FILM · 1971 · USA
The Last Picture Show
- Directed by
- Peter Bogdanovich
- Runtime
- 119 min
- Studio
- BBS Productions, Columbia Pictures
62 archived facts 8 topics 1 source Last reviewed Nov 2026
High school seniors and best friends, Sonny and Duane, live in a dying Texas town. The handsome Duane is dating a local beauty, while Sonny is having an affair with the coach's wife. As graduation nears and both boys contemplate their futures, Duane eyes the army and Sonny takes over a local business. Each struggles to figure out if he can escape this dead-end town and build a better life somewhere else.
62 Interesting Facts About The Last Picture Show
Interesting Facts (10)
- #001
- #002
- #003
- #004
- #005
- #006
- #007
Timothy Bottoms would not perform naked in the bedroom scene with Leachman, so spare underwear was hidden beneath the sheets for each of them to toss out, to suggest nudity; however, in the first take, Leachman automatically removed her own bra and panties, as her character would have done.
- #008
- #009
- #010
Production Story (18)
- #011
- #012
- #013
- #014
- #015
- #016
- #017
Ben Johnson was persuaded to accept the role of Sam the Lion by his friend John Ford. The taciturn Johnson had turned the part down three times because, according to Peter Bogdanovich, the part had "too many words," but Ford reportedly persuaded him by asking if he only wanted to be playing John Wayne's sidekick for the rest of his career.
- #018
- #019
- #020
The final picture shown is Red River (1948), which features John Wayne and is about a cattle drive. Shortly after this film wrapped, Peter Bogdanovich and Larry McMurtry wrote a screenplay called The Streets of Laredo, which was about three former Texas Rangers on a cattle drive. John Wayne was asked to play one of the Rangers, and James Stewart (who was considered for the role of Sam) for the other. Cybill Shepherd was also up for the female lead. When John Wayne refused to do it, McMurtry reworked it as his novel, Lonesome Dove. The sequel, Streets of Laredo (1995) featured Sissy Spacek; who had been considered for Jacy; in the role written for Shepherd. Randy Quaid also appeared.
- #021
- #022
Ellen Burstyn was originally considered for the role of Genevieve, but after meeting with Peter Bogdanovich and reading for all three of the older women characters, he asked her to play Ruth Popper. Burstyn, however, preferred the role of Lois, and Bogdanovich told her to go home, think about whatever part she wanted to play, and call him the next day. She called him the next morning, telling him she still wanted to play Lois, and he agreed.
- #023
- #024
- #025
- #026
Larry McMurtry's original novel included a controversial scene in which young men have sexual relations with a heifer. Director and screenwriter Peter Bogdanovich recounts that this scene made it into the first drafts of the screenplay, but that after a conversation with his old mentor Orson Welles he changed the scene and chose to have the youths turn to an overweight prostitute instead of a heifer.
- #027
- #028
Contains a major spoiler — show
The original novel by Larry McMurtry included a scene where the young men let one of them have sex with a heifer (a cow that hasn't yet borne calves). According to director/screenwriter Peter Bogdanovich, this scene made it into early drafts of the script, but after a discussion with his former mentor Orson Welles, he re-wrote it so that the boys consider a heifer, but then choose to go to a very obese prostitute instead.
Behind the Scenes (14)
- #029
- #030
- #031
- #032
- #033
When Cybill Shepherd filmed her nude scene at the indoor swimming pool, the rest of the cast were not in front of her. They were filmed separately and only the cameraman, sound man and director, Peter Bogdanovich, were present at the time. This real-life event was copied in the movie Irreconcilable Differences (1984), with Sharon Stone playing the Cybill Shepherd-type ingenue, and Ryan O'Neal playing a character modeled on Peter Bogdanovich. In total contrast with "The Last Picture Show", Stone later said that her nude scene was filmed on an overcrowded set, with crew members almost fighting to get a glimpse of her naked body. One actor even yelled "Move! I can't see her f*cking tits!"
- #034
Timothy Bottoms would not perform naked in the bedroom scene with Leachman, so spare underwear was hidden beneath the sheets for each of them to toss out, to suggest nudity; however, in the first take, Leachman automatically removed her own bra and panties, as her character would have done.
