The Prisoner of Second Avenue

1975

The Prisoner of Second Avenue

Critics Consensus

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57%

TOMATOMETER

Total Count: 7

67%

Audience Score

User Ratings: 1,084

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The Prisoner of Second Avenue Photos

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Movie Info

A lesser but still entertaining Neil Simon work, +The Prisoner of Second Avenue was adapted to film in 1974. Jack Lemmon takes over the role played on Broadway by Peter Falk: Mel is a New York-based advertising man who goes through hell when he loses his job. The gods seem to conspire against him as he tries to cope with his unemployed status; he is particularly depressed over the fact that he must now subsist on the income of his wife (Anne Bancroft). There are laughs in The Prisoner of Second Avenue, but it's the laughter of desperation and despair; it might not be advisable to watch this film after a bad day at the office. Watch for Sylvester Stallone as the "human punch line" of an old urban legend about a pickpocket.
  • Rating:
    PG
  • Genre:
    Classics, Comedy
  • Directed By:
    Melvin Frank
  • Written By:
    Neil Simon
  • In Theaters:
     wide
  • On Disc/Streaming:
  • Runtime:
  • Studio:
    Warner Home Video

Cast

Jack Lemmon
as Mel Edison
Anne Bancroft
as Edna Edison
Gene Saks
as Harry Edison
Elizabeth Wilson
as Pauline
Florence Stanley
as Pearl
F. Murray Abraham
Maxine Stuart
as Belle
Ed Peck
as Man Upstairs
Gene Blakely
as Charlie
M. Emmet Walsh
Ivor Francis
as Psychiatrist
Stack Pierce
as Detective
Sylvester Stallone
as Youth in Park
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Critic Reviews for The Prisoner of Second Avenue

All Critics (7) | Fresh (4) | Rotten (3)

View All Critic Reviews (7)

Audience Reviews for The Prisoner of Second Avenue

  • Apr 27, 2007
    Jack Lemmon is one consummate actor when it comes to falling apart on screen. Although this masquerades as a "comedy," there are flashes of his extraordinarily painful performance in <i>Days of Wine and Roses.</i> I'm not Neil Simon's greatest fan, but I give him credit here for blending the tragedy of Lemmon's mental breakdown with some very good humor. <p> I wonder if any marriage in the real world could withstand this kind of relationship intensity? I don't know.
    Lanning : Super Reviewer
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The Prisoner of Second Avenue Quotes

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