Jack Lemmon
Mel Edison
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The Prisoner of Second Avenue is a 1975 American black comedy film written by Neil Simon, directed and produced by Melvin Frank and starring Jack Lemmon and Anne Bancroft. Neil Simon adapted the screenplay from his 1971 Broadway play.
- Introduction
- Author Biography
- Plot Summary
- Media Adaptations
- Characters
- Themes
- Topics For Further Study
- Style
- Compare & Contrast
- Historical Context
Neil Simon, one of the most popular of twentieth-century American dramatists, is known for his comedies that often examine the tensions that can arise among family members or between men and women living in New York. In his play, The Prisoner of Second Avenue, which ran on Broadway for 788 performances beginning in 1973, Simon's comedy turns darker...
Neil Simon was born on July 4, 1927, in the Bronx, New York, to Irving, a garment salesman, and Mamie Simon. He grew up in Washington Heights, Manhattan, during the Great Depression. After he graduated from high school, Simon joined the army and wrote for military publications while he took classes at New York University and the University of Denve...
Act 1, Scene 1
The Prisoner of Second Avenuetakes place in a Manhattan apartment from midsummer to December, most likely in 1971. Mel and Edna Edison have been living on the fourteenth floor in this small apartment for six years. When the play opens, Mel is sitting alone anxiously in the dark at 2:30 a.m., moaning "Ohhh, Christ Almighty," which wakes up Edna. When she asks him what is wrong, he replies, "Nothing," and tells her to go back to bed, but then he keeps moaning. She soon gets him to admit that he...
Act 1, Scene 2
A few days later, Edna has come into the apartment and discovered that they have been robbed. When Mel comes home, she explains that she went to the store for a short while, and since she lost the door key, she left the apartment unlocked. The robbers took everything, including the liquor and Mel's suits. Edna is frightened, while Mel fumes to the point where he loses control, screaming and throwing ashtrays on the floor. He then admits that he was fired four days earlier but did not tell her...
Act 2, Scene 1
Approximately six weeks later in mid-September, Mel is wandering around the apartment in his bathrobe, grimmer and angrier than in the first act. When Edna comes home from her job as a secretary to make him lunch, she rushes, since she only has half an hour. She has a difficult time getting Mel to talk to her. He admits that he is frustrated by his failed attempts to find a job and humiliated by the fact that Edna is working. He then begins to explain to Edna that "the social-economical-and-p...
Melvin Frank directed a film version of the play in 1975, starring Jack Lemmon and Anne Bancroft, with a screenplay by Simon. Bancroft subsequently received a BAFTA Film Award nomination, and Simon...L. A. Theatre Works's unabridged cassette version, produced in 2001 and read by Richard Dreyfuss and Marsha Mason, was available as of 2006.Edna Edison
Edna Edison is a loving, supportive wife whose main concern is her husband's welfare. She has adopted a traditional role in marriage, taking care of the household while her husband works outside of the home. When he becomes agitated about their living conditions, she tries to offer alternatives that she thinks will benefit both of them and continually tries to revitalize his confidence in himself. She is not a dishrag, however. When Mel gets verbally abusive, she stands her ground, insisting...
Harry Edison
Harry Edison, Mel's older brother, generously offers to pay for Mel's therapy, even amid the protests of his sisters who are worried about how long it will take to cure him. Harry is confident of his own judgment that Mel has no business sense and so initially refuses to give him money for a summer camp. Yet his loyalty to his brother eventually supersedes his concerns, and he decides to give the money unconditionally. Simon suggests that Harry could be motivated by his desire to be the favor...
Jessie Edison
Jessie Edison criticizes her brother Mel but insists that, since he is the baby of the family, his behavior must be excused. She does not want to think about the implications of his present behavior and tries to comfort Mel when he arrives at the apartment. Her tears betray her concerns about him, yet she would rather go shopping than face the reality of his situation.
Male and Female Roles
Simon characterizes Mel as a traditional man who is devastated when he loses his job because that is what defines him. He has tolerated all of the irritations of daily city life for six years until he is fired, which causes him to feel worthless. His wife becomes an outlet for his anger and frustration as well as those nearby who threaten his peace. Edna also plays a traditional role at the beginning of the play as she suffers with Mel through the troubles that arise, remaining supportive by...
Neil Simon wrote the screenplay for The Out of Towners, a film about a young Ohio couple vacationing in New York who are forced to face many of the same problems that drive Mel and Edna to the brin...After researching the subject of coping mechanisms, prepare to lead a discussion of how Mel and Edna could have found healthier ways to remedy their situation.Determine if all of the events announced by the reporter at the end of most scenes in the play really happened. Prepare a report that presents an in-depth look at the problems New York City faced i...Write a story or autobiographical essay that focuses on the frustrations of urban living.Black Humor
C. Hugh Holman and William Harmon define "black humor" as "the use of the morbid and the absurd for darkly comic purposes in modern fiction and drama." Simon uses both verbal and situational black humor to express Mel's bitter response to his situation as well as its absurdity. Mel uses verbal humor in the form of sarcasm and self-deprecation as a defense mechanism. He tries to alleviate his own sense of failure by belittling his wife, when, for example, Edna suggests that they move to anothe...
1971: Between 1965 and 1971, reported crime rates in New York City rise by 91 percent.Today: Violent crime rates go down in the United Statesand in New York during the first years of the twenty-fir...1971: On January 14, twenty-five thousand members of Patrolmen's Benevolent Association in New York City go on strike.Today:Labor unions are weakened by plant closings, especially those in the auto...1971: On June 13, racists attack a Puerto Rican Day Parade in New York City, which results in hundreds being injured.Today:Minorities have gained prominent positions in business and government, inc...New York City in the Early 1970s
Sheridan Morley, in his review of the play for Spectator, writes that The Prisoner of Second Avenue"deals with a moment in history when not only the central character but Manhattan itself was on the brink of a total nervous collapse." The events that occurred in 1971, the probable year in which the action of the play takes place, illustrate this pervasive deterioration. City police went on strike along with eight thousand state, county, and municipal employees and local members of the Communi...
Synopsis. Edna and Mel are a struggling, middle-aged couple living in New York City. Mel has just lost his job, the walls of their apartment are much too thin, and the city is in the middle of a heat wave. Their troubles escalate when Mel suffers a nervous breakdown.
Oct 25, 2010 · The Prisoner of Second Avenue. Paperback – October 25, 2010. Scenery: Interior. Mel Edison is a well paid executive of a high-end Manhattan firm which has suddenly hit the skids and he gets the ax.
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Complete summary of Neil Simon's The Prisoner of Second Avenue. eNotes plot summaries cover all the significant action of The Prisoner of Second Avenue.
Aug 12, 2024 · The burglarizing junkies who have been terrorizing the city strip his apartment. The unemployment that has been raging through New York's publishing and advertising businesses reaches out and takes...
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The Prisoner of Second Avenue: Directed by Melvin Frank. With Jack Lemmon, Anne Bancroft, Gene Saks, Elizabeth Wilson. A suddenly-unemployed company executive suffers a nervous breakdown, and his supporting wife tries everything to console him and pick up the slack.
