1968: A ruthless young mobster (a sublimely chilling and mesmerizing performance by Paul Bettany) desperately wants to emulate his mentor Freddie Mays (the excellent David Thewlis), a suave crime kingpin who lords over London. The gangster literally murders his way to the top, betraying Freddie in the process and losing his soul in his fierce quest for power. 30 years later, the older and successful, yet lonely Gangster 55 (an excellent portrayal by Malcom McDowell) awaits the release of Freddie from prison. Director Paul McGuigan, working from a bold and sharp script by Johnny Ferguson, handles the dark and gritty material with tremendous bravura style, relates the arresting story at a snappy pace, laces the whole thing with plenty of wickedly funny black humor, and punctuates the gritty narrative with several jolting outbursts of raw, savage violence. Kudos are also in order for the uniformly fine acting from a first-rate cast: Bettany is genuinely riveting and terrifying as the severely driven and psychotic main character, Thewlis likewise impresses as one smooth operator, McDowell makes the most out of one of his best more recent roles, the ravishing Saffron Burrows exudes pure class as Freddie's brassy singer moll Karen, plus there are nice supporting contributions by Kenneth Cranham as the wise Tommy, Jamie Foreman as hot-headed rival hoodlum Lennie Taylor, Eddie Marsan as sniveling toad Eddie Miller, Andrew Lincoln as vicious hit-man Maxie King, and Doug Allen as the brutish Mad John. This film boasts several memorable set pieces as well: our young gangster questioning a whimpering Eddie about Lennie Taylor, the ferocious murder of Lennie Taylor, and the older gangster's searing big climactic confrontation with Freddie. Peter Sova's dazzling cinematography, the flavorsome evocation of the groovy swinging 60's, the often amazing profane dialogue, John Dankworth's supremely jazzy'n'moody score, the stark, harsh tone, the fantastic golden oldies soundtrack, and a potent central message about the bitter spiritual coast of blind ambition all further add to the sterling quality of this bang-up corker of a crime thriller.


It is rare to watch a movie where the makers do not attempt to soften the ending, especially if the main character is as utterly repellant as is the eponymous individual of this film played by Paul Bettany and Malcolm McDowell. Bettany plays "Gangster 55" as a young man and Malcolm McDowell fills the role thirty years later. He is as ugly a screen creation as I have seen. Even in a film like Scarface, there is a period where Al Pacino's character is likable as he begins his climb up before the inevitable fall. In this film the director, Paul McGuigan, has made no attempt to make Gangster 55 even slightly less than loathsome. But despite this he is human, and while some reviewers have been critical of the ending, I found it to be credible and almost Shakesperean in its intent. Whether that makes the film guilty of ambition outstripping the limitations of the script, it does not lessen the impact.

This film is riveting viewing, but be warned, the violence is extreme and there is an awful lot of use of the "c" word. Highly recommended.


My favourite film of all time!

This was a film that I saw by complete accident, browsing Foxtel one day & caught it 10 minutes in. Even though I'd missed a few things crucial to the plot, there were plenty of other elements to this film that kept me watching.

For starters, the acting performance by Paul Bettany is complete brilliance. His portrayal of a psychopathic gangster is unbelievable, if not sometimes a little scary.

Malcolm McDowell plays Gangster 55 with coolness that young others just don't have. A suave that only actors with his many accomplishments can carry.

David Thewlis is awesome as Freddie Mays, the coolest gangster in film history! Flawless performance.

In fact, the acting in this film is flawless all round, there are no weak performances.

As somebody that has never experienced the 60's, I found all of the scenes that took place in that era completely believable, a very romantic idea for what the London underworld would have been like.

An unreal film.


With so many East End gangster movies being churned out recently you might be forgiven for dismissing this as a band wagon movie. Having seen it I would urge you to look beyond that and go and see this second offering from British director Paul McGuigan.

While I felt that the film didn't quite hang together well enough to put it amongst the greets of The Long Good Friday and Get Carter, the leading newcomer (who's name escapes me) played such an outstanding part as the ambitious and ruthless understudy to the gang leader played by David Thewlis that the film merits much praise. The film has the most violent and disturbing (without being graphic) scene that I can recall in a film which must be largely credited to the director who's individual style was both fresh and effective.

I was disappointed by the performance of Malcolm McDowell but on reflection it may be due to the script which seemed to loose direction at the end when Malcolm dominates the screen, and also due to my personal over expectation of Malcolm's return to the big screen.

A film well worth seeing and one which SHOULD propel it's young star into the limelight. This time next year I hope his name would not be escaping me still....


This film is good for two things,

1, a drinking game made up by a couple of us. what you do is get yourself a bottle of spirits and watch the film. Every time you cringe at a particularly awful line of dialogue, you take a shot. (you'll be hammered in no time) 2. Like the goats man, its good for inflicting on your unsuspecting friends.

you have all been warned.

There is only one let up in this atrocious mess. which i will not spoil for you here, but for the most part its just one terrible scene after another that it really becomes difficult to watch. Everyone involved should be embarrassed.


Malcolm McDowell narrates his own rise as a gangster in this lukewarm crime drama. Gangster films are a dime a dozen, so you need something unique to say or at least great acting. This film fails on the first part, and passes barely only thanks to Paul Bennany and David Thewlis on the second. It also goes on for too long and could've used a better editor at the helm. It's not that "Gangster No. 1" is a particularly bad film, as it's not. The acting by the two aforementioned actors and the cinematography make it watchable, but it's just not one that you can't miss if you're a fan of the genre.

My Grade: C

DVD Extras: Commentary with director Paul McGuinan; one Deleted scene; Featurette; TV Spot; and Theatrical Trailer

ANTI-eye Candy: Some bloke's wang


*SPOILER* for this films entire subtext/overriding theme below

Karen (Saffron Burrows playing it a bit too shrill for my taste, but far from shaming herself) is not the object of Gangster no 55's affections; she was not the person that 55 would rather see dead than be without...

It's Freddy Mays.

This fact is so barely concealed that its subtext very nearly *IS* the text.

To everyone who's reviewed this (by my judgment) excellent film and found that Gangster no. 55 character was run of the mill of any other you'd see in this genre, I challenge you --respectfully-- to give it a second chance, only this time, read between the lines and watch the film take on real life.

