Harry and Tonto (1974)

Pretty schmaltzy road trip movie that stars Art Carney in an Oscar-winning performance as an old man who's evicted from his apartment and goes off on a late-in-life voyage of self discovery.Carney is winning and likable, but the film treads too softly and safely for it to be truly engaging. Indeed, I came across this on TCM and spent the first 40 or so minutes wondering if I even wanted to watch the whole thing, only deciding to once so much time had passed that it seemed silly not to.If you're interested in it for some of the other actors billed in the cast (like Ellen Burstyn), be warned that no one but Carney gets more than some very short cameos (Burstyn herself has maybe five minutes of screen time).See this movie if you want to see the performance that inexplicably beat Jack Nicholson ("Chinatown"), Dustin Hoffman ("Lenny") and Al Pacino ("The Godfather Part II") to the Oscar. Otherwise, you're not missing all that much.Grade: B-

Art Carney was only 56 when he played a man much older and made it his best performance in a marvelous career. A wandering tale, that could have wandered in other ways, turns out to be an American classic with great direction from Paul Mazursky, great supporting performances from Ellen Burstyn, Melanie Mayron, Josh Mostel, Geraldine Fitzgerald, Larry Hagman, Phil Bruns, Chief Dan George and everybody down to the smallest part. (Proving there is no such thing as a small part if the actor can fill it to the brim.) And the cities of New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, and Las Vegas star memorably as themselves. Surprisingly topical since there is much talk of the then recession. (People then actually thought they were in a depression! Hah! Having the ability to recall the Big One, they should have known better.)

Art Carney's performance of Harry Coombes earned him a well-deserved Academy Award for Lead Actor and a Golden Globe Award as well. In this wonderful film, he plays a 72 year old retired New Yorker with his beloved cat, Tonto, even on a lease as well. Except for the end, I loved the film and it was done on location with an all star cast such as Larry Hagman and Ellen Burstyn playing his adult children in Los Angeles and Chicago. He begins the film by losing his beloved New York City apartment to be turned into a parking lot on the Upper West Side in Manhattan. He moves reluctantly to the suburbs with his son, Burt, and his family. I have to say that Dolly Jonah did a terrific performance as his daughter-in-law Elaine and I'm surprised that she didn't work more in films and television. He decides to travel to Chicago but won't fly because he refuses to let the airline employees mishandle his beloved Tonto who is also the star of the film. It's a great film with memorable moments and Art Carney's finest performance in film.

This is a very unusual film and is a bit hard to describe. It's almost like a traditional "road movie" combined with the wonderful old film "Make Way for Tomorrow" (an absolute must-see) combined with 1970s sensibilities.Art Carney, who was only 56 at the time, plays an elderly man in New York City whose life has passed him by. His wife died some time ago, he's retired, many of his friends have died and now he's being forced out of his apartment, as it's being leveled and made into a parking lot. All he has is his cat and three grown children who really are in no position to take him in, though his son in the New York suburbs does try--creating a lot of tension with his wife. Harry sees that he and his cat, Tonto, are in the way and announces he's going to Chicago to stay with his daughter for a while.At the airport, Harry doesn't really understand the whole process of boarding the plane with his cat and just leaves. He instead takes a bus, but this also doesn't work out well. Finally, he picks up a cheap used car and starts traveling across the country. Along the way, he has a few adventures and meets some interesting folks in a very free-form sort of movie. You never exactly know what will happen to him until eventually he decides he's found a new home and settles down to an all-new life.While some of the film might shock you a bit (with its rather frank 1970s attitudes about sex and the very, very depressing nature of much of the film), the acting and gentle pace are so nice that you really don't mind the few faults that it has. Nor, do you really mind that there isn't all that much in the way of plot--just a gentle journey with a man and his cat! Art Carney received the Oscar for Best Actor and I am sure that this must have ruffled a few feathers--particularly since he was up against Al Pacino in "The Godfather Part II". It's not a particularly risky role he did in the film and it's a "nice" film, but I can see why the Academy liked the film and his acting--it was very sweet and real.By the way, don't try watching this film if you suffer from severe depression--some of the film would undoubtedly make this worse! Also, while many of you know this, 'Tonto' is Spanish and is means 'stupid'.