The Rat Race

Last updated
The Rat Race
The Rat Race - 1960 - Poster.png
1960 theatrical poster
Directed by Robert Mulligan
Written by Garson Kanin
Produced by William Perlberg
George Seaton
Starring Tony Curtis
Debbie Reynolds
Jack Oakie
Don Rickles
Cinematography Robert Burks
Edited by Alma Macrorie
Music by Elmer Bernstein
Distributed by Paramount Pictures
Release date
  • July 10, 1960 (1960-07-10)(U.S.)
Running time
105 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Box office$3,400,000 (US/ Canada) [1]

The Rat Race is a 1960 American drama film adapted from the play of the same name by Garson Kanin. Directed by Robert Mulligan, it stars Tony Curtis and Debbie Reynolds as struggling young entertainment professionals in New York City. Filming took place in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Sam Butera and Gerry Mulligan have minor roles as saxophonists.

Contents

Plot

Wishing to pursue a career as a jazz saxophonist, Pete Hammond Jr. takes a bus from his home in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, to New York City and optimistically begins looking for work. However, jobs are extremely hard to find. He crosses paths with Peggy Brown, a model and taxi dancer who has become jaded and cynical after years of struggling to survive in the city. She has just been evicted from an apartment rented to Pete, and because she is penniless and has no home to return to, he offers to let her stay with him. She is forced to rely on his generosity, and as the two of them work at various low-paying jobs, they stay together in the apartment as friends.

Peggy warns him that people cannot be trusted, but Pete is encouraged when a band auditions him for a job. When the other musicians send him out for beer, Pete returns to find that they have stolen his instruments and that he is the victim of a scam, thus proving Peggy right. Pete lands a job as an "alto man" on a cruise ship but has no instruments. Peggy goes to the abusive taxi dance hall owner she works for, Nellie Miller (Don Rickles), to whom she is already in debt, for another loan to give to Pete and agrees to prostitute herself with his patrons to pay back her debts. Maintaining a cynical front, Peggy convinces a suspicious Pete that she got the money with "no strings attached".

Pete writes Peggy daily throughout the next month while on the cruise. When she stalls at fulfilling her end of their deal, Nellie strips Peggy of her dress and shoes to make his point that he owns her. She runs out on their deal again the night Pete returns, and Nellie threatens to disfigure her. In love with Peggy and afraid for her, Pete gives up all his wages, his wristwatch and his new instruments to pay off Nellie. Later, Pete professes his love to Peggy and they kiss; then he confesses to Peggy that he "mixed" with three women as part of his cruise ship job. Peggy agrees to stay with Pete, but then she tells him that he needs to stop working on cruise ships.

Cast

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Johnny Hodges</span> American alto saxophonist (1907–1970)

John Cornelius "Johnny" Hodges was an American alto saxophonist, best known for solo work with Duke Ellington's big band. He played lead alto in the saxophone section for many years. Hodges was also featured on soprano saxophone, but refused to play soprano after 1946. Along with Benny Carter, Hodges is considered to be one of the definitive alto saxophone players of the big band era.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cool jazz</span> Sub-genre of jazz associated with the U.S. West Coast

Cool jazz is a style of modern jazz music inspired by bebop and big band that arose in the United States after World War II. It is characterized by relaxed tempos and a lighter tone than that used in the fast and complex bebop style. Cool jazz often employs formal arrangements and incorporates elements of classical music. Broadly, the genre refers to a number of post-war jazz styles employing a more subdued approach than that of contemporaneous jazz idioms. As Paul Tanner, Maurice Gerow, and David Megill suggest, "the tonal sonorities of these conservative players could be compared to pastel colors, while the solos of [Dizzy] Gillespie and his followers could be compared to fiery red colors."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gerry Mulligan</span> American jazz musician (1927–1996)

Gerald Joseph Mulligan, also known as Jeru, was an American jazz saxophonist, clarinetist, composer and arranger. Though primarily known as one of the leading jazz baritone saxophonists—playing the instrument with a light and airy tone in the era of cool jazz—Mulligan was also a significant arranger working with Claude Thornhill, Miles Davis, Stan Kenton, and others. His piano-less quartet of the early 1950s with trumpeter Chet Baker is still regarded as one of the best cool jazz ensembles. Mulligan was also a skilled pianist and played several other reed instruments. Several of his compositions including "Walkin' Shoes" and "Five Brothers", have become standards.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lee Konitz</span> American jazz musician (1927–2020)

Leon "Lee" Konitz was an American jazz alto saxophonist and composer.

