Arthur (1981 Film)

Arthur (1981 film)

Arthur is a 1981 comedy film written and directed by Steve Gordon. The film stars Dudley Moore as the eponymous Arthur Bach, a drunken New York City millionaire who is on the brink of an arranged marriage to a wealthy heiress, but ends up falling for a common working-class girl from Queens. It was the first and only film directed by Gordon, who died in 1982 of a heart attack at age 44.

Arthur earned nearly $96 million domestically, making it the fourth highest grossing film of 1981. It was notable for its title song, "Arthur's Theme (Best That You Can Do)", co-written by Christopher Cross, Burt Bacharach, Carole Bayer Sager and Peter Allen, and was performed by Christopher Cross. The film was nominated for a total of four Academy Awards. John Gielgud won Best Supporting Actor and the theme song won Best Original Song.

Arthur was followed by a 1988 sequel, Arthur 2: On the Rocks, which was enough of a failure for star Dudley Moore to disown it. A remake starring Russell Brand was released in April 2011.

Read more about Arthur (1981 film):  Plot, Cast, Production, Reception, Remake