Goodbye, Columbus

Goodbye, Columbus follows Neil Klugman, a young Jewish man working at a public library in New Jersey, who meets Brenda Patimkin at a country club pool. The two are drawn to each other, but their backgrounds could hardly be more different. Brenda comes from a wealthy family whose parents have built a comfortable life for her, while Neil has far less money and far fewer ties to that world. As the relationship develops, the gap between their two lives becomes harder to ignore, and the disapproval of Brenda's family puts pressure on the couple.

The film is based on Philip Roth's novella of the same name. It was directed by Larry Peerce, the first of two features listed for him, and written by Arnold Schulman, with Stanley R. Jaffe producing. Richard Benjamin plays Neil and Ali MacGraw plays Brenda, while Jack Klugman and Nan Martin appear as Brenda's parents. The cast runs to 27 credited performers.

Released in May 1969, the film is a comedy, drama and romance running 102 minutes. It took about 23 million dollars worldwide, a strong return for a modest production. On IMDb it holds 6.4 from around 2,500 votes, while on TMDB it has 5.4 from 34 votes; the larger and more sustained response on IMDb suggests a reasonably settled audience, if not an enthusiastic one.