Mikey and Nicky
Mikey and Nicky is a 1976 American gangster film written and directed by Elaine May. It stars John Cassavetes as a desperate small-time mobster and Peter Falk as his longtime, childhood friend. The supporting cast features Ned Beatty, Carol Grace, Rosee Arrick, and noted acting teacher Sanford Meisner.
| Mikey and Nicky | |
|---|---|
.jpg.webp) Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Elaine May |
| Produced by | Michael Hausman |
| Written by | Elaine May |
| Starring | Peter Falk John Cassavetes |
| Music by | John Strauss |
| Cinematography | Bernie Abramson Lucien Ballard Victor J. Kemper |
| Edited by | John Carter Sheldon Kahn |
Production company | |
| Distributed by | Paramount Pictures |
Release date |
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Running time | 106 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $4.3 million |
The production ran over its schedule and budget, leading to tensions between May and Paramount Pictures, who revoked her final cut privilege. May did not direct again for a decade. Her director's cut of the film was screened in 1986; she subsequently made another director's cut, which was released by the Criterion Collection in 2019.
Plot
When Nicky (John Cassavetes) calls Mikey (Peter Falk) yet again to bail him out of trouble—this time a contract on his life for money he stole from his mob boss—Mikey, as always, shows up to help. Overcoming the obstacles of Nicky's paranoia and blind fear, Mikey gets him out of the hotel where he has holed up, and starts to help him plan his escape, but Nicky keeps changing the plan, and a hitman (Ned Beatty) is hot on their trail. As they try to make their escape, the two friends have to confront issues of betrayal, regret, and the value of friendship versus self-preservation.
Cast
- Peter Falk as Mikey
- John Cassavetes as Nicky
- Ned Beatty as Kinney
- Rose Arrick as Annie
- Carol Grace as Nellie
- William Hickey as Sid Fine
- Sanford Meisner as Dave Resnick
- Joyce Van Patten as Jan
- M. Emmet Walsh as bus driver
Cast notes
- May originally cast Paramount president Frank Yablans as a gangster, but Charles Bluhdorn, the chairman of parent company Gulf+Western, was not amused, and demanded that she recast.
Production
Originally intended as a summer 1976 release, then delayed by editing problems in which May could not get the sound to sync with the film, Mikey and Nicky was released in New York City on December 21, 1976. Because May missed the film's delivery date, litigation between her and Paramount began in 1975, with the studio gaining possession of the film with final cut privilege. May did not direct again for over a decade.
The film's original $1.8 million budget had grown to nearly $4.3 million by the time May turned the film over to Paramount. She shot 1.4 million feet of film, almost three times as much as was shot for Gone with the Wind. By using three cameras that she sometimes left running for hours, May captured spontaneous interaction between Falk and Cassavetes. At one point, Cassavetes and Falk had both left the set and the cameras remained rolling for several minutes. A new camera operator said "Cut!" only to be immediately rebuked by May for usurping what is traditionally a director's command. He protested that the two actors had left the set. "Yes", replied May, "but they might come back".[1] May was even said to have hidden reels of film from Paramount in order to maintain control during postproduction.[2]
Post Production
When Paramount assumed control over Mikey and Nicky, May was willing to fight for her film. After losing the lawsuits to get her name removed from A New Leaf, she could not watch Paramount butcher another one of her films. Instead of turning over all of the footage, she hid two important reels of it in her husband's friend's garage in Connecticut. Although Paramount traced the reels to the garage, they had no legal jurisdiction to search a house outside of the state of New York. [3] May eventually orchestrated the return of the reels and allowed Paramount to create their cut.
Release
Angered by May's contentiousness during filming and editing, Paramount booked the completed film into theaters for a few days to satisfy contractual obligations, but did not give the film its full support. Paramount's cut was ridden with continuity errors and released to the ridicule of critics. This led John Simon to call the film "a celluloid death wish" in a 1976 New Yorker article.[4] In 1978, Julian Schlossberg, who had previously worked in acquisitions for Paramount before starting his own company, Castle Hill Productions, purchased the rights from the studio with May and Falk.
A new version of the film, approved by May, was shown at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City for the Directors Guild of America Fiftieth Anniversary Tribute on November 17, 1986. The film was also shown in Park City, Utah, at the United States Film Festival's Tribute to John Cassavetes on January 25, 1989.
As of August 2020, Mikey and Nicky holds a rating of 86% on Rotten Tomatoes based on 21 reviews.
The film was released on Blu-ray and DVD by The Criterion Collection in 2019.
References
- Blum, David (16 March 1987). "The Road to 'Ishtar': How Warren Beatty, Dustin Hoffman and Elaine May Made a Farce in the Desert for Just $40 Million". New York: 42.
- Rabin, Nathan. "Mikey and Nicky: Difficult Men". The Criterion Collection. Retrieved 2019-01-28.
- Cooper, Patrick (2019). “Aren’t You Gonna Die Someday?”: Elaine May’s Mikey and Nicky: An Examination, Reflection, and Making Of. p. 212.
- Simon, John (10 January 1977). "May, Bogdanovich, and Streisand: Varieties of Death Wish". New York: 55.