The Ritz (1976)

R   |    |  Comedy

The Ritz (1976) Poster

On his deathbed, Carmine Vespucci's mobster father tells him to "get Proclo" - Carmine's brother-in-law Gaetano. With "the hit" on, Gaetano tells a cab driver to take him where Carmine ... See full summary »

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  • F. Murray Abraham and Jerry Stiller in The Ritz (1976)
  • Rita Moreno and Jack Weston in The Ritz (1976)
  • Rita Moreno and Jack Weston in The Ritz (1976)
  • Rita Moreno in The Ritz (1976)
  • The Ritz (1976)
  • Rita Moreno, Christopher J. Brown, and John Everson in The Ritz (1976)

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Awards

Nominated for 3 Golden Globes.

Another 2 nominations.

Reviews & Commentary

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User Reviews
4 January 2002 | ItalianGerry
Zany.
THE RITZ is a zany and broadly played little farce directed by Richard Lester. It is an adaptation of a Broadway play by Terrence McNally, later acclaimed for MASTER CLASS and the hit musical THE FULL MONTY. It is set in a New York club-bath for gays. Dying gang leader George Coulouris tells his son Jerry Stiller and daughter Kaye Ballard that he wants Ballard's husband, Jack Weston, a Cleveland sanitation company owner, to be killed. That's the only plot there is. Weston tells a cabbie to take him to a place where no one will suspect he is hiding. Enter "The Ritz," a seedily elegant gay paradise with its clients that include self-mocking F.Murray Abraham, and chubby-chaser Paul B. Price. The cast is uniformly amusing, especially Rita Moreno as Google Gomez, an untalented Latin singer whom Weston mistakes for a drag queen. She frequently steals the show from everyone. Moreno got a Tony Award for her Broadway portrayal of that role. Also good is the improbably squeaky-voiced detective played by Treat Williams. Some of the resulting mayhem is very funny indeed; some stretches are more ho-hum. Nevertheless, it is a generally successful piece of entertainment regardless of one's sexual orientation.

Critic Reviews

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Did You Know?

Trivia

"The Ritz" opened on Broadway on January 20, 1975 at the Longacre Theatre , and closed after 398 performances and ten previews.F. Murray Abraham, Rita Moreno, Jerry Stiller, Jack Weston, Paul B. Price, Tony De Santis, Christopher J. Brown, John Everson play the roles they created in the original Broadway production. Treat Williams replaced Stephen Collins as Brick, and Dave King replaced George Dzundza as Abe Lefkowitz.

Quotes

Carmine Vespucci: Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death. Amen. Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou among women.

Goofs

After Chris tells Carmine that Proclo is in Claude's room, he runs away without looking where he is going and accidentally slams the side of his head into the narrow door jamb.

Alternate Versions

CBS edited 5 minutes from this film for its 1982 network television premiere.

Soundtracks

Everything's Coming Up Roses
(uncredited)
Music by Jule Styne
Lyrics by Stephen Sondheim
Performed by Rita Moreno

Storyline

Plot Summary

Synopsis (WARNING: Spoilers)

Genres

Comedy

Details

Release Date:

26 December 1976

Language

English, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese

Country of Origin

UK

Filming Locations

Twickenham Film Studios, St Margarets, Twickenham, Middlesex, England, UK

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