Looking for Mr. Goodbar (1977)

October 19, 1977 (US) • Drama, Crime • 136m

Overview

A short, unhappy affair with a married man leads a dedicated schoolteacher into the alcohol-and-drug fueled underworld of singles’ bars, where she begins to engage in a pattern of dangerous sexual activity.

Director

Richard Brooks

Writers

Judith Rossner, Richard Brooks

Top Billed

Diane Keaton

Keywords

cocaine gigolo cannabis teacher sexual fantasy disco singles bar bisexual man grim disco music cautionary

Where to watch

Rent

Buy

Top Billed Cast

Diane Keaton

Theresa

Tuesday Weld

Katherine

William Atherton

James

Richard Kiley

Mr. Dunn

Richard Gere

Tony

Alan Feinstein

Martin

Tom Berenger

Gary

Priscilla Pointer

Mrs. Dunn

Laurie Prange

Brigid

Joel Fabiani

Barney

Julius Harris

Black Cat

Richard Bright

George

LeVar Burton

Cap Jackson

Marilyn Coleman

Mrs. Jackson

Carole Mallory

Marvella

Mary Ann Mallis

Principal

Jolene Dellenbach

Teacher

Lou Fant

Teacher (as Louie Fant)

Eddie Garrett

Bartender

Alex Courtney

Arthur (as Alexander Courtney)

Brian Dennehy

Surgeon

Richard Venture

Doctor

Robert John Burke

Patrick

Robert Fields

Rafe

Richard O'Brien

Father Timothy

Anthony 'Tony' Hawkins

Chuck

Caren Kaye

Rhoda

Dick Spangler

TV Announcer (as Richard Spangler)

Elizabeth Cheshire

Little Theresa

Marilyn Roberts

Woman in Bar

R.J. Adams

Man in Bar (uncredited)

Rutanya Alda

Deaf Teacher (uncredited)

Bob Harks

Man in Bar (uncredited)

John Lafferty

Undercover Police Officer (uncredited)

Bill Willens

Club Hustler (uncredited)

Crew

Judith Rossner

Novel

Richard Brooks

Director

William A. Fraker

Director of Photography

George Grenville

Editor

Freddie Fields

Producer

Victoria Sampson

Sound Editor

James M. Halty

Stunts

Nick McLean

Camera Operator

Larry Grenville

Assistant Editor

David Silver

Unit Production Manager

Mentor Huebner

Production Illustrator

Robert W. Glass Jr.

Sound Re-Recording Mixer

Curly Thirlwell

Sound Re-Recording Mixer

Nancy Sammons

Assistant Editor

Don Dittmar

Color Timer

Joan Biel

Music Editor

Alan Brimfeld

Second Assistant Director

Richard Portman

Sound Re-Recording Mixer

Kay Rose

Sound Editor

Ronald L. Vargas Jr.

Assistant Camera

Edward C. Carfagno

Art Direction

Judith A. Cory

Hairstylist

Bill Krattiger

Electrician

Judith Lamb

Casting

Bennie Moore

Stunts

Lindsley Parsons Jr.

Production Manager

Michael Galloway

Sound

Ron Stein

Stunts

Leslie Hill

Assistant Camera

Jodie Lynn Tillen

Costume Supervisor

Ruby R. Levitt

Set Decoration

Al Overton Jr.

Sound

Marion Dougherty

Casting

Thomas L. Roysden

Leadman

Arthur Brooker

Key Grip

Doug Pentek

Gaffer

Richard Brooks

Screenplay

Charles H. Schram

Makeup Artist

Susan Germaine

Hairstylist

Tom Fairbanks

Property Master

David Silver

Assistant Director

Marshall Schlom

Script Supervisor

Artie Kane

Original Music Composer

Collection

The Goodbar Collection

Looking for Mr. Goodbar

Trackdown: Finding the Goodbar Killer

Reviews

John Chard

⭐ 7/10

May 23, 2020

We're all hurt someplace and we're all looking for a painkiller.

Looking for Mr. Goodbar is directed by Richard Brooks and Brooks adapts the screenplay from the Judith Rossner novel of the same name. It stars Diane Keaton, Tuesday Weld, William Atherton, Richard Kiley, Richard Gere, Alan Feinstein and Tom Berenger. Music is by Artie Kane and cinematography by William A. Fraker.

Theresa Dunn (Keaton) is a dedicated schoolteacher to deaf children by day, but at night she cruises bars looking for abusive men with whom she can engage in progressively violent sexual encounters.

First off it should be noted that the Judith Rosner novel is based on the real life case of the 1973 murder of New York City schoolteacher Roseann Quinn. Also of note is that Rossner was not enamoured with this filmic adaptation.

What we have here is a tragic tale set in the promiscuous pre AIDS era of 1970s America. It's a bleak observation of the swinging singles scene of the era, providing caution of patriarch pressures, religious suffocation and the dangers of casual encounters for sexual gratification. Is it any wonder the big hitting critics of the time were nonplussed by it?...

The pic generated a lot of buzz for handsome new actor, Richard Gere, even if he does overact, it actually works in context to the brashness of the period. It also introduced Tom Berenger, in what is a frightening portrayal of a very sexually confused man. Tuesday Weld got a Best Supporting Actress Oscar nomination for playing Theresa's sister, which was richly deserved, so much so one wishes she was in the film more.

Yet it's Keaton who absolutely shines here, lifting an overlong picture to greater heights. Proving she had more in her armoury than merely playing kooks, Keaton imbues Theresa with a desperation and loneliness that is shattering for viewing purpose. The whole narrative bites with a crushing inevitability, that the nihilistic back drop can only bring pain and misery, and so it proves.

Richard Brooks should have sliced at lest thirty minutes from the run time, especially given that the "Theresa fantasy sequences" just come off as pointless and take one out of the heartbeat of the story. Yet this is still a fine movie, not one to be cheered up by of course, but poignant, relative and with the real life story at the core, important. 7/10

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Status

Released

Original Language

Budget

—

Revenue

$22,512,655

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Looking for Mr. Goodbar (1977)

Judith Rossner, Richard Brooks

Where to watch

Top Billed Cast

Crew

Collection

The Goodbar Collection

Looking for Mr. Goodbar

Trackdown: Finding the Goodbar Killer

Reviews

John Chard

Recommended Movies

9 Songs

Scarface

Cruel Intentions

Babylon

Status

Original Language

Budget

Revenue

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