Le prisonnier de la deuxième avenue

Original title: The Prisoner of Second Avenue

IMDb RATING

6.7/10

4.1K

YOUR RATING

Le prisonnier de la deuxième avenue (1975)

A suddenly-unemployed company executive suffers a nervous breakdown, and his supporting wife tries everything to console him and pick up the slack.

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Comedy

A suddenly-unemployed company executive suffers a nervous breakdown, and his supporting wife tries everything to console him and pick up the slack.A suddenly-unemployed company executive suffers a nervous breakdown, and his supporting wife tries everything to console him and pick up the slack.A suddenly-unemployed company executive suffers a nervous breakdown, and his supporting wife tries everything to console him and pick up the slack.

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

6.7/10

4.1K

YOUR RATING

See production info at IMDbPro

Nominated for 1 BAFTA Award
- 1 win & 2 nominations total

Videos1

Trailer 3:07

Trailer

Photos36

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Storyline

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Trivia
According to the Jack Lemmon's biography "Lemmon" by Don Widener, actress Anne Bancroft recounted this episode from the film's shooting: "[Jack was] nice to a point where he's crazy...We had a scene in 'Prisoner [of Second Avenue'] where he had to carry a shovel in - a very close two-shot favoring me. I played the scene with tears in my eyes because Jack had accidentally hit me in the shin with that shovel. The director saw something was wrong so he stopped everything. I had a big bump on my leg, but it was Friday and over the weekend I fixed it up. When we came back on Monday the first scene was a retake of the shovel thing. Well, Jack brought the shovel in and I anticipated getting hit again. He's so full of energy, you're sure he's not noticing; but he never touched me. The take was fine, but Jack limped away. To avoid hurting me, he had cut himself. He was bleeding and we had to bandage his leg; his wound was much worse than mine. He is so kind he hurt himself rather than injure someone else. That's a little crazy! It's the nicest crazy I know, and I know a lot of crazy people."

Goofs
When Edna comes home from work with a souffle for dinner, she puts it in the oven but never turns the oven on. A few minutes later when she takes it out of the presumably hot oven, she does not use an oven mitt or pot holder to protect her hand.

Quotes
Pearl: Maybe it's not even a nervous breakdown. Doctors can be wrong, too. They took out all my top teeth... then found out it was kidney stones.

Connections
Featured in Urban Living: Funny and Formidable (1975)

User reviews65

Featured review

A Hearty Approval of a Wonderful Film

Being a Jack Lemmon fan, I can't help but be biased when it comes to watching his films. But I have to say, even by Lemmon's standards, "Prisoner" is one of his finest performances. He displays a broad range of emotion as Mel Edison, a corporate exec who falls victim to the unemployment crisis of the seventies. Anne Bancroft is nicely cast as his wife, Edna--it's almost hard to believe watching this film that this is the same woman who played in "G.I. Jane" as a crooked senator. And, although another viewer here frowned upon the casting of Gene Saks' as Mel's brother Harry, I always enjoy seeing the director in front of the camera (Saks directed another of my faves, "The Odd Couple"). The direction is pretty tight, and the interludes between acts include humorous voice-overs from a fictional radio announcer (you'll have to listen closely to catch some of the jokes). Look for Sylvester Stallone in a cameo appearance. I heartily recommend this film to all Jack Lemmon fans, as well as to those who enjoy a good comedy that's not all slapstick and guffaws.