Harry and Tonto (1974)

Harry Coombes (Art Carney) is an elderly widower who is forced from his Upper West Side apartment in New York City when his building is condemned. He initially stays with his son's family in the suburbs but eventually chooses to travel cross country with his pet cat "Tonto" in tow.


Initially planning to fly to Chicago, he instead boards a long-distance bus, then later impulsively buys a used car. During his episodic journey, he befriends a Bible-quoting hitchhiker (Michael Butler) and underage runaway Ginger (Melanie Mayron), visits his daughter (Ellen Burstyn), a bookstore owner in Chicago, and drops in on an early sweetheart (Geraldine Fitzgerald) in a retirement home, where she suffers from dementia.


Continuing west, Harry accepts a ride with a health-food salesman (Arthur Hunnicutt), makes the acquaintance of an attractive hooker (Barbara Rhoades) on his way to Las Vegas, then spends a night in jail with a friendly Native Indian (Chief Dan George). He eventually makes it to Los Angeles, where he stays with his youngest son (Larry Hagman) before finding a place of his own with Tonto, who, much like Harry, is dealing the best he can with the hardships of old age.