It's pretty clear from the outset that "Oscar" is not exactly house-proud and as the story develops their relationship starts to creak. Neil Simon has created a wonderfully witty, pithy and humorous dialogue which both men deliver with a great deal of natural timing; they immerse themselves in the roles - an unusual narrative for two men - and deliver quite an engaging observation on how these two friends simply cannot cope with each other full time. Aside from a few scenes from their card-playing buddies and a rather difficult double date with posh Brits "Gwendolyn" (Carole Shelley) and "Cecily" (Monica Evans) - which follows a scene of domestic petulance over some tardiness and meatloaf that is instantly recognisable to most of us, this is a fine example of two actors who gel really well on screen. Oddly enough, I think this is a bit of a love story. Not in the conventional, romantic, sense - but despite their bickering and squabbling these men do care for each other. The theme tune is pretty good, too.

Production companies