"Beauty and the Beasts" is the fourth episode of season three of the horror-drama television show Buffy the Vampire Slayer. It was written by Marti Noxon, directed by James Whitmore, Jr., and first broadcast on The WB on October 20, 1998.

West Coast jazz refers to styles of jazz that developed in Los Angeles and San Francisco during the 1950s. West Coast jazz is often seen as a subgenre of cool jazz, which consisted of a calmer style than bebop or hard bop. The music relied relatively more on composition and arrangement than on the individually improvised playing of other jazz styles. Although this style dominated, it was not the only form of jazz heard on the American West Coast.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sam Butera</span> American saxophonist (1927–2009)

Sam Butera was an American tenor saxophonist and singer best noted for his collaborations with Louis Prima and Keely Smith. Butera is frequently regarded as a crossover artist who performed with equal ease in both R&B and the post-big band pop style of jazz that permeated the early Vegas nightclub scene.

<i>Tugboat Annie Sails Again</i> 1940 film

Tugboat Annie Sails Again is a 1940 American comedy romance film directed by Lewis Seiler. The picture is a sequel to Tugboat Annie (1933). Marjorie Rambeau took over the late Marie Dressler's role, and the supporting cast features Alan Hale Sr., Jane Wyman, and Ronald Reagan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Debbie Dean</span> UK soap opera character, created 2002

Debra "Debbie" Dean is a fictional character from the British Channel 4 soap opera Hollyoaks, played by Jodi Albert. She first appeared in 2002, before Albert quit the role in 2004. She made her final appearance during 2005, before making a brief return in 2006.

"Shoot" is the ninth episode of the first season of the American television drama series Mad Men. It was written by Chris Provenzano and series creator Matthew Weiner and was directed by Paul Feig. The episode originally aired on the AMC channel in the United States on September 13, 2007.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Allen Eager</span> American jazz saxophonist

Allen Eager was an American jazz tenor and alto saxophonist who also competed in auto racing and took part in LSD experiments.

The Rejected (<i>Mad Men</i>) 4th episode of the 4th season of Mad Men

"The Rejected" is the fourth episode of the fourth season of the American television drama series Mad Men, and the 43rd overall episode of the series. It was written by Keith Huff and series creator and executive producer Matthew Weiner, and directed by John Slattery, who portrays Roger Sterling on the show. It originally aired on the AMC channel in the United States on August 15, 2010. Reviews of the episode were generally positive, emphasizing particularly the emotional tension between Pete Campbell and Peggy Olson.

<i>Mad Men</i> season 5 Season of television series

The fifth season of the American television drama series Mad Men premiered on March 25, 2012, with a two-episode premiere, and concluded on June 10, 2012. It consisted of thirteen episodes, each running approximately 48 minutes in length. AMC broadcast the fifth season on Sundays at 10:00 pm in the United States. The fifth season was released on DVD and Blu-ray in region 1 on October 16, 2012.

<i>Lost River</i> (film) 2014 film by Ryan Gosling

Lost River is a 2014 American fantasy thriller film written, co-produced, and directed by Ryan Gosling, in his feature directorial debut. The film stars Christina Hendricks, Saoirse Ronan, Iain De Caestecker, Matt Smith, Ben Mendelsohn, Barbara Steele, and Eva Mendes. Principal photography began in Detroit on May 6, 2013. The film premiered in competition in the Un Certain Regard section of the 2014 Cannes Film Festival, and was released in the United States on April 10, 2015.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ross Barton</span> Fictional character from Emmerdale

Ross Barton is a fictional character from the ITV soap opera Emmerdale, portrayed by Michael Parr. He made his first appearance in episode 6600 of the soap, broadcast on 9 July 2013. Ross first appears as the carjacker of Laurel Thomas, before being revealed to be the nephew of Moira Barton. The character is initially characterised as a bad boy and a "nasty piece of work". The softer side of Ross' personality is explored when he enters a secret relationship with police officer Donna Windsor, who has terminal cancer. When Donna dies, Ross bonds with her daughter April Windsor.

The Sugdens are a fictional family in the ITV soap opera Emmerdale. Introduced during the show's conception in 1972, they were the main family for storylines between the 1970s and 1980s and remained as such for many years. The families original unit consisted of widowed farmer Annie Sugden, alongside her children Peggy Skilbeck, Jack Sugden and Joe Sugden. Subsequently these characters went on to produce more generations of Sugdens.

References

  1. "Rental Potentials of 1960", Variety, 4 January 1961 p 47. Please note figures are rentals as opposed to total gross.