I promise, the text in between is written in red ink and marked with yellow highlighter.

"Gangster no.1" is a story of hideous violence, ambition fueled backstabbing... and unrequited love not at all where at surface glance it appears to be.

Rate: 4/5


The Brits have always had the knack of making superb gangster films the along comes Gangster No 1 and destroys the fact. Whilst the majority of gangland stories have their fair share of colourful language and violence, this film went far beyond the boundaries of exceptable good taste. The entire film is splattered with both obscenities and blood but the script has to have been written by an illiterate with a limited vocabulary. Maybe that's what the film-makers wanted, who knows. There's nothing special within this film and as for hidden meanings, only those who think too hard might find 'a little something' that isn't there.


Films about "ultraviolence" can be harrowing and realistic, or stylish and humourous - Malcolm MacDowell starred in 'A Clockwork Orange', an early example of the latter genre. But 'Gangster No. 1', in which he also stars, is a peculiar hybrid of the two genres that is consistently unpleasant without offering any compensation in the way of insight or laughs. Paul Bettaney looks quite like the younger MacDowell (whose younger self he plays), and the film also has the talented David Thewlis on its cast list, but the net result is tiresome and thin, while the potentially interesting plot ends without subtlety or satisfaction. A film that doesn't know what it wants to be, and ends up not being anything but horrid.


Stylish tale of thug's love/hate relationship with famous gangster benefits from a terrific performance by Paul Bettany as a really scary guy. The ending feels rather weak, as we don't see the transition from Paul to Malcolm McDowell and thus the final scenes haven't been properly set up. Still fascinating though.


What a bunch of crap...Malcolm McDowell seemingly attempting to recapture some of the facets of his role from A Clockwork Orange and failing miserably, combined with some of the most offensively brutal violence and vulgarity I've seen in a film recently. Don't get me wrong, I'm not asking for Gangster No. 1, the edited version... I was fine with movies like Goodfellas, Clerks (and the rest of the View Askew films), the aforementioned Kubrick classic, and others. But really, was there anything in this movie worth watching? Unlikeable characters, thin plot, and weak attempts at humor drag this dreck to the bottom. The violence seemed like vicious filler, and the profanity seemed like a substitute for intelligent dialogue. I give it 1/2* out of ****. Stay away from this movie...all its attempts at artsiness and likeability are hopeless. Overrated by those who are impressed at its "artistic qualities." Go watch a real film, something by Scorcese, Takeshi, Kurosawa, or Kubrick.


It's hard to put into words a description of this film because there are so many great things i can say about. The acting is out of the Top Drawer. Malcolm McDowell, David Thewlis and Paul Bettany bring out performances that are dazzling and make you sit back and just admire the art that they are producing. The Director gives us a sleek and highly enjoyable (although not a bundle of laughs) peice of film work that looks brilliant on the screen and the script is of the highest order. The only film i can compare this to are Lock ,Stock and Two smoking Barrels ,but this lacks the humour of that film ,or Get Carter because of Paul Bettany's Brilliant Michael Caine like performance. Just a word of warning to anybody who is offended by bad language or violence,this is NOT for you! Outstanding gangster movie. 9 out of 10.


I've watched this movie four times, as it came with polarised 'recommendations'. 'Curate's egg' is the best that can be said about Gangster No. 1, and given the budget, actors and so on that's damning with feint praise.

Around about the time this film was made, films about cockney geezer gangsters were all the rage. Some were really quite good (Lock Stock, Sexy Beast, Layer Cake) but many became parodies of the genre and were that all too common thing - the bad Brit flick. Gangster Number 1 was more of the latter.

On paper this cast must have looked great. On celluloid, however it all comes apart. For a start, Malcolm McDowell, wonderfully sinister as Alex in A Clockwork Orange, cannot do a cockney accent and his performance is as frightening as a flower show. The voice over used to set up the piece becomes vaguely comic and quickly irritating. With a script this weak and an accent this bad, why on earth parade the fact?

All this accentuates the film's central weakness. A truly creaky script. A world of Lennies, Eddies, Tommys and Freddies is just the start of a roster of every gangland cliché paraded with tiresome inevitability.

When actors the calibre of David Thewlis and Paul Bettany look this corny, you know the problem's behind the camera. Director Paul McGuigan is developing a knack of producing 2nd-rate TV-style movies. Hopefully he'll get it right one day but after this, the Reckoning and now Lucky Number Slevin, I wouldn't hold my breath.

Paul Bettany makes a fair fist of being scary but it requires scenes of sheer gore to get the point across. But the gore is just unpleasant and dissolves into Patrick Bateman without the laughs. In Scorsese's hands it might become terrifying, but McGuigan is no Scorsese, or Jonathan Glazer for that matter. In this gangsters' world, nobody possess genuine menace in the same way Ben Kingsley and Ian McShane were scary in Sexy Beast, or even Vinnie Jones in Lock Stock. Also, the supposedly stylish, rich Freddie Mays wears the same suit all the way through.

The gay undertones just add to the corniness of the whole thing.

There are some good perfromances here. Bettany is great in parts, but the 'look at my eyes' thing becomes tedious. Eddie Marsen as Eddie Miller is terrific as is Jamie Foreman as Lennie.


Very much in the "Get Carter" mode, and ten times better than Ritchie and his 2000 wannabees.

This film perfectly captures 1960s London. It also captures the true ugly, psychotic, non-glamorous side of being a gangster. Very violent, but most of that is in your mind. The ending is perhaps a little anti-climatic, but otherwise a good effort.


Competently made British gangster movie that failed to charm me. A cut above such atrocities as Circus or Rancid Aluminium, Gangster No.1 is realistic and harrowing. Many audiences will be impressed, but at the end of the movie I had found the violence merely gratuitous


This is the English 'Casino' and 'Goodfellas' in one laughable film. It is very well known how much the English want to be Americans and this movie proves it.

Like in 'Lock Stock...' and 'Snatch', they try to create a New York environment in London, which is not realistic. They want it so much to make these gangsters be like their Italian-American counterparts and the end result is completely ridiculous. 'Buy yourself a nice suit...', yeah, right.

