A Hollywood Reporter retrospective marks 45 years since Arthur became a comedy classic, focusing on Dudley Moore’s performance as wealthy, alcoholic playboy Arthur Bach. The film’s eventual success mattered because it turned a slow-starting release into one of 1981’s biggest films and cemented Moore’s best-known screen role.

Written and directed by Steve Gordon, Arthur follows Bach as he risks losing his inheritance unless he marries a woman he does not love, before falling for Liza Minnelli’s working-class character Linda. Released on 17 July 1981, it became the year’s fourth-highest-grossing film, received four Oscar nominations and won awards for John Gielgud’s supporting performance and the song Arthur’s Theme; later sequels and remakes did not match its impact.