Pete 'n' Tillie

Pete 'n' Tillie is a 1972 American comedy-drama film directed by Martin Ritt and starring Walter Matthau and Carol Burnett. Its advertising tagline was: "Honeymoon's over. It's time to get married."
Screenwriter Julius J. Epstein was nominated for an Oscar for adapting the story from the 1968 novella Witch's Milk by Peter De Vries. Epstein later adapted another De Vries novel for the film Reuben, Reuben.
== Plot ==
Tillie Schlaine is introduced to Pete Seltzer at a party. Her friends Gertrude and Burt are the hosts and attempting to fix her up.
Pete is a confirmed bachelor with eccentric habits. When he isn't doing odd motivational research for a San Francisco firm, he plays ragtime piano, and makes bad puns. He periodically pops in and out of Tillie's life, going days without calling, but showing up spontaneously at her door. When they finally make love, he learns Tillie is a virgin.
It appears Pete might still be seeing other women, but when he gets a promotion at work, Tillie announces it's time to get married. They do, then buy a house, and have a baby boy. Pete's affairs, however, apparently continue, Tillie even needing to discourage one of his young lovers at lunch.
Years go by until one day, 9-year-old son Robbie is stricken with a fatal illness. Pete tries to shield the boy by keeping him in what Tillie calls "a world of nonsense", but the inevitable death destroys Tillie's religious faith, and ruptures their marriage.
Tillie abstains from sex, while Pete turns to drink and takes an apartment. Tillie's depression is alleviated a bit by a friendship with Jimmy, who is gay, but willing to marry her if that would make Tillie happy. When she and Jimmy conspire to make Gertrude reveal her true age at long last, the result is a public brawl between the two women.
Tillie ends up in a sanitarium. Her life has come to a standstill until Pete turns up one day. When she sees the way their son's death affects him, after his years hiding it, Tillie and Pete leave side by side.
== Cast ==
*Walter Matthau as Pete Seltzer
*Carol Burnett as Tillie Schlaine
*Geraldine Page as Gertrude Wilson 
*Barry Nelson as Burt Wilson
*René Auberjonois as Jimmy Twitchell
*Lee H. Montgomery as Robbie Seltzer
== Reception ==
The film grossed $14,999,969 at the box office, earning an estimated $8.7 million in North American rentals in 1973."Big Rental Films of 1973", Variety, 9 January 1974, pg 19.
== Awards and nominations ==
It was nominated for two Academy Awards: Julius J. Epstein for Best Adapted Screenplay, and Geraldine Page for Supporting Actress.
Walter Matthau received a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy, and won the 1973 BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role for his performance in this movie and for his performance in Charley Varrick.
Carol Burnett received a Golden Globe Award nomination for Best Actress - Motion Picture Musical or Comedy.
==See also==
* List of American films of 1972
==References==
== External links ==
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Category:1972 films
Category:1972 LGBT-related films
Category:1970s romantic comedy-drama films
Category:American films
Category:American LGBT-related films
Category:American romantic comedy-drama films
Category:English-language films
Category:Films about marriage
Category:Films based on American novels
Category:Films directed by Martin Ritt
Category:Films scored by John Williams
Category:Films set in San Francisco
Category:Films shot in San Francisco
Category:Films with screenplays by Julius J. Epstein
Category:Universal Pictures films