California Suite

"The best two-hour vacation in town!"

1978 1h 43m EN

😐

5.9

MID

★5.9TMDB · 128

ComedyDramaRomance

Synopsis

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The misadventures of four groups of guests at the Beverly Hills Hotel.

“The best two-hour vacation in town!”

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Cast

Jane Fonda
Hannah Warren
Alan Alda
Bill Warren
Maggie Smith
Diana Barrie
Michael Caine
Sidney Cochran
Walter Matthau
Marvin Michaels
Elaine May
Millie Michaels
Herb Edelman
Harry Michaels
Denise Galik
Bunny

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Herbert Ross
Writers: Neil Simon
Languages: English, Czech
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

ERA

Did you know

48 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

Dialogue crosses 2 languages: English, Czech.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Herbert Ross, shot by David M. Walsh. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

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

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

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

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Jane Fonda and Alan Alda and Maggie Smith carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "The best two-hour vacation in town!".

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0077289 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Herbert Ross directs. David M. Walsh behind the camera. Claude Bolling scores. Michael A. Stevenson cuts. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English, Czech.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

148 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
2Dialogue crosses 2 languages: English, Czech.
3Directed by Herbert Ross, shot by David M. Walsh. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
4Original score by Claude Bolling. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
5Editor Michael A. Stevenson shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
6Jane Fonda and Alan Alda and Maggie Smith carry the top of the cast.
7Marketing tagline: "The best two-hour vacation in town!".
8IMDB entry: tt0077289 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

The technical file

Cinematography: David M. Walsh
Original score: Claude Bolling
Editing: Michael A. Stevenson
Production design: Albert Brenner
Costume design: Ann Roth
Makeup / hair: Kaye Pownall
Runtime: 103 min · 1h 43m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Box office: $42,000,000
Original language: EN
Certification (US): PG
IMDB: California Suite (1978)

Awards

Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award for Best Actress
Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress
Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy

Individual records documented via Wikidata; the summary above may count more.

Also by

Herbert Ross

Stills · wallpapers

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Wallpaper

Trailers & featurettes

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Community reviews

What people are saying

CinemaSerf2024-01-17
★ 6/10
Neil Simon isn't really at his best with this rather hit or miss telling of four families who happen to stay at the world famous Beverly Hills Hotel. The divorced "Warren" family - Jane Fonda & Alan Alda are squabbling over the future of their teenage daughter. She has custody but the youngster wants to spend more time with her father and that's causing no end of self doubt and frustration with her mother. "Marvin" (Walter Matthau) comes on a day ahead of his wife "Millie" (Elaine May) and manages to find himself with an hooker who has no idea when it's a good time to wake up and leave. Richard Pryor and Bill Cosby are brothers travelling with their wives who find an hotel mishap leaves one couple in luxury, the other in a glorified bedsit. Finally, the best of the script falls to Maggie Smith and Michael Caine as the married couple in town because she's been nominated for an Oscar. Last minutes nerves, wobbles, loads of gin and a constant search for validation from her loving but not the most gushing of husbands provides us with much of the best sarcasm and wit contained here, and those scenes - sparing after the half way mark give us most of what's worth watching here. The Pryor/Cosby and Matthau/May scenarios are more contrived and don't work nearly so well and the initial melodrama really only offers Fonda a chance to deliver some lengthy monologues of, occasionally pithy, dialogue. It does poke fun at some of the more facile elements of life and fame, but the episodic nature of the storytelling I found to be a little disjointed and not really that funny.

Production companies