After her husband dies, Alice and her son, Tommy, leave their small New Mexico town for California, where Alice hopes to make a new life for herself as a singer. Money problems force them to settle in Arizona instead, where Alice takes a job as waitress in a small diner.
Acting
Ellen Burstyn's Oscar-winning spiral of hope and exhaustion
Direction
Scorsese's rare tender mode—no mobsters, just mothers
Writing
Flo's one-liners that launched a thousand diner scenes
Director
Martin Scorsese
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Ellen Burstyn hand-picked Scorsese after seeing Mean Streets, specifically wanting a director who wouldn't sentimentalize her character's rough edges.
The TV sitcom Alice (1976-1985) completely erased the film's grit—turning Flo's 'Kiss my grits' into catchphrase comedy while ignoring the economic desperation.
US
