Mr. Halpern and Mr. Johnson explained

Genre:Comedy
Drama
Director:Alvin Rakoff
Starring:Laurence Olivier
Jackie Gleason
Country:United Kingdom
United States
Language:English
Producer:Edie Landau
Ely Landau
Executive Producer:Mort Abrahams
Colin Callender
Patrick Dromgoole
Location:Bristol, England
Editor:Peter Buchanan
Cinematography:Gary Penny
Runtime:60 minutes
Company:Ely & Edie Productions
Network:HBO

Mr. Halpern and Mr. Johnson is a 1983 American made-for-television drama film produced for HBO starring Laurence Olivier and Jackie Gleason and was directed by Alvin Rakoff.

Plot

The film is a two-person drama featuring Olivier as Mr. Joseph Halpern, an elderly working class British Jewish widower and Gleason as Mr. Ernest Johnson, a dapper American retired accountant. At the funeral of his wife, Florence, Mr. Halpern meets Mr. Johnson, who surprises him with the disclosure that he and Florence had maintained a close friendship for the last 40 years. Six weeks later, Mr. Halpern and Mr. Johnson meet for a drink at a hotel. A long conversation ensues that reveals aspects of himself and one has been in love with the other's wife for 30 years. At the end, Mr. Halpern and Mr. Johnson agree to meet again.

There are two locations in the movie: a New York hotel and a New Jersey cemetery. The hotel scene was filmed at the HTV West Studio on Bath Road in Bristol, England and the cemetery scenes were filmed outside Bristol.

Cast

References