Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore (1974)

Director:

Martin Scorsese

Writer:

Robert Getchell (written by)

Release Date:

30 May 1975 (France)

Genre:

Drama | Romance

Tagline:

A picture for anyone who has ever dreamed of a second chance!

Plot:

A recently widowed woman on the road with her precocious young son, determined to make a new life for herself as a singer.

Plot Keywords:

On The Road | Piano | Singer | Spouse | Phoenix Arizona

Awards:

Won Oscar. Another 4 wins & 9 nominations

Cast

Mia Bendixsen	...	Alice, Age 8
Ellen Burstyn	...	Alice Hyatt
Alfred Lutter III	...	Tommy (as Alfred Lutter)
Billy Green Bush	...	Donald
Lelia Goldoni	...	Bea
Ola Moore	...	Old Woman
Harry Northup	...	Joe & Jim's Bartender
Martin Brinton	...	Lenny
Dean Casper	...	Chicken
Murray Moston	...	Jacobs
Harvey Keitel	...	Ben
Lane Bradbury	...	Rita
Diane Ladd	...	Flo
Vic Tayback	...	Mel
Valerie Curtin	...	Vera

Runtime:

112 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

UK:15 (video rating) (1987) | UK:AA (cinema rating) | Brazil:14 | Canada:PG (video rating) | Australia:M | Finland:K-12 | Singapore:PG | Sweden:15 | USA:PG | Netherlands:12

Filming Locations:

Amado, Arizona, USA

Company:

Warner Bros. Pictures

Trivia:

Diane Ladd's daughter Laura Dern can be seen in the final diner scene - she is the little blonde girl with glasses sitting at the end of the counter eating an ice cream cone.

Goofs:

Continuity: When the alarm clock goes off, Alice knocks it to the floor. Alice goes back to sleep and some short time later, without either her or Tommy having moved in the bed, the alarm clock has returned to the nightstand.

Quotes:

Tommy Hyatt: Shoot the dog. Shoot the dog. Shoot the dog.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Living Single: Love Don't Live Here Anymore: Part 2 (#5.2)" (1997)

Soundtrack:

You'll Never Know

A movie of many memorable characters.

This has to be one of Martin Scorses's most enjoyable films. The film follows Alice (Ellen Burstyn) on a journey back to happier times after a tragedy forces her to make important decisions about her life. Needing a job to raise cash for this journey takes her and her son (the remarkably cheeky Alfred Lutter) on a journey of self discovery. Having a small talent for singing she eventually secures a job as a singer in a bar but flees town after meeting psychopathic Harvey Keitel. Eventually working as a waitress in Mel's Diner she becomes involved with the strangely uncharismatic Kris Kristofferson and realises she has finally met someone who really cares for her. The performances make this a remarkable film, Burstyn & Lutter are a great double act as mother and son, Harvey Keitel frighteningly plausible as a mentally unbalanced suitor and Jodie Foster sexually ambiguous as Lutters playmate. Diane Ladd excels as hard-bitten fellow waitress Flo and Jane Curtin and Billy Green Bush make an impact with barely half a dozen lines between them. Add to this a terrific musical score and inspiring cinematography and you have a timeless classic that is just crying out for a DVD release.