- #035
As this was one of Ellen Burstyn's earliest feature films, she often found herself in difficulty over how to inhabit her character, so when she confided her concerns to her director Peter Bogdanovich, he promptly gave her this advice: "Think the thoughts of the character, and the camera will read your mind." She later said that she cherished that nugget of advice for the rest of her acting career.
- #036
Cloris Leachman's last scene in the movie was printed on the first take without any previous rehearsals. She wanted to rehearse the scene, but director Peter Bogdanovich thought it would ruin the scene if it was rehearsed. After she completed the take, she said to him, "I can do better." He replied, "No, you can't; you just won the Oscar." Ultimately his sense of direction paid off, as Leachman won the Academy Award for her performance.
- #037
The location was Archer City, Texas, hometown of Larry McMurtry, the author of the novel "The Last Picture Show." McMurtry and the Director Peter Bogdanovich scouted several locations for the movie and Bogdanovich chose Archer City when McMurtry stopped there during the trip. The town remains much as it was during the filming. The Royal Theater was rebuilt after the filming of Texasville (1990), sequel to The Last Picture Show. The Royal no longer screens films but since 2000 has been hosting The Texasville Opry, the Late Week Lazy Boy Supper Club and numerous plays and performances.
- #038
- #039
Filmed mostly on location in Archer City, Texas, the city upon which the fictional town of Anarene was based. The swimming pool scene was filmed at the Burns estate in Wichita Falls. Ironically, the inside shots of the Royal theater were filmed at the still-active theater in nearby Olney, Texas. At the time of the filming, the actual Royal theater was nothing more than a shell. Likewise, the Cloris Leachman character's house was located in Holliday, Texas. Anarene was once a real town, just a few miles from Archer City.
- #040
- #041
- #042
Characters & Cast (1)
Easter Eggs & References (12)
- #044
- #045
- #046
- #047
- #048
The scene where Timothy Bottoms' (first) girlfriend passionately kisses him in the audience of the movie theater, and he just barely responds, looking over her head to watch Elizabeth Taylor in "Father of the Bride" the whole time, is very much like the scene in "Klute" when prostitute Brie Daniels pretends to be in a passionate embrace with her John as they lay in the bed together; as his head is crushed over her shoulder into the pillow and she's moaning and groaning, she casually interrupt this by holding up her arm and looking at her watch, betraying that it's all an act.
- #049
- #050
Noble Willingham, who appears holding the first-down marker at the football game, has a line in 'City Slickers' in his role as the cattle rancher, "That's a good yahoo, son!" About five minutes after his scene here, the clip of 'Red River' as the last picture show coincidentally has all the cowboys starting the cattle drive with a series of yeehaws and yahoos.
- #051
- #052
- #053
Contains a major spoiler — show
As the camera pans across the town intersection at the beginning of the film, a period automobile can be seen parked far down the street on the left. This will be the same car that Andy is napping in much later when he tells Sonny and Duane that Sam is dead.
- #054
- #055
Contains a major spoiler — show
At the very beginning of the film, as Sonny turns his pickup onto the theater street, Bogdanovich takes two shots through the heavily cracked vent-window as it crosses over Billy's image sweeping in the street. This is a sly foreshadowing of Billy's death, being run over by a semi-truck, in the same spot at the end of the film.
Deeper Meaning (3)
- #056
- #057
- #058
The choice of "Father of the Bride" showing at the town theater is appropriate. It was already a year old and would have been economical for Sam to rent. And the film involved the trifling problems of a privileged suburban family, in high contrast to the drab, post-depression, post oil-boom life in Anarene.
Career & Awards (2)
Life & Family (2)
- #061
- #062
Cybill Shepherd and Peter Bogdanovich became lovers during this film. He was married, with children, to the film's production designer Polly Platt, and this broke up the family. He also did four other movies with her, including Texasville (1990) and Daisy Miller (1974) in which she starred. Also when Shepherd had her own TV show Cybill (1995), Bogdanovich guest-starred in a few episodes.
Sources & editorial notes
Reference databases
- Wikipedia
- IMDb
Information from external sources is independently selected, consolidated and edited by Arka Evren. Sources are listed for verification and further reading. Encyclopedia text is used under its licence (CC BY-SA). How we work