The Ritz (1976)
- Starring:
- Jack Weston, Rita Moreno, (more)
- Director(s):
- Richard Lester
- Theatrical MPAA Rating:
- R
- Category:
- Comedy
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With The Ritz, Terrence McNally's hit Broadway play of the same name is cinematized by director Richard Lester. Jack Weston plays Gaetano Proclo, a minor mob flunky who's been targeted for elimination by his brother-in-law, Carmine Vespucci (Jerry Stiller). Gaetano takes refuge in what he thinks is a Turkish bath. Actually, it's The Pits. That's the name, "The Pits" -- a gay bathhouse (this is the pre-AIDS era), where the exquisitely awful Googie Gomez (Rita Moreno) entertains the homosexual patrons with her ear-splitting renditions of such show tunes as "Everything's Coming Up Roses." Hoping to save his neck by pretending to be gay, Gaetano effusively praises Googie. Assuming that he is a big-time Broadway producer, she plays up to him. Everything would be hunky-dory, except that the bathhouse is owned by the very mob that has put a contract on Gaetano. What follows is an old-fashioned door-slamming farce, except that there are no doors to slam. The supporting cast includes Kaye Ballard, Treat Williams, George Coulouris, F. Murray Abraham, Dave King, and (as one of the patrons) a pre-Cheers John Ratzenberger. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Theatrical Feature Running Time:
- 91 mins
Complete Cast:
- Jack Weston - Gaetano Proclo
- Jerry Stiller - Carmine Vespucci
- F. Murray Abraham - Chris
- John Everson - Tiger
- Dave King - Abe
- John Ratzenberger - Bath Patron
- Freddie Earle - Disgruntled Patron
- Bart Allison - Old Priest
- Peter Butterworth - Patron In Chaps
- Bessie Love - Maurine
- Paul Price - Claude Perkins
- Leon Greene - Musclebound Patron
- Ronnie Brody - Small Patron
- Rita Moreno - Googie Gomez
- Kaye Ballard - Vivian Proclo
- Treat Williams - Michael Brick
- Christopher J. Brown - Duff
- George Coulouris - Old Man Vespucci
- Chris Harris - Patrons
- Richard Holmes - Pianist
- Ben Aris - Cyclist
- Hal Galili - Patron With Cigar
- Hugh Fraser - Disc Jockey
- Samantha Weyson - Gilda Proclo
- Tony de Santis - Sheldon Farenthold
- Director(s):
- Richard Lester
- Writer(s):
- Terrence McNally, Terrence E. McNally
- Producer(s):
- Denis O'Dell
- Theatrical MPAA Rating:
- R(Adult Language, Adult Situations, Strong Sexual Content, Nudity, Not For Children)
- Categories:
- Comedy
- Closed Captioning:
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- Subtitles:
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