Alice's Restaurant (1969)

Alice's Restaurant is a 1969 American comedy film co-written and directed by Arthur Penn. It is an adaptation of the 1967 folk song "Alice's Restaurant Massacree," originally written and sung by Arlo Guthrie. The film stars Guthrie as himself, with Pat Quinn as Alice Brock and James Broderick as Ray Brock. Contrary to popular belief, while Arlo Guthrie wrote the lyrics and music for the narrative song "Alice’s Restaurant Massacree," he neither wrote nor co-wrote the screenplay for the film Alice’s Restaurant, which was instead co-written by Venable Herndon and Arthur Penn.

Alice's Restaurant was released on August 19, 1969, a few days after Guthrie appeared at the Woodstock Festival. A soundtrack album for the film was also released by United Artists Records. The soundtrack includes a studio version of the title song, which was originally divided into two parts (one for each album side); a 1998 CD reissue on the Rykodisc label presents this version of the song in full, and adds several bonus tracks to the original LP.

Synopsis

In 1965, Arlo Guthrie (as himself) has attempted to avoid the draft by attending college in Montana. His long hair and unorthodox approach to study gets him in trouble with local police as well as residents. He is thrown out of school, following which he hitchhikes back East. He first visits his father Woody Guthrie (Joseph Boley) in the hospital.

Actors