Alice's Restaurant (film)

Alice's Restaurant
Theatrical release poster
Directed byArthur Penn
Screenplay byVenable Herndon
Arthur Penn
Based onThe Alice's Restaurant Massacree
1967 song
by Arlo Guthrie
Produced byHillard Elkins
Joseph Manduke
StarringArlo Guthrie
Pat Quinn
James Broderick
Pete Seeger
Lee Hays
William Obanhein
CinematographyMichael Nebbia
Edited byDede Allen
Music byArlo Guthrie
Garry Sherman
Distributed byUnited Artists
Release date
  • August 19, 1969 (1969-08-19) (Boston)
Running time
111 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Box office$6,100,000 (North American theatrical rentals)[1][2]

Alice's Restaurant is a 1969 American comedy film directed by Arthur Penn. It is an adaptation of the 1967 folk song "Alice's Restaurant Massacree", originally written and sung by Arlo Guthrie. The film stars Guthrie as himself, with Pat Quinn as Alice Brock and James Broderick as Ray Brock.[3] Penn, who resided in the story's setting of Stockbridge, Massachusetts, co-wrote the screenplay in 1967 with Venable Herndon after hearing the song and more of the story from Brock's father, who was on the board of directors at The Berkshire Playhouse,[4] and shortly after directing Bonnie & Clyde.[3]

Alice's Restaurant premiered in Boston on August 19, 1969,[citation needed] a few days after Guthrie appeared at the Woodstock Festival.[4] A soundtrack album for the film was also released by United Artists Records. The soundtrack includes a studio version of the title song, which was originally divided into two parts (one for each album side); a 1998 CD reissue on the Rykodisc label presents this version of the song in full, and adds several bonus tracks to the original LP.

  1. ^ "All-time Film Rental Champs", Variety, 7 January 1976 p 46
  2. ^ "Box Office Information for Alice's Restaurant". The Numbers. Retrieved February 26, 2012.
  3. ^ a b Cummings, Paula (November 21, 2017). Interview: Arlo Guthrie Carries On Thanksgiving Traditions And Fulfills Family Legacy Archived 2018-10-26 at the Wayback Machine. NYS Music. Retrieved October 25, 2018.
  4. ^ a b Stanmeyer, Anastasia, "Breaking Bread with Alice", Berkshire Magazine, Holiday 2022. Retrieved 2024-02-22.