Welcome to L.A.

Welcome to L.A.

Year: 1976

Runtime: 106 mins

Language: English

Director: Alan Rudolph

DramaRomanceMusic

In Hollywood’s one‑night‑stand world, neurotic characters intersect over the Christmas holidays. A songwriter comes to Los Angeles to produce a singer’s album, unaware the venture is funded by his estranged father, a dairy magnate to reconnect. When he meets an eccentric housewife who fancies herself a modern‑day Garbo, his fantasies collapse.

Warning: spoilers below!

Haven’t seen Welcome to L.A. yet? This summary contains major spoilers. Bookmark the page, watch the movie, and come back for the full breakdown. If you're ready, scroll on and relive the story!

Timeline & Setting – Welcome to L.A. (1976)

Explore the full timeline and setting of Welcome to L.A. (1976). Follow every major event in chronological order and see how the environment shapes the story, characters, and dramatic tension.

Time period

The events take place during the Christmas season in a contemporary Los Angeles setting. The narrative focuses on adult relationships, infidelity, and holiday social dynamics, shaping the mood around late-year gatherings and intimate encounters.

Location

Los Angeles, California

The film unfolds in Los Angeles, using the city’s studios, upscale houses, and retail spaces as a backdrop for romance and ambition. Key locations include a recording studio, Carroll Barber’s rented house, and the Barber family dairy enterprise, all connected through the central cast. The city’s entertainment culture and sun-soaked scenes heighten the contrast between glamour and personal turmoil.

🏙️ City 🎬 Entertainment 🎭 Drama

Last Updated: October 04, 2025 at 14:42

Main Characters – Welcome to L.A. (1976)

Meet the key characters of Welcome to L.A. (1976), with detailed profiles, motivations, and roles in the plot. Understand their emotional journeys and what they reveal about the film’s deeper themes.

Carroll Barber (Keith Carradine)

An aging celebrity musician who moves to Los Angeles for a recording session but remains emotionally distant and self-absorbed. He moves through relationships with self-assured charm but fails to form genuine connections, making him emotionally elusive. His affairs with Ann, Jeannette, and Nona highlight a pattern of self-serving romance rather than intimacy. He remains emotionally distant and skeptical of commitment until he encounters Karen Hood.

🎭 Charismatic 💔 Flawed 🎵 Musician

Linda Murray (Sissy Spacek)

Linda is a young housemaid who moves into Carroll's spare room and harbors a crush on Ken Hood. She uses her position to navigate romantic possibilities and tests boundaries with her employers. She is caught in triangular dynamics and seeks affection and stability.

💖 Crush 🏠 Housemate

Ken Hood (Harvey Keitel)

A married young executive who neglects his wife and becomes entangled with Linda; He also interacts with Ann, torn between career obligations and his marriage. His actions reveal restlessness and a desire for connection that complicates his loyalty. The holiday pressures intensify his conflicts with Karen and Linda.

💼 Executive 💍 Husband ⏳ Busy

Ann Goode (Sally Kellerman)

Ann is a real estate agent, unhappily married to Jack, and the object of Carroll's early affections. She relishes attention and becomes involved with Carroll, while navigating a strained marriage. Her pursuit of romance and status drives much of the holiday-era drama.

🏠 Wife 💬 Seductive 🏢 Real estate

Jack Goode (John Considine)

Jack is a furniture store owner and Ann’s husband, who pursues Linda. His affair with Linda and conflicted feelings reflect the era’s marital tensions and the lure of easy money and desire. He and Ann both end up returning home after disappointment, underscoring the unresolved nature of their relationships.

💼 Husband 🪑 Furniture 💬 Ambitious

Karen Hood (Geraldine Chaplin)

Karen is Ken’s wife, a housewife with a habit of taxi rides and a guarded approach to romance. She seems open to Carroll at first but is drawn back into her marriage as Ken’s infidelity becomes a focal point. Her late-night calls and negotiation of desire highlight the fragility of commitment.

💖 Wife 🧭 Independent 🎭 Curious

Susan Moore (Viveca Lindfors)

Susan is Carroll’s aging manager who orchestrates the move to Los Angeles. She stonewalls the romance while attempting to rebuild a connection with Carroll, and she reveals alliances between Eric Wood, Carl Barber, and Carroll. Her manipulation and strategic planning expose the transactional nature of the music industry.

💼 Manager 🧓 Aging 💔 Strategic

Eric Wood (Richard Baskin)

Eric is the celebrity musician whose songs Carroll plans to record. He ultimately decides not to finish the album, a decision that derails Carroll’s career ambitions and exposes the fragile relationship between art and commerce. The subplot explores how control over creative work intersects with personal leverage.

🎵 Musician 🌟 Celebrity 📝 Songwriter

Jeannette Ross (Diahnne Abbott)

Jeannette is the receptionist whom Carroll beds, adding to the pattern of casual, transactional affairs. Her role underscores Carroll’s pattern of seeking novelty without commitment. She serves as a catalyst in the web of romantic intrigues around the LA tour.

🗣️ Receptionist 💋 Affair 🧩 Intrigue

Nona Bruce (Lauren Hutton)

Nona is the photographer’s mistress who becomes involved with Carroll. Her presence adds another strand to Carroll’s constellation of affairs, highlighting the unstable nature of his romantic life. She embodies the glamorous, aspirational circle around the recording project.

