The Out of Towners (1970 film)

Origins

Originally, playwright Neil Simon planned his tale of a suburban Ohio couple's misadventures in New York City to be one of a quartet of vignettes in his Broadway play Plaza Suite. He quickly realized, however, the comic possibilities were numerous enough to warrant a full-length treatment, and the action was more suitable for the screen than the stage. During filming in the spring of 1969, Hiller took full advantage of Manhattan, including Grand Central Station, Central Park, and the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel, in his location shooting. Scenes were also filmed at Logan International Airport and South Station in Boston, and at MacArthur Airport in Islip, New York (standing in for the fictional Twin Oaks, Ohio air terminal).

Plot summary

The plot revolves around Gwen and George Kellerman, whose company has invited him to interview for a possible job promotion in New York City. From the moment they depart their home town of Twin Oaks, Ohio, the couple suffers nearly every indignity out-of-towners possibly could experience: Heavy air traffic and heavy fog forces their flight to circle around Kennedy Intl. Airport and the New York skyline repeatedly before finally being rerouted to Boston's Logan Airport, where they discover their luggage - in which George's ulcer medication and Gwen's extra cash are packed - was left behind.

Just missing the train at South Station, they chase it to the next stop by cab, board it (it is extremely overcrowded), and wait two hours for seats in the dining car, only to discover the only food left is peanut butter sandwiches, green olives, and crackers. Upon arrival at Grand Central Terminal in New York by 2:00am, they discover that mass transit, taxicab drivers, and sanitation workers all are on strike. Making their way to the Waldorf-Astoria on foot past tons of garbage in a torrential downpour, they discover their reservation - guaranteed for a 10:00pm arrival - has been given away, and the hotel - like every other one in the city - is booked to capacity due to the strikes.

What follows is a series of calamities that includes two muggings (one while they sleep in Central Park), kidnapping by armed liquor store robbers while the Kellermans are riding in a police car enroute to an armory, a cracked tooth, broken high heels, accusations of child molestation, an exploding manhole cover, expulsion from a church, and an attack by protestors in front of the Cuban embassy. With each successive catastrophe, George angrily writes down each perpetrator's name and promises to sue them or their company when he returns home.

The only thing that goes right for George is he somehow manages to arrive on time for his 9:00am interview, with rumpled clothing. Despite receiving a very lucrative offer, the two realize an upwardly mobile move to the big city is not what they truly cherish after the urban problems they have gone through, and they make the decision to return to their small town in Ohio, only to be subjected to one more major catastrophe—their flight home is hijacked to Cuba. Gwen says "Oh my god!" (which she had said various other times during the movie) ending the film......

Real life comparisons

Many of the incidents depicted in the film mirrored real life events going on at the time, especially in New York. Some of the incidents depicted include:

Reception

Both Lemmon and Dennis were nominated for Golden Globe awards in the comedy acting categories. Simon's screenplay won him the Writers Guild of America award for Best Comedy Written Directly for the Screen.

The movie was later remade in 1999 with Steve Martin, Goldie Hawn and John Cleese, but it was not well received, holding only 27% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

The title had previously been used for an unrelated romantic drama that aired on Studio One in 1957. It was made into a feature film in 1964, but at the last minute the title was changed to Dear Heart.