Around 1940, New Yorker staff writer Joe Mitchell meets Joe Gould, a Greenwich Village character who cadges meals, drinks, and contributions to the Joe Gould Fund and who is writing a voluminous Oral History of the World, a record of 20,000 conversations he's overheard. Mitchell is fascinated with this Harvard grad and writes a 1942 piece about him, "Professor Seagull," bringing Gould some celebrity and an invitation to join the Greenwich Village Ravens, a poetry club he's often crashed. Gould's touchy, querulous personality and his frequent dropping in on Mitchell for hours of chat lead to a breakup, but the two Joes stay in touch until Gould's death and Mitchell's unveiling of the secret.
as Joe Gould
as Joe Mitchell
as Therese Mitchell
as Elizabeth Mitchell
as Nora Mitchell
as Sarah
as Harold Ross
as Alice Neel
as Vivian Marquie
as Harry Kolis
as Chef
as Minetta Bartender
as Tamar (Hostess)
as Jack
as Francis McCrudden
as Monsieur Gerard
as Dr. Kim Maxwell
as Charlie Duell
as Mike, Cop at Coffee Shop
as Max Gordon
as Sadie Gordon
as Waitress
as Helen
as Mrs. Bagly
as Man at Flophouse
as Teddy
as Pawnbroker
as David
as Margaret
as Cop at the Building Site
as Anne
as Betty
as Phil (The Writer)
as Southern Man at the Party
as Man at Party
as Bartender
as Man in Gallery
as Janet
as Greenwich Village Raven (uncredited)
as Bar Patron (uncredited)
