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. The film follows the story of Dolly Levi, a strong-willed matchmaker who travels to Yonkers, New York in order 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.
Theatrical release poster, designed by Richard Amsel
L-R: Michael Crawford, Marianne McAndrew, Barbra Streisand, E. J. Peaker and Danny Lockin
Walter Matthau and Barbra Streisand, "So Long, Dearie"
Louis Armstrong, who had a hit recording with the title song, as the orchestra leader.
Hello, Dolly! is a 1964 musical with lyrics and music by Jerry Herman and a book by Michael Stewart, based on Thornton Wilder's 1938 farce The Merchant of Yonkers, which Wilder revised and retitled The Matchmaker in 1954. The musical follows the story of Dolly Gallagher Levi, a strong-willed matchmaker, as she travels to Yonkers, New York, to find a match for the miserly "well-known unmarried half-a-millionaire" Horace Vandergelder.
1964 Broadway poster
David Burns and Carol Channing in the original Broadway cast, 1964
Milo Boulton and Carol Channing in one of several national tours, 1966
Pearl Bailey as Dolly, 1968.