The Ritz (film)
| The Ritz | |
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Theatrical release poster
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| Directed by | Richard Lester |
| Produced by | Denis O'Dell |
| Written by | Terrence McNally |
| Based on |
The Ritz by Terence McNally |
| Starring | |
| Music by | Ken Thorne |
| Cinematography | Paul Wilson |
| Edited by | John Bloom |
| Distributed by | Warner Bros. |
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Release date
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Running time
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91 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
The Ritz is a 1976 American film directed by Richard Lester based on the play of the same name by Terrence McNally. Actress Rita Moreno, who had won a Tony Award for her performance as Googie Gomez in the 1975 Broadway production, and many others of the original cast like Jack Weston, Jerry Stiller, and F. Murray Abraham, reprise their onstage roles in the film version. Also in the cast were Kaye Ballard and Treat Williams. The film, Jack Weston, and Rita Moreno all received Golden Globe nominations in the comedy category. It opened to mixed reviews.
A farce is set in a gay bathhouse in Manhattan, where unsuspecting heterosexual Cleveland businessman Gaetano Proclo (Jack Weston) has taken refuge from his homicidal mobster brother-in-law, Carmine Vespucci (Jerry Stiller). There, Gaetano stumbles across an assortment of oddball characters, including a rabid chubby chaser, go-go boys, a squeaky-voiced detective, and Googie Gomez, a third-rate Puerto Rican entertainer with visions of Broadway glory who mistakes him for a famous producer and whom he mistakes for a man in drag. Further complications arise when Gaetano's wife Vivian (Kay Ballard) tracks him down and jumps to all the wrong conclusions about his sexual orientation.
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