Apart from that, Paul Bettany can hardly act and the director is the perfect Scorcese wanna-be.

Malcolm McDowell is (as always) great though...

2/10


Where do I start this film hit me like a suckerpunch, a mate of mine threw it on and all I knew and needed to know was that Malcom McDowell was in it. Well whoever plays his younger counterpart is the most evil I have seen on the screen in any movie for a long time. Scarface and Snatch are comedies compared to this. Style, substance and slit throat violence that I haven't seen done this good and chilling since the Untouchables, damn fine viewing.


IT's stylish, it's clever, it moves. I am always amazed at how great English actors are in comparison to American or German ones. Of course this film is violent, but the violence is neither superfluous nor superficial. It has something to say. About the language - well, you can't really expect Gangsters to speak like schoolmarms, can ya? This is a real movie.


Yes, so there's a lot of violence - so what? I'm personally sick and tired of the gangster-lite presentations of the likes of the Sopranos.

Gangsters kill people - and the more psychotic the gangster, and the more willing they are to slaughter people who get in the way then the more successful they'll become. That's the whole point of this movie.

Some people think that gangsters should be portrayed as having redeeming features - they don't, that's why the Krays never got out of prison alive.

The evocation of 60's London gangsters is particularly good - and cleverly utilises the stylised look of the likes of Performance and Blow Up. Excellent.


This is definitely one of those movies I call "entertaining"; nothing heavy or prophetic, just NICE actors with a NICE story to share with the viewer. Sit back and relax with this one. Don't make a big sacrifice to see it, and don't expect a strong comedy out of it either-just fun.


If calling a film "light" and "refreshing" smacks somewhat of a soda pop commercial, it is for fairly good reason. "101 Ways" is consistently humorous, without reaching belly-aching proportions. When it ventures away from quick quips and fast puns, it never becomes offensive. In a nutshell, it is satisfying and well-worth the viewing, but not always the most substantive choice.

It is, after all, a movie about a girl's quest for romance and a career -- pretty standard fodder for many romantic comedies. Without love and without a job, Watson (played very adeptly by Wendy Hoopes) must find a way to make the payments on her beloved Volvo. But "101 Ways" does turn the genre on its head, narrowing the focus of Watson's love life to a supermarket check-out clerk, and (as the title implies) keeping her material hopes limited to the Swedish import sedan.

(The potentially confusing title is a reference to those pesky flyers seen all over college dorms, entitled "101 Ways to Make Love Without Having Sex." In this case, Watson seems to find that she encounters "101 Ways to Get F***ed Without Having Sex," which is pretty much the running joke of the entire movie.)

It is this balance of the absurd -- blending a healthy dose of paradox in a normally predictable setting -- that gives "101 Ways" its edge. The airline captain Dirk (Gabriel Macht), who reminds us that airline captains are long overdue for a good lampooning, is an especially welcome example of this. But Connecticut suburbs, brand new Volvos, and gargantuan supermarkets can only take a movie so far before dysfunctions on a Todd Solondz-type level can push it further.


This movie is about a young starving artist lady who's mom buys her a Volvo, but doesn't entirely pay for it. So the lady must make money to keep the Volvo, and at the same time find love.

The lady has a fun but stereotypical gay roommate, a stereotypical "dahling" rich mom, and a crush on a boring supermarket cashier (which just seems pathetic not funny).

Definitely the funniest part of the movie is when the lady says "oh, what the hell" and tries a phone sex job. The job doesn't work out, but the faces she makes while trying to finish a call are definitely funny.

Other parts of the movie involve police officers who help the lady after problems with the phone sex job. Eventually, she and the younger police officer hit it off on a date (sort of like Grand Canyon), but it didn't seem deeply romantic to me.

Overall, the movie does a nice job of mixing the trials of life with the joys of love. Enjoyable, but not Citizen Kane.


I saw this film at a New York film festival and was pleasantly surprised. "101 Ways" is what "Reality Bites" should have been. An interesting, tightly-knit, witty comedy from a female point-of-view. Just when you think it is headed for a cliche, the film takes a turn and surprises the audience. Very impressive debut. BTW, this film deserves theatrical distribution but even if it doesn't get it, I'm sure it will build quite a cult following on video and cable.


I loved it! Thought the characters and the dialogue were fantastic...very clever...left the theater wondering why Hollywood continues to feed us junk these days instead of creative writing like this! Would definitely recommend...especially to anyone who has lived in a big city before!


Out of all the Turkish rip-off films i've seen, this one is the most palatable in some ways (not the most entertaining, but watchable)... It may have helped that i had subtitles for this one, but part of it was the fact that they follow the Hollywood version very closely, and the basic narrative of the exorcist is solid...

On the other hand, this movie is a perfect example of why story and script can only take you so far in a film... The story is almost identical to the Hollywood version with only a few changes to make it more culturally relevant, but the direction and all the cinematic aspects are much worse. The end result is a movie that fails in every way.

There are no scares, and every scene lacks intensity compared to William Friedkin's version... You would figure that somewhere in the movie there would be at least one scene that would be superior in some way... Some inventive touch that would surpass the original, but even though every scene has a counterpart in Friedkins film, the Turkish version of the scene is always vastly inferior to the point were it's almost depressing. The lighting isn't even remotely atmospheric, the camera choices are all horrendous (except when they copy friedkins exact camera angles), the acting is soap opera level (at best).

This movie is a perfect example of why directors (not writers) are the most important figures behind the creation of a movie. On the opposite end of the spectrum, Lucio Fulci (one of the masters of Italian horror) routinley worked with scripts that were much worse than this one, yet consistently churned out movies that were 10 times better. You can't even really use the poor budget as a justification for this film because many of the problems have nothing to do with any budgetary constraints. It's cheap, but that's not why it's bad.

Most of these Turkish rip-off films play as pure comedy for me, not this one... There is a bit of unintentional comedy here and there, but it's so close to the original exorcist that you can't help but constantly compare the two and the end result is a greater appreciation of the Hollywood version. It will make you thankful that all movies aren't as blandly made as this rip-off.

Worth watching just for the interesting contrast, but not worthy as entertainment of any kind.