💃 Seductive 📷 Photographer's Mistress 🖼️ Art

Carl Barber (Denver Pyle)

Carl is Carroll's father and a successful dairy magnate who has built a large family business with the help of Ken Hood. His influence drives career opportunities and power dynamics within the Barber family. His ambitions intersect with the personal lives of his son and associates, shaping the plot’s stakes.

👨‍💼 Dairy Magnate 💰 Wealth 👨‍👦 Family

Last Updated: October 04, 2025 at 14:42

Major Themes – Welcome to L.A. (1976)

Explore the central themes of Welcome to L.A. (1976), from psychological, social, and emotional dimensions to philosophical messages. Understand what the film is really saying beneath the surface.

💔 Romance Betrayal

The film probes how desire clashes with commitment as Carroll pursues multiple lovers. Romantic entanglements drive most of the conflict, revealing how attention and affection can be transactional. Characters oscillate between seeking connection and escaping responsibility, leading to painful misunderstandings. The Christmas backdrop heightens the tension between idealized affection and messy reality.

🎬 Celebrity Culture

Eric Wood’s album project exposes the leverage of fame in personal choices. Career ambitions shape relationships, with musicians, managers, and lovers maneuvering for advantage. The film critiques how stardom can distort genuine connection and turn affection into business. The Los Angeles setting amplifies this theme through studios, parties, and media perceptions.

👨‍👦 Family Business

The Barber family dynamics drive the plot as Carl builds a dairy empire and uses influence to shape opportunities for his son Carroll. Trust and loyalty are tested within a web of business and romance. The film places family status against individual longing, showing both cohesion and fracture. The tension between progress and personal happiness is central to the narrative.

Last Updated: October 04, 2025 at 14:42

Mobile App Preview

Coming soon on iOS and Android

The Plot Explained Mobile App

From blockbusters to hidden gems — dive into movie stories anytime, anywhere. Save your favorites, discover plots faster, and never miss a twist again.

Sign up to be the first to know when we launch. Your email stays private — always.

Explore Movie Threads

Discover curated groups of movies connected by mood, themes, and story style. Browse collections built around emotion, atmosphere, and narrative focus to easily find films that match what you feel like watching right now.

Ensemble dramas of urban alienation like Welcome to L.A.

Interconnected lives adrift in the isolating landscape of a modern city.If you liked the interconnected, melancholic stories in Welcome to L.A., explore more movies like it. These films capture the lonely side of city life through multiple characters, offering similar bittersweet and introspective vibes.

melancholicalienatedurbanedisconnectedyearningintrospectiveensemble

Narrative Summary

Stories in this thread typically follow an ensemble cast whose lives briefly intersect, often structured around a short period of time or a shared location. The narrative explores themes of isolation, failed communication, and yearning for connection against the backdrop of a bustling yet indifferent city.

Why These Movies?

These films are grouped by their shared melancholic mood, ensemble narrative structure, and thematic focus on the alienation inherent in modern urban life. They create a similar viewing experience of quiet observation and emotional resonance.

Bittersweet chronicles of artistic failure like Welcome to L.A.

Stories where creative ambitions collide with harsh reality and compromise.Movies like Welcome to L.A. that explore the theme of artistic failure. If you enjoyed the story of the songwriter's compromised ambitions, you'll find similar bittersweet dramas about the struggles within the music and entertainment industries.

bittersweetyearningdisillusionedintrospectivecreative strugglemelancholiccompromise

Narrative Summary

The narrative pattern follows a protagonist or group of artists grappling with the business side of their craft, often leading to creative compromise, faded dreams, or a recognition of their own limitations. The journey is marked by a mix of hopeful endeavor and sobering reality.

Why These Movies?

They share a specific thematic focus on the intersection of art and commerce, the pain of unmet creative potential, and a bittersweet emotional tone that acknowledges both the beauty of aspiration and the sting of reality.

Unlock the Full Story of Welcome to L.A.

Don't stop at just watching — explore Welcome to L.A. in full detail. From the complete plot summary and scene-by-scene timeline to character breakdowns, thematic analysis, and a deep dive into the ending — every page helps you truly understand what Welcome to L.A. is all about. Plus, discover what's next after the movie.

Welcome to L.A. Summary

Read a complete plot summary of Welcome to L.A., including all key story points, character arcs, and turning points. This in-depth recap is ideal for understanding the narrative structure or reviewing what happened in the movie.

Welcome to L.A. Summary

Welcome to L.A. Timeline

Track the full timeline of Welcome to L.A. with every major event arranged chronologically. Perfect for decoding non-linear storytelling, flashbacks, or parallel narratives with a clear scene-by-scene breakdown.

Welcome to L.A. Timeline

Welcome to L.A. Spoiler-Free Summary

Get a quick, spoiler-free overview of Welcome to L.A. that covers the main plot points and key details without revealing any major twists or spoilers. Perfect for those who want to know what to expect before diving in.

Welcome to L.A. Spoiler-Free Summary

More About Welcome to L.A.

Visit What's After the Movie to explore more about Welcome to L.A.: box office results, cast and crew info, production details, post-credit scenes, and external links — all in one place for movie fans and researchers.

More About Welcome to L.A.

Similar Movies to Welcome to L.A.

Discover movies like Welcome to L.A. that share similar genres, themes, and storytelling elements. Whether you’re drawn to the atmosphere, character arcs, or plot structure, these curated recommendations will help you explore more films you’ll love.