Husbands is a 1970 American comedy-drama film written and directed by John Cassavetes. It stars Ben Gazzara, Peter Falk, and Cassavetes as three middle class men in the throes of a midlife crisis following the death of a close friend. Distributed by Columbia Pictures, Husbands polarized critics upon release. Jay Cocks of Time described it as Cassavetes's finest work, but other critics, including Vincent Canby, Pauline Kael, and Roger Ebert, lambasted it. Plot Gus (Cassavetes), Harry (Gazzara), and Archie (Falk) are three nominally happy husbands with families in suburban New York. All are professional men, driven and successful. The three of them have known each other since their school years. They have grown up together and have now had enough time to discover that their youth is disappearing and that there is nothing they can do to preserve it. They are shaken into confronting this reality when their best friend Stuart dies suddenly and unexpectedly of a heart attack. After the funeral, they spend two days hanging out, playing basketball, riding the subway, and drinking, including an impromptu singing contest at a bar. Harry goes home, has a vicious argument with his wife, and decides to fly to London. The other two decide to go with him. They check into an expensive hotel, dress in formal clothing, and meet three young women at a gambling casino. They go back to their rooms with the women. Gus pairs off with Mary, Archie with Julie, a young Asian woman who appears not to speak English, and Harry with Pearl. However, their efforts to hook up with these women are awkward and unsuccessful. Gus and Archie return to New York, but Harry stays behind. Gus and Archie express concern about Harry and what he will do without them. Production Cassavetes has stated that this was a very personal film for him, having experienced the loss of a loved one after his older brother died at the age of 30. Cassavetes wrote the dialogue after improvising with Falk and Gazzara, and built the characters around the personalities of the actors. Falk said that he was asked by Cassavetes to appear in Husbands at a lunch meeting at which Cassavetes agreed to appear with Falk in the 1976 Elaine May film Mikey and Nicky. Falk said that he and Gazzara contributed to the Husbands script, but that the story, structure and scenes were devised by