Just from the box art, you know your in for a treat. This movie made me laugh so hard i almost choked! They follow the Exorcist from the start to the end. This baby must have been on a budget of $100. The FX are horrible, the acting is stale, and they play tubular bells 800 times in this movie! But it is so bad its hilarious and i highly recommend it. Pure cheese! One part during the exorcism, the room is all lit up, when the girl levitates, the room becomes dark [to hide the wires i guess] and when she comes back down, the room is dark again. Its in Turkish though, but if you want it dubbed, just dub the Exorcist audio over the whole movie, i am sure it will fit.


As I understand it, Turkey made a bunch of no-budget versions of some of our most famous movies. "Seytan" is a prime example. This hilariously ridiculous "Exorcist" rip-off has...well, you can probably figure out what happens. It's exactly the sort of movie with which "Mystery Science Theater 3000" would have had lots of fun. As this is a pretty obscure movie, probably one of the only places where you can find it is Portland's video/DVD store Movie Madness, under Turkish Action Cinema. Mind you, the subtitle translations are almost as moronic as the stuff that we find in kung fu movies. So check it out.

I am gonna have to Google "zemzem". And just what did she mean by "book opener"?


Not the best film ever, but with this many monkeys it can't be at all bad. Definitely worth watching. I suppose maurice chevalier also lends some class to the film. But the monkeys are the real reason for watching it. They're great. It can't be long until someone remakes this.


The last time Maurice Chevalier appeared before a movie camera was in this anemic comedy from the Magic Kingdom, Monkeys Go Home. Although he would contribute his voice for an animated Disney project, The Aristocats, this was his farewell to the cinema. Not the best film for France's ambassador to the world to go out on.

Chevalier is the village priest and confidante of young American Dean Jones who has inherited some land in the south of France and olive groves to go with it. I will say this for the film, I learned more about the growing and harvesting of the olives more than I ever expected. The problem is in the harvesting, but Dean's got that licked so he thinks with the training of four female chimpanzees to do the labor. The chimps do work cheap and that upsets a lot of plans including those of Clement Harrari the villain of our piece who is a real estate entrepreneur. Nice to see some of them are as unscrupulous in France as they are on this side of the pond. Harrari has as a henchman Bernard Worringer who is jealous because Yvette Mimieux likes the new American settler better than him.

Monkeys Go Home just doesn't quite get off the ground as a comedy, Dean Jones would have to wait until he found a Volkswagen with a soul before he scored big in Disney films. One bit I thought was a bit much for the Disney family studio. Yvette Mimieux believes in all work and no play is not good for the four female chimpanzees and buys a male. Now you don't have to have a degree in animal husbandry to figure out what's going to happen to your simian work force at that point. I'm surprised that bit got out at the Magic Kingdom.

Maurice Chevalier is usual dapper and charming self, I do so wish he had a better film to make his exit with.


Residents of a French village attempt to stop an American from using monkeys in place of human workers on his newly-acquired olive farm. Poor screenplay from G.K. Wilkinson's book "The Monkeys" actually wants us to sympathize with the land-owner, who should perhaps be forced to do his own olive picking! Forgettable Disney product with the expected slapstick interludes is well-made, if not fresh. OK performances by Dean Jones, Yvette Mimieux and wily Maurice Chevalier (in his final film), but the argument at the center of the story isn't expanded upon, and the romance which sketchily develops between Dean and Yvette seems like an afterthought as well. Obviously, this was aimed at a younger crowd, but why not give kids something to think about as well as to laugh at? *1/2 from ****


Speaking as someone who has made an extensive study of the live-action Disney films of the 1960s-1970s I can say with some authority that this is truly one of the worst films ever released by Disney; almost unwatchable. With the charming Dean Jones and Yvette Mimieux at the center of a romantic plot this film has its moments (along with a delightful Maurice Chevalier, in what is a small role though curiously first-billed), but it is constantly derailed by the need to add monkey antics to the mix. Bringing in trained animals is a constant source of mirth in Disney live action gimmick comedies; it works in a Bubblegum Pop/ College Comedy setting (see the Disney film "The Monkeys Uncle") but against the backdrop of an American desperately trying to save an olive farm in Provence the entire film just fights against itself for a hundred minutes. Supporting characters rage about for no apparent reason, constantly entering and exiting the plot with no apparent motivation; and we are supposed to believe (and the plot hinges) on the concept that the entire village would be outraged that a man would use trained monkeys to pick olives for a harvest that last but three days a year instead of hiring locals is a stretch even by Disney standards (and this is the studio that convinced us a boy could turn into a dog and a car could have a mind of its own).

This was released in the year following Walt Disney's death. One might wonder if he would have chucked the entire thing rather than release this to theatres under the Disney name. It is truly shocking that this film made it to DVD before many other, better-remembered titles from the era.


I loved watching this as a kid. It was in two parts on Sunday nights on "The Wonderful World Of Disney" or whatever name the show was using at the time. And our country (New Zealand) only had B&W.

As a young lad, I was particularly impressed by Yvette Mimieux. Drop dead gorgeous.

Seeing it again a few years later, it didn't feel the same but the movie is still good light entertainment.

I guess all shows seem a lot better when you're young. Nevertheless, its better than some other stuff out there that I've revisited, hence the 7 rating.

If I see it out on DVD on a cheap label I plan to buy it.


The seven is for the racing footage; I'd have to give the film as a whole something lower; this looks like a standard "programmer" from the period. I've seen "TCR" several times, and this time decided to watch it to try to determine where the racing footage was shot and what kind of cars these are.

I have to (somewhat educatedly) guess that we're looking at the old Jeffrey's Ranch Speedway in Burbank in the first racing sequence. It was pretty close to the Warner back lot, and (according to racing historian Harold Osmer) in operation from '31 to '35.

The stands are covered, and there are a lot of large trees close by, as well as equestrian facilities, all three items definitely not the case at Legion Ascot or Huntington Beach. I've been told that Culver City's half mile of that period did not have any equestrian facilities, either, which deals with all the tracks in the region in '31 and '32.

