FILM · 1968
The Odd Couple
35 archived facts 3 topics 1 source Last reviewed Oct 2026
All facts (35)
- #001
Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau, two great friends, are paired in a film for the second time out of ten.
- #002
Walter Matthau, who played Oscar in both the original Broadway play and the film, asked the play's author Neil Simon whether he could play Felix instead. Matthau thought Oscar's personality was very similar to his own and that the role would be very easy, whereas playing the arrogant Felix would be a real acting challenge. Simon replied: "Walter, go and be an actor in somebody else's play. Please be Oscar in mine." Matthau eventually accepted this.
- #003
Monica Evans and Carole Shelley play a pair of English geese on a walking tour of France in Disney's The Aristocats (1970).
- #004
Neil Simon created the character of Felix based on his older brother Danny Simon, who wrote the first draft of the play before handing the project over to Neil.
- #005
Walter Matthau played Oscar and Art Carney played Felix in the play. While making the film, they felt Carney had not been successful enough at the box office and chose Jack Lemmon in his place.
- #006
In one scene, a sports radio program playing in the background reports on a baseball trade involving a player named Hank Moonjean. Hank Moonjean was in fact the assistant director of this film.
- #007
Writer Neil Simon got the idea for the play after his friend and former fellow writer Mel Brooks moved in with another man following his divorce.
- #008
The original Broadway production opened at the Plymouth Theatre on 3/10/65, ran for 966 performances and was nominated for the 1965 Tony Award for Best Play. Walter Matthau won the 1965 Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play.
- #009
The film set a record at Radio City Music Hall during its initial run. Among the 640 films shown there in its first 42 years, it led in both run length (14 weeks) and total gross (over 3 million dollars).
- #010
It was reported to be Paramount's biggest hit since The Ten Commandments (1956).
- #011
Tony Randall and Jack Klugman were considered for the roles of Felix Ungar and Oscar Madison, which they would later play in the series adaptation. Dick Van Dyke and Mickey Rooney were also considered for the respective parts.
- #012
John Fiedler, Carole Shelley and Monica Evans are the only actors to appear in both The Odd Couple (1968) and The Odd Couple (1970).
- #013
Both Walter Matthau's and Jack Lemmon's sons took part in a DVD commentary track for the DVD Special Edition. One of the anecdotes they shared was that the studio at one point considered hiring Jackie Gleason and Frank Sinatra as Oscar and Felix respectively. However, their high salary demands killed the idea.
- #014
It was included among Rotten Tomatoes' 100 best comedy films of all time.
- #015
Although some key scenes involve poker games and all five male leads are poker buddies, Felix is never actually seen playing the game.
- #016
This film not only had a TV sitcom spin-off (The Odd Couple (1970)), but also a cartoon spin-off called The Oddball Couple (1975) featuring a cat and a dog playing Felix and Oscar, named "Fleabag" and "Spiffy" in that version.
- #017
It was included on the American Film Institute's 2000 list of the 100 Funniest American Films.
- #018
When Felix is upset over his impending divorce, Oscar offers him a box of Mallomars to cheer him up. Since Mallomars are only "in season" from September to March, it is unlikely anyone in the apartment would have had any, as the scene takes place on a hot summer day. Of course, given that Oscar still has his Christmas decorations up in July and serves "green" sandwiches that could be very fresh cheese or very old meat, we can safely say he has kept the Mallomars well past their expiration date.
- #019
This was the first of three pairings with Carole Shelley and Monica Evans; the second and third were the Disney films The Aristocats (1970) and Robin Hood (1973).
- #020
At one point Billy Wilder was going to direct and write the screenplay.
- #021
This was Joe Palma's last film.
- #022
The film's screening at a Boston theater was held to raise money for a senior center, and its "rocking chair" seats were advertised.
- #023
John Fiedler's (Vinnie) next film was an extremely popular animated film that would later earn him a 37-year career as a voice actor. He played the character Piglet in dozens of films, shorts and television presentations.
- #024
About an hour in, Jack Lemmon enters the Bohack supermarket. It was located on the southeast corner of 87th Street and 2nd Avenue.
- #025
Walter Matthau, John Fiedler, Monica Evans and Carole Shelley reprise their opening night performances from the Broadway play in this film.
- #026
Just before Oscar throws Felix's pasta dish in the trash, Oscar is watching television in the living room. If you listen closely to the news anchor, he reports that the New York Yankees have traded a pitcher named "Moonjean." This is probably a nod to Hank Moonjean, who was an assistant director on this film.
- #027
When Felix calls Oscar over during the game and causes Oscar to miss a triple play, look closely at Felix's shopping bag; you will see a package of pasta sticking out, foreshadowing the "spaghetti/linguine" incident later in the film.
- #028
Jack Lemmon ("Felix") played Juror 8 in 12 Angry Men (1997), while John Fiedler ("Vinnie") played Juror 2 in 12 Angry Men (1957). Jack Klugman, who played Oscar in the series, played Juror 5 in the 1957 film.
- #029
Monica Evans and Carole Shelley, who play the "cuckoo" Pigeon sisters Cecily and Gwendolyn respectively, reprise their roles from the Broadway production. Neil Simon's use of these character names appears to be a tribute to the great playwright Oscar Wilde. In Wilde's "The Importance of Being Earnest," the main female characters are Cecily and Gwendolen.
- #030
The pilot episode of the 2015 TV reboot (The Odd Couple (2015)) starring Matthew Perry used a significant portion of this film's plot: Oscar offers Felix a place to stay, Felix drives Oscar and his friends crazy with his cleaning and order obsessions, Oscar arranges a double date with two sisters in the same building, Felix hijacks the date and Oscar gets the girls angry at him, and so on.
- #031
According to Connie Berman's 1978 "Leif Garrett" biography, the future teen idol singer had a small role in this film. He later appeared in the television series.
- #032
The Odd Couple's commercial TV premiere aired on September 11, 1972, on ABC.
- #033
The name of Felix's estranged wife is Frances; in the Jack Klugman/Tony Randall series her name was Gloria.
- #034
This popular American comedy aired on television in the UK on BBC One on Christmas Day 1973.
- #035
Jack Lemmon, Walter Matthau and Herb Edelman appeared in The Front Page (1974).
Continue through the archive
Sources & editorial notes
Reference databases
Sources for the entries on this page
- IMDb IMDb kaydı
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