Who Is Harry Kellerman and Why Is He Saying Those Terrible Things About Me? (1971)

User Rating:

5.3/10   

Director:

Ulu Grosbard

Writer:

Herb Gardner (screenplay)
(more)

Release Date:

1 November 1971 (Denmark)

Genre:

Drama | Comedy

Tagline:

Dustin Hoffman wants to know...

Plot:

Georgie Soloway, a pop hit love song writer who cannot love, himself, or others. He spends his days with various women flying his plane...

Plot Keywords:

Punctuation In Title | Question Mark In Title | Long Title | Question In Title | Independent Film

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar.

Cast

Dustin Hoffman	...	Georgie Soloway
Barbara Harris	...	Allison Densmore
Jack Warden	...	Dr. Solomon F. Moses
David Burns	...	Leon Soloway
Gabriel Dell	...	Sidney Gill
Betty Walker	...	Margot Soloway
Rose Gregorio	...	Gloria Soloway
Dom DeLuise	...	Irwin Marcy
Regina Baff	...	Ruthie Tresh
David Galef	...	Leonard Soloway
Ed Zimmermann	...	Peter Halloran
Amy Levitt	...	Susan
Joseph R. Sicari	...	Marty (as Joe Sicari)
Rudy Bond	...	Newsdealer
Walter Hyman	...	Flower Vendor
Josip Elic	...	Chomsky
Herbie Faye	...	Divorcee
James Hall	...	Lemuel
Sherry Rooney	...	Marilyn
Robyn Millan	...	Samantha
Walter Hyman Jr.	...	Danny Charleston
Shel Silverstein	...	Bernie
Irwin Rose	...	Photographer
Candice Azzara	...	Sally (as Candy Azzara)
Marty Greene	...	Uncle Louis (as Martin Greene)
Sidney Armus	...	Marvin
Susan Bell	...	Sky Phone Operator
Steve Eppolito	...	Dustin as a Boy
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Dr. Hook & The Medicine Show	...	Themselves (uncredited)

Directed by
Ulu Grosbard

Writing credits
Herb Gardner		(short story) uncredited
Herb Gardner		(screenplay)

Produced by
Fred C. Caruso	....	associate producer
Herb Gardner	....	co-producer
Ulu Grosbard	....	co-producer

Original Music by
Shel Silverstein

Cinematography by
Victor J. Kemper

Film Editing by
Barry Malkin

Casting by
Shirley Rich

Production Design by
Harry Horner

Set Decoration by
Leif Pederen		(as Leif B. Pederen)

Costume Design by
Anna Hill Johnstone

Makeup Department
William A. Farley	....	hair stylist (as William Farley)
Dick Smith	....	makeup artist

Production Management
Fred C. Caruso	....	production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Peter R. Scoppa	....	first assistant director (as Peter Scoppa)

Art Department
Richard Adee	....	set designer
Stanley Cappiello	....	scenic artist
Joseph M. Caracciolo	....	props (as Joseph Caracciolo)
Willis Conner	....	assistant art director
Robert Miller	....	construction grip
Carlos Quiles	....	carpenter

Sound Department
Jack C. Jacobsen	....	sound
Robert M. Reitano	....	dubbing editor (as Robert Reitano)
John Strauss	....	sound editor
Dick Vorisek	....	sound re-recording mixer (as Richard Vorisek)

Special Effects by
Bernard Hajdenberg	....	special effects editor (as Bernardo Hajdenberg)
Joseph Weintraub	....	special effects editor

Camera and Electrical Department
Edward R. Brown	....	camera operator (as Edward Brown)
James Finnerty	....	key grip (as James Finnerty)
Richard Quinlan	....	gaffer (as Richard Quinlan Jr.)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
George Newman	....	wardrobe

Editorial Department
Marianna Majchrzyk	....	assistant editor
Craig McKay	....	associate film editor

Music Department
Ron Haffkine	....	musical director

Transportation Department
James Fanning	....	transportation

Other crew
Ted Albert	....	publicist
Robert Barth	....	location coordinator
Elizabeth Bleiweiss	....	production assistant
Sidney Gecker	....	script supervisor (as Sid Gecker)
Lois Kramer Hartwick	....	production secretary (as Lois Kramer)
Ellie Linas	....	accountant
Charles Ryder	....	production assistant
Bill Sheally	....	auditor

Production Companies

• Cinema Center Films

Distributors

• National General Pictures (1971) (USA) (theatrical)
• Sthlm (1972) (Sweden) (theatrical)
• 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment (1999) (video)

MPAA:

Rated R for brief nudity.

Runtime:

108 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Finland:K-8 | Sweden:11 | USA:GP (original rating) | USA:R

Filming Locations:

GM Building - 59th Street & 5th Avenue, Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA

Company:

Cinema Center Films

Trivia:

To achieve maximum realism, Ulu Grosbard insisted that Dustin Hoffman appear live at the now-shuttered rock palace Fillmore East. Cameras captured the reaction of the regular Friday night audience gathered for an actual Grateful Dead concert.

Quotes:

Georgie's father: Life, it's like an appetiser. It's here, it's gone.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Magnum, P.I.: Who Is Don Luis Higgins... and Why Is He Doing These Terrible Things to Me? (#6.19)" (1986)

Soundtrack:

The Sweet Forever Song

The experience of being trapped in neurosis.

Harry Kellerman is the best portrait I have ever seen on celluloid of the inescapable nature of neurotic pain. The fixated, tortured soul--albeit tortured on the small, inner scale of suffering--awakens to his pain, sees a possible escape route, and struggles to hurl himself through it. But then he only finds himself bank again at square one, the tether of his Gordian knot unbroken and unfrayed. Told with humor and absurdity appropriate to the subject matter, Harry is a delightful, original, and insightful movie.