John Cassavetes wrote and directed this look at three middle-aged men thrown into a midlife crisis when one of their mutual friends dies. Harry (Ben Gazzara), Archie (Peter Falk) and Gus (John Cassavetes) attend the funeral of their buddy David Rowlands (Stuart Jackson); all three are starting to feel the pressures of their advancing years, while Harry is having serious problems with his marriage. After the funeral, the three men decide that they need to get away from it all for a while, and they spend the next two days getting drunk, shooting hoops, playing cards, sleeping on the subway, and pretending that they're teenagers again. After 48 hours of irresponsibility, Archie and Gus decide that fun is fun but it's time to go home. But when Harry goes back to his wife, they have a huge argument; Harry storms out and decides to fly to England, persuading Archie and Gus to tag along. They get dressed up, visit a casino, and pick up beautiful women, but while Archie and Gus, as before, look at this as a brief vacation from their lives as loyal husbands and fathers, Harry doesn't want to go home, even though he seems more troubled by his infidelity than do his two friends. Cassavetes' first directorial project after his critical breakthrough with Faces, featuring intense, largely improvised performances by two of his most consistent collaborators, Ben Gazzara and Peter Falk, Husbands was originally released in a cut running 154 minutes, but was trimmed to 138 minutes for general release. (Synopsis courtesy of AllMovie.com)
Cast Ben Gazzara ... Harry
Peter Falk ... Archie Black
John Cassavetes ... Gus Demetri
Jenny Runacre ... Mary Tynan
Jenny Lee Wright ... Pearl Billingham
Noelle Kao ... Julie
John Kullers ... Red
Meta Shaw Stevens ... Annie (as Meta Shaw)
Leola Harlow ... Leola
Delores Delmar ... The Countess
Eleanor Zee ... Mrs. Hines
Claire Malis ... Stuart's Wife
Peggy Lashbrook ... Diana Mallabee
Eleanor Cody Gould ... 'Normandy' Singer
Sarah Felcher ... Sarah
Bill Britten
Arthur Clark
Gwen Van Dam ... Gwen - "Jeanie" Singer
John Armstrong ... "Happy Birthday" Singer
Charles Gaines (as Chas. Gaines)
Antoinette Kray ... "Jesus Loves Me" Singer
Lorraine MacMartin ... Annie's Mother (as Lorraine Macmartin)
Carinthia West ... Susanna
Edgar Franken ... Ed Weintraub
Joseph Boley ... Minister (as Joe Boley)
Judith Lowry ... Stuart's Grandmother
Joseph Hardy ... Shanghai Lil (as Joe Hardy)
Fred Draper
David Rowlands ... Stuart Jackson
Alexandra Cassavetes ... Xan (uncredited)
Nick Cassavetes ... Nick (uncredited)
Marilyn Clark ... (uncredited)
Harry Fielder ... Hippy at Roundhouse (uncredited)
Anne O'Donnell ... Nurse (uncredited)
Rhonda Parker ... Margaret (uncredited)
Ellen Stretton ... (uncredited)
K.C. Townsend ... Barmaid (uncredited)
Gena Wheeler ... Nurse (uncredited)
Release Dates USA October 1970 (San Francisco, California)
USA 1 December 1970 (New York City, New York)
USA 8 December 1970
Sweden 22 August 1971
Finland 10 September 1971
West Germany 27 March 1974 (TV)
West Germany 15 January 1985 (TV)
Japan 18 March 2000 (Tokyo)
Argentina 9 April 2000
France 19 January 2005 (re-release)
Directed by
John Cassavetes
Writing credits
John Cassavetes
Produced by
Al Ruban .... producer
Sam Shaw .... associate producer
Cinematography by
Victor J. Kemper (director of photography) (as Victor Kemper)
Makeup Department
Robert Laden .... makeup artist: New York (as Robt. Laden)
Tommie Manderson .... makeup artist: London (as Tommy Manderson)
Production Management
Fred C. Caruso .... production supervisor (as Fred Caruso)
Robert Greenhut .... production manager: New York
Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Simon Hinkly .... assistant director: London (as Simon Hinkley)
Alan Hopkins .... assistant director: New York
Philip Mead .... assistant director: London
Art Department
Rene D'Auriac .... art director: New York
Robert Hamlin .... scenic artist: New York (as Robt. Hamlin)
Henry Newman .... props
Thomas Saccio .... props: New York (as Tom Saccio)
Edie Shaw .... graphic artist
Sound Department
Barry Copland .... sound: London (as Barrie Copeland)
Dennis Maitland .... sound: New York
James Perdue .... sound recordist (uncredited)
James Perdue .... sound (uncredited)
Camera and Electrical Department
Michael Chapman .... camera operator: New York (as Mike Chapman)
Len Crowe .... gaffer: London (as L. Crow)
Geoff Glover .... camera operator: London
Edward Gold .... assistant camera: New York (as Eddie Gold)
Dick Mingalone .... camera operator: New York (as Rich Mingalone)
Richard Quinlan .... gaffer: New York (as Rich Quinlan)
Teddy Tucker .... key grip: London (as T. Tucker)
Joseph Williams .... key grip: New York
Casting Department
Tom Busby .... casting: London
Costume and Wardrobe Department
Ed Brennan .... wardrobe: New York (as Edward Brennan)
Lewis Brown .... costume designer: New York (as L. Brown)
Shura Cohen .... wardrobe: London
Joseph W. Dehn .... wardrobe: New York (as Joe Dehn)
Dennis Frun .... wardrobe: London
Editorial Department
Tom Cornwell .... assistant editor (as Tom Cornwal)
Robert Heffernan .... post-production editor (as Robt. Heffernan)
Peter Tanner .... supervising editor
Jack Woods .... post-production editor
Music Department
Jack Ackerman .... musical director: London
Ray Brown .... composer: additional music, London
Stanley Wilson .... musical director: London
Other crew
Fred Draper .... dialogue supervisor: New York
James Joyce .... coordinator
Peggy Lashbrook .... continuity: London
Joe Lustig .... publicist
Henry Newman .... effects
Nancy Norman .... continuity: New York
Kevin O'Driscoll .... accountant
Al Ruban .... presenter
Bert Schneiderman .... controller
Sam Shaw .... presenter