The cars in these shots are largely Ford-Model-A-block / any-odd-freer-breathing-head, rear-drive, backyard/filling-station bombs on Ford rails rather than anything from Harry Miller's shop in nearby Vernon, though there might be an early Miller 200, 220 or 255 (the basis of the famed Leo-Goosen-designed, "Offy" 255/270 built by Offenhauser & Brisko and, later, Meyer & Drake).

This is doubtful, however, as those engines and complete (usually two- or three-year-old) Miller chassis rarely ran anywhere but Legion Ascot in the LA area at that time.

The second (nighttime) sequence is at Legion Ascot, and its 20,000 seats look to be pretty full, which, even when they weren't shooting a feature film, were pretty full even in the nadir of the Great Depression. Veteran dirt track fans will note that Ascot's oiled surface runs pretty much dust-free compared to the old horse track in Burbank.

The third group of action sequences shot at the Brickyard feature top-of-the-line Miller and Deusey rails, as well as several of the very best drivers of the period including Fred Frame and Billy Arnold, both Indy winners (1930 and 1932, respectively; Lou Schneider won the '31 race in the Bowes Seal Fast Special seen momentarily here). Careful listeners will hear the unmistakable snarl of the early "Offy" fours in the background.

Sadly, the sound era was just getting underway as the legendary Miller 91s and the incredible board tracks they ran on were phased out in '29. Open-wheel racing in the '30s was -good-, but OW racing in the previous decade (at tracks like Beverly Hills and Culver City) was as big -- and spectacular, and fast -- then as NASCAR is now on mile ovals.

The Indy scenes feature the (more nearly "stock car") two-seaters and "poor man's" engines that were mandated at the time to reduce costs and break the high-tech/high-buck, Miller stranglehold of the late '20s. There were Deusies, Fords and even Studebakers running the big tracks in those days, but Harry Miller's cars and engines continued to dominate.


Indianapolis-champion Joe Greer (James Cagney) has gasoline in his blood, exhaust gas in his lungs and engines on his mind. The roar drowns out his girlfriend's (Ann Dvorak) feeble attempts to get her share of his attention. She's alarmed that he risks his life for a blood-thirsty crowd ("I want you to quit racing"), afraid of his family ("They think I'm not good enough for you") and concerned about the flask in his pocket. He pays no attention to her self-sacrificing devotion. Bedded is not wedded...

He revels in the admiration of his kid brother (Eric Linden) who plans to follow in his footsteps. The sight of Linden's home-assembled car appalls him but when the brood-hen preaches: "Don't ruin your health" the chick usually replies: "I'll show you whether I can drive or not".

The story seems stereotyped but autobiographies of racing drivers resemble each other. Win or lose, die or survive in the wheelchair, and there's a hussy in every pit...Hawks, a former semi-professional racer shot much of the film on location and achieves authenticity. When Cagney and Linden start in a home-race they whirl up an asphyxiating cloud of dust. Cagney coaches his brother and shelters him from immoral females. No virginal crown princess could be better guarded...

The buoyant Joan Blondell - in Cagney's eyes a "racetrack-broad" is incensed: "Why do you stay with him? He doesn't love you. He doesn't marry you!", but Dvorak makes the best of her position as "kept" woman. She endures Cagney's pinpricks, even spends the night in a separate hotel room. Blondell catches her weeping: "He thinks I'm not good enough. He thinks I have a bad influence on his brother". One day Cagney bursts into Dvorak's room. Blondell is there, legs on the table, smoking a cigarette. And Linden drinks beer ("Tastes good. Fifty million drivers can't err"). An orgy. Cagney boils with rage, swears at Blondell and breaks with Dvorak. She slaps him, weeps, begs...He gives her a contemptuous smile...("I was good enough for him. Not for his brother").

Blondell decides to give Cagney a lesson - by seducing his brother! ("how old does he think the boy is? six?") but the seductress falls in love ("I'm mad about the boy") which is fine since the boy's also in love with her. Cagney calls Blondell on the carpet: ("The kid has no money. He's nothing for you") and bites on granite. Even blackmail fails - Linden is weary of being treated like a child ("I'm not sorry. He was wrong. And I'm going to show him tonight"). Cagney starts drunk, so drunk that he forgets his talisman (baby shoes) and causes the death of a friend in a spectacular scene (They drive through a sea of flames).

The last part of the film - Cagney's decline, remorse and resurrection - is so nuanced and touching that I can safely recommend this film. Cagney is "on the toboggan" (say the headlines) while Linden makes a cake-baking wifey, er, a respectable woman of Blondell. Dvorak touches her for the fare ("I tried to forget him but I can't"). Cagney rummages garbage cans for food and eats rotten bananas. Old friends patronize him but he does not find a job on the racetracks, not even as mechanic. Dvorak, now a waitress, offers him a free meal - soup, steak, coffee - and a shoulder to cry on ...

...But the performances make everything good. Dvorak has much style and Blondell is quicksilver. Joe Greer is a complex character, certainly not a good mixer, but a great actor like Cagney accepts the challenge, even asks for it...


As suggested in another review there was probably stuff left on the cutting room floor that would have filled in some holes in the plot. Still I disagree that we don't get the gist of this gripping melodrama or that the racing scenes aren't great. Cagney is a hard-boiled champion Indy driver, who goes a little psycho when his younger brother wants to follow in his footsteps. Suddenly, the girlfriend who loves him isn't good enough and her friend is a tramp. Before you can say "You dirty rat!", the two brothers are alienated and the girl is broken-hearted. This sets up a great rivalry on the track and some heated racing scenes.

I beg to differ with the fussy earlier reviewer who lamented that the racing scenes were over edited. I found these scenes riveting and brilliant. Moreover, they convey a strong taste of a brand of racing long past where death was not so rare. They also show us film of some of the great cars of bygone days in action. Nowadays we are jaded with television cameras on board most high level events. But this footage rivals the modern one for pace and context with the advantage of placing us in a wilder sport. The track is more dangerous, the cars more primitive and of course modern racing is much more civilized.

However, the character Cagney plays is remarkably like many modern day racing greats living and dead due to their daring ways. maybe in their childhood they saw Cagney in this flick.


