FILM · 1993 · USA
Grumpy Old Men
28 archived facts 6 topics 1 source Last reviewed Oct 2026
All facts (28)
- #001
After filming in freezing temperatures in Minnesota, Walter Matthau was hospitalized with double pneumonia.
- #002
It is the sixth on-screen pairing of Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau, the comic actors and great friends, out of their ten films together.
- #003
Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau did not think the film would amount to anything special and were surprised by its box-office success. Made for a budget of about $35 million, it earned $70 million.
- #004
When Gustafson is woken by Ariel knocking at midnight, he mutters "Vad är det?" — Swedish for "What is it?"
- #005
Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis were considered for the roles of John and Max respectively, but both turned them down, with Martin's poor health preventing him from taking the part. Martin died in December 1995, around the time the sequel Grumpier Old Men (1995) was released in theaters.
- #006
It marked a comeback for the legendary but occasional team of Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau, who had not made a film together in nearly a decade. They would go on to make this film's sequel, then another comedy, Out to Sea, and a sequel to The Odd Couple, all sparked by this film's success.
- #007
The address 11291 Chloe Ln. that appears on Grandpa Gustafson's shack door, Wabasha, MN 55981, is actually the address of Slippery's Bar & Grill in Wabasha, MN, the bar referenced in the film.
- #008
Walter Matthau initially disliked the script and wanted to pass on the film. He agreed to join only after his son Charles persuaded him to take the role of Max.
- #009
Although the initials JW on the ice-fishing shack door are said to stand for the first and middle names of Burgess Meredith's character Grandpa Gustafson in this film and its sequel Grumpier Old Men (1995), no character ever addresses him by name.
- #010
While Max is flipping through John's TV channels, you can see three different Little Caesar's pizza commercials from 1992.
- #011
Grandpa Gustafson was first offered to George Burns, Walter Matthau's co-star in The Sunshine Boys (1975), but at 97 he did not feel comfortable shooting in the freezing Minnesota cold, and he died as well. Bob Hope was also offered the part but did not want to take on a major film role because of his other commitments and poor health. In the end Burgess Meredith was suggested by Ann-Margret, who had appeared with him 15 years earlier in Richard Attenborough's Magic (1978), which also starred Anthony Hopkins.
- #012
During a scene in which John and JW (Grandpa) Gustafson walk through the ice-fishing shacks, you can see a sign showing members' distances from their hometowns, much like the one at the center of the camp in M*A*S*H (1972). In Grumpy Old Men (1993) it reads "Kenosha, WI 250 miles," "Fair Banks, AK 3130 miles," and "Rosies, Seoul 6750 miles." This is a tribute to the M*A*S*H (1972) TV series, which lists it among its trivia: "Rosie's Bar" was inspired by a real bar in Seoul called "Rose's Bar." Located just outside Camp Mosier in Seoul, Rose's Bar stood in an area with a thriving nightlife that primarily served US military personnel. After the war this part of Seoul became a residential area, but Rose's bar survived until 1971, when it was demolished to build small apartment buildings. (Source: Armed Forces History Museum).
- #013
It was among the 500 films nominated for the American Film Institute's 2000 list of the 100 Funniest American Films.
- #014
The houses of John, Max and Ariel seen in the film are on the same block, next to Phalen Lake in a St. Paul suburb of Minnesota.
- #015
Two songs play on the vinyl in John's ice-fishing shack: "Donna non vidi mai" from Manon Lescaut, Act 1, and the Anvil Chorus "Vedi! Le fosche" from Il Trovatore, Act 2.
- #016
Max Goldman's ice-fishing shack is listed at the address 1137 Anoka St, Wabasha, Minnesota.
- #017
In the scene where John finds Ariel in his kitchen at night, he drops the stick he is holding and you hear it hit his head.
- #018
Ann-Margret and Burgess Meredith had previously appeared together 15 years before this film in Magic (1978). They shared no scenes in that earlier film, but they share some screen time in this film and its sequel Grumpier Old Men (1995).
- #019
Ann-Margret, Walter Matthau and Burgess Meredith all appeared in films with Elvis Presley.
- #020
Ossie Davis, Buck Henry and Christopher McDonald are the only supporting actors from this film who did not reprise their roles in the sequel Grumpier Old Men (1995). Davis's character Chuck died in this film, so although he is mentioned by name several times in the sequel, he could not appear in the second installment; Henry's character, IRS agent Elliot Snyder, who is also Jack Lemmon's character's main nemesis, finally fought Walter Matthau's character and was never seen or heard from again, with no reference to him in the second film. Christopher's character "Mike" is married to Melanie in the first film and does not appear in the second because she has married Jacob.
- #021
In the scene where Max tries to stab John with a fish, the black man in sunglasses standing next to Grandpa is Ozzie Davis! Ozzie's character Chuck had already died earlier in the film, but it appears the director decided to use him as an extra, perhaps as an Easter egg to see if anyone would catch it.
- #022
During the fight scene at the lake, John briefly calls Max "Einstein." Walter Matthau played Albert Einstein in the film I.Q. (1994).
- #023
The winning numbers of the lottery John watched were 7, 4, 11, 25, 40.
- #024
This was Katie Sagona's debut.
- #025
Christopher McDonald and Kevin Pollak both appeared in House Arrest (1996).
- #026
In the hospital scene, John is connected to a Puritan Bennett 7200 ventilator.
- #027
This was actor John Carroll Lynch's first feature film.
- #028
Grandpa Gustafson's address is written above the door of his shack when he goes ice fishing. It is visible only for a moment after he takes the paper bag full of beer from his son's hand. It reads: J. W. Gustafson, 291 Chloe Ln., Wabasha, Minnesota 55981.
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