Being There (1979)
- Starring:
- Peter Sellers, Shirley MacLaine, (more)
- Director(s):
- Hal Ashby
- Theatrical MPAA Rating:
- PG
- Category:
- Comedy
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Having lived his life as the gardener on a millionaire's estate, Chance (Peter Sellers) knows of the real world only what he has seen on TV. When his benefactor dies, Chance walks aimlessly into the streets of Washington D.C., where he is struck by a car owned by wealthy Eve Rand (Shirley MacLaine). Identifying himself, the confused man mutters "Chance...gardener," which Eve takes to be "Chauncey Gardiner." Eve takes him to her home to convalesce, and because Chance is so well-dressed and well-groomed, and because he speaks in such a cultured tone, everyone in her orbit assumes that "Chauncey Gardiner" must be a man of profound intelligence. No matter what he says, it is interpreted as a pearl of wisdom and insight. He rises to the top of Washington society, where his simplistic responses to the most difficult questions (responses usually related to his gardening experience) are highly prized by the town's movers and shakers. In fact, there is serious consideration given to running Chance as a presidential candidate. Both a modern fable and a political satire, Being There was based on the novel by Jerzy Kosinski and costars Melvyn Douglas, who won a Best Supporting Actor Oscar as Eve's aging power-broker husband. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Theatrical Feature Running Time:
- 130 mins
Complete Cast:
- Peter Sellers - Chance the Gardener
- Melvyn Douglas - Benjamin Rand
- Richard Basehart - Vladimir Skrapinov
- Ruth Attaway - Louise
- Fran Brill - Sally Hayes
- Oteil Burbridge - Lolo
- Georgine Hall - Mrs. Aubrey
- Danna Hansen - Mrs. Slipshod
- Donald Jacob - David, chauffeur
- Sandy Ward - Sen. Slipshod
- Elya Baskin - Karpatov
- Mark Hammer - Pallbearer
- Terrence Currier - Pallbearer
- Ravenell Keller III - Abbaz
- Arthur Rosenberg - Morton Hull
- Fredric Lehne - TV Page
- Melendy Britt - Sophie
- Jerome Hellman - Gary Burns
- Stanley Grover - Baldwin
- Paul Marin - Reporter
- Ned Wilson - Honeycutt
- Than Wyenn - Ambassador Gaufridi
- James Noble - Kaufman, Presidential Advisor
- Shirley MacLaine - Eve Rand
- Jack Warden - President Bobby
- Richard Dysart - Dr. Robert Allenby
- David Clennon - Thomas Franklin
- Denise Du Barry - Johanna Franklin
- Maurice Copeland - Pallbearer
- Hanna Hertelendy - Natasha Skrapinov
- Brian Corrigan - Policeman
- Austin Hay - Pallbearer
- William Larsen - Lyman Stuart
- John Miller - Ron Steigler
- Sam Weisman - Colson
- Mitch Kreindel - Dennis Watson
- John Harkins - Courtney
- Katherine de Hetre - Kinney, News Researcher
- Richard Venture - Wilson
- Alfredine Brown - Old Woman
- Ernest McClure - Jeffery
- Allen Williams - Reporter
- Arthur Grundy - Arthur
- Gwen Humble - TV Guest
- Alice Hirson - First Lady
- Kenneth Patterson - Perkins
- Director(s):
- Hal Ashby
- Writer(s):
- Robert Jones, Jerzy Kosinski
- Producer(s):
- Andrew Braunsberg, Jack Schwartzman, Charles B. Mulvehill
- Theatrical MPAA Rating:
- PG(Questionable for Children, Adult Situations, Adult Humor)
- Categories:
- Comedy
- Closed Captioning:
- Check All Versions
- Subtitles:
- Check All Versions
- 1980 - Being There - British Academy of Film and Television Arts - Best Screenplay
- 1979 - Being There - Hollywood Foreign Press Association - Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture
- 1979 - Being There - Hollywood Foreign Press Association - Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy
- 1979 - Being There - Los Angeles Film Critics Association - Best Supporting Actor
- 1979 - Being There - National Board of Review - Best Actor
- 1979 - Being There - New York Film Critics Circle - Best Supporting Actor