A fantasy film like 'Field of Dreams' with excellent acting from Jonathan Winters and Jacqueline Bisset and some reasonably good swing music and jitterbugging. The lead is handsome and appealing but the story is somewhat hackneyed. Definitely worth seeing because of the leads, though, and the music (aside from Innis' inept crooning) is worth hearing. Tom Skerritt is, as always, a very good supporting actor. The band doesn't really get enough time, and I wish there had been even more swing. The ending could use a bit of pruning, too. Coming out on DVD in the Fall. The last theatre engagement is going on now, in Larkspur, Cal.


Saw this film Last monday at NY Film Festival. It has 2 very appealing leads and a solid cast. Its a romantic comedy that tugs at the heart strings and serves up some hot swing music. Its a winning combination that is definitely a chick movie and will also pull in the crowd hungry for nostalgia. What more could you ask for?


I saw this film last monday at a NY Film Festival.Its an infectious romantic comedy with two very appealing leads: Innis Casey and Constance Brenneman.

Its also the story of a generational conflict between a father who wants his son to find security in the family business and his son who wants to be a musician.The young man's grandfather was a great swing musician who gave it up for a boring conventional life but the young man has an unusual muse who inspires him to have the courage be true to himself and his dream. The music is hot, the dancing exciting, and the story lovely.


Take 1 part real swing music [Dorsey, Miller], 1 part enthusiastic dance, 1 part veteran talent [Bisset, Bostwick, Winters], 1 part youthful charm [Casey], and mix with a sweet storyline and a lot of San Francisco talent. Season with the late-great Nell Carter and some chocolate chutney. The result is pure magic. This could be the next Indie surprise hit.


I just saw the movie Swing this morning at a showing in Palm Springs, CA. I was surprised at the fine quality of the movie, and the fact I had never heard of it before - since it was made 2 years ago. Fortunately it will be out on DVD in January 2006.

It was a great movie, with great performances. Jaqueline Bissett, Jonathan Winters, Nel Carter, and Barry Bostwick were among my favorites. For an independent film, it was chock-full of veteran actors, each performing at their very best.

I love angel-themed movies, and this was clearly a movie which tugs at one's heart. It sort of reminded me of a sophisticated version of Touched By An Angel - which was a great TV show. It was a movie for all ages, since angels are of course ageless.

I was fortunate in that Jacqueline Bissett & the screen writer did a Q&A after the movie. It really has nothing to do with my impression of the movie, except to say that they were fabulously gracious people.

And speaking of fabulous, the soundtrack is incredible. A combination of old and new songs make for a great soundtrack, and help to weave the fabric of the story between the younger characters and the older characters.


The few pros? Tom Skerrit and Mindy Cohn do what they can with the meager crumbs of characterization that they are given. The settings, indoor and out are lovely and vibrant. Shots of San Francisco are beautiful, if over used. The indoor sets have good color and period dressing -- with the exception of the cookie cutter performance sets. I think that they were supposed to look like several different gigs, but ended up looking as though they were different POV of the same space.

The many, many cons: The leads lack the skills to carry the movie. The directing and editing are terrible. The scripting feels like it was made up on the spot by an eight year old. The cast mugs and hams and then does what it can to get from one line of the script to another.

Uniformly terrible.


I own this movie and I remember going to see it when it came out. A female cop gets raped by a gang of punks who's lawyer gets them off with a slap on the wrist. This cop is then approached by a lady doctor whose young daughter was attacked and killed by a pedophile. The women form a support group for women who have been sexually assaulted or abused. Within the group the doc and the cop along with other "hardcore" members decide to take matters in to their own hands. With the cop's help, they track down sex offenders and take out their own "special brand" of justice. It was sooo much fun to watch all the women in the theatre cheering the ladies on and watching all the guys slink down in their seats giving their girls covert looks. You could just hear them thinking: Would she?? Remember, this was in the days BEFORE Lorena Bobbit. I think it's a great movie especially for the tongue-in-cheek neo feminist set. If you can find it (try half.com), it's a great movie for a "man bash" session. Just invite your girlfriends over and open a bottle of merlot and have some laughs.


This, like ENOUGH, starring Jennifer Lopez, and others dealing with abuse issues are movies about what many women feel about wrongs done, and are a good way to work through the anger without actually having to go to jail for "acting out!" I am waiting for this one on DVD.


This is the kind of crap that appeals to the Oprah crowd. It's this kind of nonsense that makes men out to be "predators" and women "victims". It's incredibly dumb, offensive, and appeals to the lowest common denominator. Not worth seeking out, even for the curious. And if there is ever any justice in the world, this movie will never show up on DVD. The budget is low-rent, the direction is incompetent, the premise is pathetic, the acting is non-exsistant, and the screenplay is for the birds. It's a good thing this feminist propaganda film is out of print. The plot is about "violated" women out to seek vengeance against evil men. Yawn. Probably right now it is showing on the Lifetime channel.


Without doubt, Tenko is one of the BBC's most successful and popular drama series. Never repeated on BBC television, and only the first season available on video (and long since deleted), Tenko still holds strong and popular places in the memories of its audience. I managed to record the whole run on its recent digital television rerun, and became hooked, sometimes watching six episodes in one sitting.

Forcing a group of women to survive in a prison camp, Tenko explores the very human dramas, emotions and personality clashes that arise from this unbearable situation. We spend three-and-a-half years in the company of this group. They have little food, no clean water and no medication or sanitation. Forced into slave labour, sleeping on bare boards, the stresses and strains of their predicament are entirely believable, and make for edge of the seat viewing. Perfectly written (the series was created by a woman who survived a Japanese prison camp) and perfectly acted; blessed with truly amazing make-up (some of the women really do look starving, emaciated, covered in blisters and sunburn); some of the cast have only one dress to wear for the entire series. The human tragedy and awful, grinding horror of prison camp life is unforgettable.

The first series deals with the Japanese invasion of Singapore, disrupting lives of the ex-pats living in the British colony. Forced to evacuate, the survivors fall into Japanese hands, and we follow some of the women into prison. Mentioning "the survivors" is a very relevant point. Tenko is not afraid to show that life in this condition can result in awful, lingering death. Characters whom we grow to know and love, to understand and empathise with, are struck down with beriberi, cholera, malaria. The aching sadness and genuine humanity of Tenko is truly remarkable. Gradually revealing more about the characters, their past lives, and their hopes for the future, piles on the emotion, making it absolutely unmissable. There were some scenes I found I was watching while holding my breath, not wishing to disrupt the heart-and-soul being displayed onscreen.

