How a road trip with a cat earned Art Carney an Academy Award
In short: When an elderly teacher is evicted from his New York apartment, he embarks on a cross-country journey with his cat, Tonto. This 1974 road comedy-drama, directed by Paul Mazursky, transformed Art Carney into a cinematic icon, proving that even the most unexpected travels can lead to profound self-discovery.
The film follows Harry Coombes, a retired teacher forced out of his Upper West Side home to make way for a parking lot. After a brief, uncomfortable stay with his son’s family, Harry decides to head west. His journey is marked by a series of episodic encounters, including a hitchhiker, an underage runaway, and a visit to his daughter in Chicago. Along the way, he navigates the complexities of aging, family dynamics, and the shifting American landscape, eventually settling in Los Angeles.
The casting process for Harry was notoriously difficult. Director Paul Mazursky initially sought established stars like James Cagney, Laurence Olivier, and Cary Grant, all of whom declined. Art Carney, who was born in 1918, was eventually cast despite being only 13 years older than the actors playing his sons, Larry Hagman and Phil Bruns. Through the transformative makeup artistry of Bob O'Bradovich, Carney successfully embodied the elderly Harry, a performance that ultimately secured him the Academy Award for Best Actor.
Critical reception was largely positive, though mixed in its assessment of the film's pacing and thematic depth. Roger Ebert praised Carney’s performance as totally original, while Gene Siskel lauded the film for its believable, eccentric characters. Conversely, some critics, such as Nora Sayre and Jonathan Rosenbaum, felt the film’s slow pace and didactic approach to aging diminished its potential impact. Despite these debates, the film remains a notable entry in 1970s cinema, capturing a specific, wandering spirit of the era.
The production itself was filled with unique anecdotes, from the casting of a real-life taxi driver who had driven the director to an audition, to the challenges of working with animal actors. While Carney had not been a fan of cats before the film, he developed a genuine bond with his feline co-stars. Following its 1974 release, the film found a lasting audience, eventually reaching home viewers through VHS in 1984 and DVD in 2005.
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