Lookin' to Get Out

Lookin' to Get Out
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Name	Lookin' to Get Out
Director	Hal Ashby
Producer	James C. Katz
Writer	John Robins
Starring	Jackie Gleason, Lenny Baker, Art Carney, Lee Grant, Elizabeth Wilson
Music	John Kander
Cinematography	Haskell Wexler
Editing	Melvin Shapiro
Studio	Columbia Pictures
Distributor	Avco Embassy Pictures
Released	1982
Country	United States
Language	English

Lookin' to Get Out is a 1982 American comedy film directed by Hal Ashby and featuring Jackie Gleason, Lenny Baker, and Art Carney. The film, written by John Robins and produced during a transitional era in Hollywood, combines elements of caper comedy, character study, and urban realism. Its production history intersects with notable figures and institutions from late 20th-century American cinema.

Background and Development

Development of the project involved collaborations among figures associated with New Hollywood, including director Hal Ashby and cinematographer Haskell Wexler. Producers and financiers negotiated with studios such as Columbia Pictures and distributors including Avco Embassy Pictures and United Artists. The screenplay by John Robins attracted performers linked to Broadway and television, drawing interest from actors who had worked with institutions like the Tony Awards, Academy Awards, and Emmy Awards nominees and winners. Personnel involved had prior credits with filmmakers such as Robert Altman, Martin Scorsese, Francis Ford Coppola, Woody Allen, and Mike Nichols, reflecting cross-currents between studio and independent production models. The film's financing and rights issues echoed disputes seen in cases involving United Artists litigations, Paramount Pictures dealings, and the shifting corporate strategies of Sony-era conglomerates.

Plot

Two small-time hustlers in New York City—one an ex-con and one a man recently released from a medical facility—conspire to con a wealthy adversary to secure a fresh start. The narrative unfolds through sequences set in neighborhoods evocative of Manhattan, scenes in locations reminiscent of Brooklyn and Queens, and encounters with figures connected to institutions such as Madison Square Garden, Grand Central Terminal, and local police departments that recall portrayals in films by Billy Wilder, Stanley Kubrick, and Orson Welles. The scheme involves seduction, deception, and a climactic confrontation that threads motifs common to caper films by John Huston, Howard Hawks, and Peter Bogdanovich, while also drawing on character-driven sensibilities associated with Elia Kazan and John Cassavetes.

Cast and Characters

The principal cast includes veterans and character actors from stage and screen. Jackie Gleason portrays a blustery antagonist whose temperament calls to mind roles in films associated with Billy Wilder and collaborations with performers like Humphrey Bogart and Edward G. Robinson. Lenny Baker plays one of the protagonists; his career intersected with Broadway productions and contemporaries such as Al Pacino, Robert De Niro, and Dustin Hoffman. Art Carney appears as an ally, connecting to a lineage of television and film performers including Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau. Supporting roles feature talents with credits in projects tied to United States theater and film institutions like the Actors Studio, Playwrights Horizons, and the Royal Shakespeare Company alumni who worked in American cinema. Other cast members include performers who had worked on Saturday Night Live, The Tonight Show, and network dramas, linking to entertainers such as Lorne Michaels, Johnny Carson, and David Letterman. The ensemble reflects crossovers among recipients and nominees of the Tony Awards, Golden Globe Awards, and Emmy Awards.

Production

Principal photography utilized urban locations and soundstages, with a crew that included technicians affiliated with guilds such as the Directors Guild of America, Screen Actors Guild, and International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees. Cinematographer Haskell Wexler brought experience from politically charged films and documentaries associated with Ken Loach, Frederick Wiseman, and Michael Apted. The production encountered challenges tied to studio interference, budgetary constraints, and post-production disputes similar to controversies involving Orson Welles and Terry Gilliam. Editing by Melvin Shapiro and music by John Kander aimed to balance comic timing with an urban soundscape comparable to scores by Bernard Herrmann and Elmer Bernstein. Costume and production design teams included artisans who had worked with MGM, RKO Pictures, and contemporary independent outfits like A24-emergent creatives, signaling transitions in craft practices during the period.

Release and Reception

The film's release strategy involved limited theatrical runs and negotiations with distributors active in the early 1980s marketplace, such as Avco Embassy Pictures and TriStar Pictures. Critical response referenced comparisons to comedies by Frank Capra and indie sensibilities akin to works from John Sayles and Hal Ashby's own filmography. Reviews appeared in outlets associated with institutions like The New York Times, Variety, and The Hollywood Reporter, with commentary that invoked performers connected to Academy Awards recognition and the broader community of American character actors. Box office performance was modest relative to contemporaneous releases from Paramount Pictures, Warner Bros., and 20th Century Fox.

Legacy and Influence

Though not a mainstream commercial success, the film remains of interest to scholars and cinephiles studying late New Hollywood transitions, director-driven studio conflicts, and the careers of actors such as Jackie Gleason and Art Carney. It is cited in discussions alongside films by Hal Ashby, Robert Benton, and Alan J. Pakula when mapping trajectories from auteur-driven projects to corporate studio reorganizations involving companies like Sony Pictures Entertainment and Miramax. The film's production history and reception contribute to analyses found in film studies curricula at institutions such as UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television, NYU Tisch School of the Arts, and The British Film Institute. Collectors and archivists reference holdings in archives including the Library of Congress, the Academy Film Archive, and university special collections when tracing the preservation and cultural memory of small-studio comedies from the era.

Category:1982 films Category:American comedy films Category:Films directed by Hal Ashby