Season two moves the women to a new camp, offloading several en route and picking up some new faces. The new camp, although better equipped, has a very different regime, and introduces us to Miss Hasan, the malicious and spiteful right-hand woman to the Commandant. The second half of season two deals with a prisoner receiving a gunshot wound: operating on her in a hut full of flies, with just a pair of sugar-tongs to remove the bullet, is absolutely gripping.

Season three deals with the war drawing to a close, and the survivors' return to Singapore. Their struggles to return to "normal" and realisation that they may have had more freedom in prison, away from the strictures of post-war austerity, are perfectly played.

No-one involved in Tenko has a happy ending. There's a definite feeling that, as the survivors climb about the ship to return to the UK, they have lost everything, and are fragile and broken. The horrors they've witnessed and cruelty they faced daily, will be with them forever more. Those who escaped Japanese capture will never understand.

Tenko is a real masterwork. One of the most intense and powerful pieces of television I have ever seen. Careful touches throughout the series never fail to amaze: Commandant Yamuchi occasionally allowing his humanity and honour to shine (witness the scene in season one where he stands beside a newly dug grave, lost in thought); old-fashioned bigot Sylvia Ashburton gradually letting her prejudices slip as she realises everyone is the same, underneath; season two's black marketeer Verna Johnson losing sight of her pole position in the camp as the war takes a turn for the worse; Dorothy Bennett's uncomfortably close relationship with some of the guards; Lillian's love for her young son gradually driving her mad; Sister Ulrica being forced to make decisions she would not make in the "real" world; Doctor Mason's horror at the death and disease she cannot solve ... Tenko is a special thing. Not to be missed, under any circumstances.


For those people in the US who want to see Tenko again (or even for the first time as I don't know if it was ever on PBS), you can simply order it from Amazon.co.uk and have it sent over. It will take about a week to arrive. Make sure that you have a multi-region DVD player though! I have almost finished with the last season, and it is as good as I remember - perhaps even better. For those new to this series, the first episode of season 1 is a bit clunky, but give it time and space.

The story and characters evolve through 3 prison camps in seasons 1 and 2. I still get chills down my spine remembering the revelation of how Rose was betrayed in season 2.

Season 3 records the end of the war and the difficulties adjusting to a new life of freedom (??).

The third season DVD set also includes the reunion, set in 1950.

I think each season of Tenko is best seen continuously - say over a weekend. It is like reading a good book. But give it time between seasons. In many ways, each season is self-contained. Best to give it at least a few days between them.

Invest in this series. You will be ever grateful that you did.


I absolutely adore Tenko - I saw it on video for the first time when I was 19 years old and was absolutely hooked! When I found out that only Series 1 was available on video, and that the BBC had failed to release Series 2, Series 3 and the two part special Tenko Reunion on video, I was hopping mad, I can tell you!

Finally, UK Gold repeated the entire series last year, and thanks to a fellow Tenko fan named Patsy, I now have the whole thing on video for me to watch over and over again!

The characters in this series are so real, that the viwer really does care for them deeply - Ann Bell is Marion Jefferson, the wife of a British army colonel, who finds herself appointed leader of the British women; Sister Ulrica (Patricia Lawrence) is the formidale nun, leader of the Dutch internees; Beatrice Mason (Stephanie Cole), the determined, no-nonsense doctor; Major Yamauchi (Bert Kwouk), the strict but at times compassionate commandant of the camp; nurses Kate Norris (Claire Oberman) and Nellie Keene (Jeananne Crowley); and so on, were just some of the protagonists who made this series so unforgettable.

Some of the most dramatic storylines occurred in Series 2, where a Eurasian woman, the evil Miss Hasan (Josephine Welcome) and a sly internee named Verna Johnson (Rosemary Martin) called the shots. Series 3 took place in Singapore, when the War had ended and the women had to cope with being free, trying to get used to their lives after years of imprisonment.

Gruelling, dramatic, shocking, funny, gripping - Tenko was all of these things, and much more. If it is ever on television, I urge you to watch it.

FYI: I recently met the actress Louise Jameson, who was so brilliant as Cockney Blanche Simmons in Tenko. I told her how much I loved the series, and she said that Tenko was her favourite acting job of all time - and she's been in Doctor Who, Bergerac and EastEnders to name just a few!


I watched this whole series on TV and have most of it on tape and think it's the finest, most realistic and most involving series about prisoners under the Japanese during WWII. I've seen almost every film and tv series made on this subject and TENKO is the best!

The actors are consistently wonderful and their circumstances truly harrowing. Anyone who is interested in what prisoners-of-war (and in this case, particularly women) went through will love this show.

I just wish it were available on tape in the US. My tapes were made from television and the quality is poor. I would buy this in a minute if it came in the format used here.


I can only agree with the praise from other reviewers.

As movie reviewers Siskel and Ebert used to say, you come to care about these people.

The situations are absorbing, full of suspense and moral dilemmas, and the actresses are uniformly excellent. In subsequent years, whenever I've seen one of them again in another context (Ann Bell, Rosemary Martin, Jean Anderson, and Elizabeth Chambers have shown up in other British dramas that have played in the States), it's been like meeting an old friend.

I discovered this series when it played on A&E (back when A&E was actually "artistic" and "entertaining"), but unfortunately, I never saw the first half of the first season. I was sorry when the series ended and even more sorry that it was never repeated.

I wish that someone would rebroadcast it or that the DVDs would be made available in the States.


