They All Laughed

1981 film by Peter Bogdanovich
the 1937 song by George and Ira Gershwin

They All Laughed is a 1981 American romantic comedy film directed by Peter Bogdanovich and starring Ben Gazzara, Audrey Hepburn, John Ritter, Colleen Camp, Patti Hansen, and Dorothy Stratten. The film was based on a screenplay by Bogdanovich and Blaine Novak. It takes its name from the George and Ira Gershwin song of the same name. The film is set in New York City, largely filmed outdoors on the streets, and tells the story of three private detectives investigating two beautiful women for infidelity. The detectives eventually wind up romantically pursuing the women, who turn the tables on them. The film is also a candid look at love and sex in New York City in the early 1980s.

The New York based private investigation firm Odyssey Detective Agency employs three agents: the middle aged, womanizing John Russo, the younger, hippie ish Arthur Brodsky, and the nervy and anxious Charles Rutledge. Their cantankerous boss, Leon Leondopolous, tries to keep his bumbling agents in line while carrying on a poorly disguised affair with his secretary Amy. Odyssey is investigating two separate married women: Angela Niotes, the aged but glamorous wife of a British tycoon, and Dolores Martin, a beautiful blonde. While attempting to follow Angela from the Manhattan heliport, John meets a taxi driver named Deborah Wilson. The two are instantly infatuated, and John makes plans to see Deborah (whom he calls "Sam") later that night. At the same time, Charles falls for Dolores as he spies on her in the lobby of a hotel. Arthur (who juggles a series of passionate romances throughout the film) is worried for each of his co workers, but assists each of them in growing closer to their objects of affection: he helps John get away from his on again off again partner, country singer Christy Miller, and devises a plan for Charles to have a conversation with Dolores at a roller rink. He learns that Dolores is indeed cheating on her husband with Jose, a playboy with whom she plans to elope. The next morning, John recounts his tryst with Deborah to Leon; he worries that he has become too old for younger women. Meanwhile, Christy, who has figured out what John has done, decides to get back at him by starting a relationship with Charles. The two head to Midtown, where they run into Dolores at an upscale clothing store. Christy later tries to initiate a sexual encounter with Charles, but he is already too infatuated with Dolores to reciprocate. Meanwhile, John and Arthur track Angela and her young son to a toy store. John confesses who he is, but Angela is not surprised, as she knows that her husband is himself cheating on her. An attraction grows between John and Angela; once again Arthur helps his friend by pretending to be John's son. Deborah runs into Angela and John at the latter's apartment; she does not appear to be bothered by John's simultaneous desire for the two women. Meanwhile, Dolores almost kisses Charles at one of Christy's concerts, while Christy herself confesses her attraction to Jose. When Charles follows Dolores back home, she eventually leaves her apartment and kisses him before running away. Charles spends the night on a bench outside of Dolores' apartment, following her to a courthouse where Christy observes her and Jose enter a judge's chambers. Christy invites most of the other characters to another concert as Deborah and Angela have a secretive conversation. Later, Angela tells John that she is returning to Europe with her husband and son; she has arranged Deborah to take her place and nurse his broken heart. At the concert, Charles is reunited with Dolores, who reveals that she went to the courthouse to obtain a divorce. He proposes marriage to her (which she accepts). Christy introduces Jose, her fiancé, to the concert's audience. The following day, Charles and Dolores as well as Christy and Jose are married in a double wedding. John tearfully sees Angela off, then returns to his cab, where Deborah is waiting.

"The genesis of They All Laughed was that Benny [Gazzara] and I talked a lot about romances and affairs and the battle of the sexes", said Bogdanovich later. "I didn't do any research about detectives", said Bogdanovich. "I never even went into a detective's office, but that didn't matter to me. That's not what it was about, that was just the disguise I hung my hat on." "Audrey Hepburn's story in the movie is Audrey Hepburn's story in life", said the director. "She was living with a man, her second husband, he was cheating on her, and she basically stayed with him because of the child." Before the film was released, Time shut down its filmmaking division. 20th Century Fox, which retained North American distribution rights, test marketed the film in Providence, Rhode Island and Minneapolis, but was disappointed with the results and pulled the film's release. Bogdanovich:
<blockquote>It was a nightmare. Dorothy was murdered and I went crazy. I decided I would buy the film back from Fox and I lost my shirt distributing it myself which was insanity. Unfortunately, nobody stopped me. So it didn’t get great distribution because you can’t self distribute. It's impossible. For example, we played 15 weeks at the Music Hall in Beverly Hills. It was a huge success. We got a great theatre in Westwood and it broke all the records, and they pulled it right out because Paramount wanted the theatre for Reds. The film was released to VHS on January 31, 1995; HBO Home Video released the film to DVD (as a 25th Anniversary Edition) on October 17, 2006. It started streaming on Max in March 2024. "It was a very loving picture", said Bogdanovich in 2011. "It was the happiest time of my life. I look back on it now and it's been like thirty years or so – it was definitely the high point in my life."