I watched the wonderful Hopscotch last night, which made me think of all the great Walter Matthau films and how likely it is that some of my friends haven’t seen them. Matthau’s film career started with him stuck in villain roles. For the gruff actor, that seems the natural fit, but it wasn’t. He was adequate in those roles, but didn’t stand out.
Things change when Neil Simon cast him in the stage version of his play, The Odd Couple. That led to a role in the film version and his second collaboration with Jack Lemmon (they would work together ten times counting a cameo). Thereafter, Matthau was primarily a comic actor.
First an honorable mention to Goodbye Charlie (1964) – A very ’60s fantasy comedy starring Tony Curtis and Debbie Reynolds that is approaching a guilty pleasure for me. I can’t say that it is good, but I like it.
Here is my top eight must see Walter Matthau film list.
8 – The Odd Couple (1968) – A solid Neil Simon play. The chemistry between Matthau and Lemmon is something to see. [Also on the Jack Lemmon list]
7 – Cactus Flower (1969) – With Ingrid Bergman and Goldie Hawn, it’s another very ’60s comedy, based on a play.
6 – The Front Page (1974) – The first version of it I’d seen on stage or screen, it was my favorite for a long time and still is the go-to if you want a faithful version. Now I prefer the gender swap of His Girl Friday. [Also on the Jack Lemmon list]
5 – Hopscotch (1980) – Funny, smart spy comedy as retiring spy Matthau leads more obnoxious modern spies in circles.
4 – Charade (1963) – The most Hitchcock movie that Hitchcock didn’t make. Audrey Hepburn stars being cuter than humans should be allowed, with Cary Grant as a mysterious man who may not be what he seems.
3 – I.Q. (1994) – One of the top modern romantic comedies with Matthau as Albert Einstein, the uncle of one of the leads and a bit of a cupid. The main story follows Meg Ryan and Tim Robbins, but Matthau gets many of the best gags.
2 – A Face in the Crowd (1956) – The only drama on this list, and a powerful one. Matthau is excellent, but the film belongs to Andy Griffith as a media demagogue. The theme is far to relevant today.
1 – A New Leaf (1971) – One of the great gems of cinema, no one’s made anything like it. Matthau is a nasty, selfish, man-child who finds his wealth vanishing because he’d decided to live on more than he had, so now needs to find easy, quick money. And the only way for a man “with nothing who looks everything” to get money is from a foolish woman–played by Elaine May.