Hello, Dolly! (film)

Hello, Dolly! is a 1969 American musical romantic comedy film based on the 1964 Broadway production of the same name, which was based on Thornton Wilder's play The Matchmaker. Directed by Gene Kelly and written and produced by Ernest Lehman, the film stars Barbra Streisand, Walter Matthau, Michael Crawford, Danny Lockin, Tommy Tune, Fritz Feld, Marianne McAndrew, E. J. Peaker and Louis Armstrong (whose recording of the title tune had been a number-one hit in May 1964).

The film follows the story of Dolly Levi, a strong-willed matchmaker who travels to Yonkers, New York, to find a match for the miserly "well-known unmarried half-a-millionaire" Horace Vandergelder. In doing so, she convinces his niece, his niece's intended, and Horace's two clerks to travel to New York City.

The film won three Academy Awards: for Best Art Direction, Best Score of a Musical Picture and Best Sound, and was nominated for four other Academy Awards, including Best Picture. The film had 2 lavish, big premieres in December 1969. The first was at the now torn down Rivoli Theatre in Times Square, and another one several days later at Grauman's Chinese Theatre. "Hello, Dolly!" was #5 at the box office the year it was released.