A real classic series based on true events,Tenko was a powerful series on the suffering of a group of civilian women during World War 2 when Singapore falls to the Japanese in 1942. Ann Bell plays Marion Jefferson,the bored army wife,tired of all the endless tea parties and receptions then when she is evacuated with the other women,the first real shock is her best friend Vicky(Wendy Williams)drowning,Tenko certainly got shock you with the death of a popular character when you least expected it. In the first series we met elderly but defiant Slyvia Ashburton(Renee Asherburn)who refuses initially to sleep beside Eurasian girl Christina Campbell(Emily Bolton) but gradually the woman start to see each other as people and strong friendships are formed particularly when the women build a new hut,much to the surprise of camp commandant Yamauchi(Burt Kwouk) When Cockney prostitute Blanche(one of my favourite characters)is caught escaping with Debbie(Karin Foley)whose mother has just died,the whole camp is punished with a real feud developing between the English and the Dutch,headed by the formidable Sister Ulrica(great performance by Patrica Lawrence)and the selfish Mrs Van Meyer (Elizabeth Chambers) the feud is resolved as the women work towards Blanche's release. Stephanie Beacham is great as the seemingly selfish Rose Millar with flashes of kindness underneath and her friendship with Blanche is one of the joys of the series,the aborted escape causing a real rift between the two,this is resolved when Blanche is sent back to her friends in the 2nd series after being sent to another camp at the start of series 2 along with Nurse Nellie Keane(who falls in love with Sally(Joanna Hole)in series 1,and Slyvia,Blanche informs them,that Slyvia died a month after arriving in the new camp,Nellie dies a few months before the end of the war in series 3. Series 2 to me,is the best,we meet evil Miss Hasan,(Josephine Welcome)the evil administrator at their new camp and corrupt leader Verna Johnson(Rosemary Martin)we learn at the end of series2,they both sold their red cross parcels,causing a lot of unnecessary deaths for Doctor Mason(great performance throughout by Stephanie Cole as tortured soul,Dr.Beatrice Mason) Veronica Roberts as Dorothy Bennett excels,she goes from widowed young mother to seeing her baby die,then becomes emotionally dead as she has sex with guards to get by but forms an unlikely friendship with Shinya,a Japanese guard,who has to shot Rose when she meets boyfriend Bernard,Dorothy eventually forgives him only for him to die in an allied raid. Rose dies at the end of series 2 and is very moving,as is Sally's suicide but the woman who survive carry grimly on but there are laughs too amongst the horror like putting a rat in Miss Hasan's room. Louise Jameson sadly wasn't available for series 3,so Blanche was killed off between series 2 and 3. Series 3 deals with the women adjusting to freedom and Beatrice has to cope with blindness and the end of her practising as a Doctor. The shock at the end of series 3 is the death of Joss Holbrook(wonderful Jean Anderson)worn out by 3 years of bashings and under nourishment combined with a recent mugging and the flu,she is simply worn out. Tenko Reunion deals with the women meeting up in 1950 and discovering old friend Christina is a communist traitor and they narrowly come away with their lives. A great series,very fondly remembered.


I have been going crazy for the past 5 years while trying to find this older show and I just found it. I watched this show back when I was in high school and became really drawn to the lives of these women trying to survive. I thought I would never remember what the title of this show was but I refused to give up looking. This show left a lasting memory in my mind, just like my memories of watching *M*A*S*H* reruns as a teenager and other great shows. If anyone likes older shows with military and watching people try to survive a living hell, then this show is wonderful to see! I used to have to sneak watching it because of the strong content in it and my parents wanted me raised in a more "sheltered" lifestyle but I am a survivor of tragedy in my own life and could never forget what these women went through just to live through to the next day. I know it's just a show but even a show can remind you to follow your heart, keep a strong will, and overcome anything that is thrown at you and I feel that this was an excellent "foght for survival" story.


Wonderful series - I caught it on PBS about 15 years ago and was waiting for it to come out in Canada (North America) on DVD or VHS - alas it was always region 2. But great news for all of you - Amazon (UK) is now selling the complete series (including the reunion) on DVD in 0 region (will play in all regions). I checked with Amazon before purchasing and they assured me that it would play in NA - I took a chance and ordered it - received it and it plays wonderfully and I don't have fancy equipment - old TV and cheap DVD player. I urge all of you fans to order it as soon as possible. It is a 12 disc set and I paid about $112.00 Canadian - well worth it.


I saw this series on the A&E channel when high quality films were the norm for this cable network. This series follows the lives of women captured in Malaysia during the Japanese invasion and the difficulty they endured. It is 10 episodes long but each is riveting and excellent source of the history of WWII in this arena. These were plum roles for each actress and I am sure the series affected each of them as well. This is not front line fighting but what happens to people surrounded by war and how they cope to survive and keep their spirit intact. Another excellent source of the plight of women captured in Malaysia during WWII is the film "A town like Alice" based on a novel by Nevil Shute. Bryan Brown was in this film and takes you from the Malaysia arena and hardships, to Australia in the years after the war. Excellent film and actors as well.


This was an excellent series and is still relevant today. It tackled social issues such as abortion, the right to die (think of Rose) and the woman's role in society as well as racial issues, and those issues are still so relevant today. It was extremely well made and paid great attention to detail. The director even went to the trouble of turning off the air conditioning in the studios to get a realistic effect, this made the actors very irritable but gave a realistic view of what life must have been like under those conditions.

I have all three series on DVD and watch them about once a year. I thoroughly enjoy the entire series and would recommend it to anyone interested in world war two.


Tenko is the single most memorable series I have ever watched on television. Layered, engaging, challenging, compelling, it has stayed with me for years and I often think about the characters as real people...wondering how their lives continued, wondering what I would do in their company. In these times of war and prison camps, again, and as history is rewritten, forgotten, or ignored, I wish that Tenko would be replayed for a new generation to experience. The characters are unique and nuanced, the story lines complex and resolutions often unexpected yet always genuine. The actors seem to embody their roles. It is gripping and addicting. The followup documentary reuniting some of the survivors is an exquisitely touching finale, though wouldn't it be lovely to continue the series, chronicling the gap between then and now.


Tenko is a series I first watched at the tender age of 13 years back in 1981. From the word go it gripped. The acting is supreme: Ann Bell, Stephanie Cole, Stephanie Beacham are tremendous. The viewer lives and breaths the ordeal of the characters in a way that no other TV series has ever managed. It is head and shoulders clear of the rest. Having purchased the full DVD set, including reunion, a handful of years ago I am shortly to embark on my tenth viewing of the run.

I was sorry to have missed Paul O'Grady's 25 year celebration in October 2007. I can't believe that the cast are now approaching 70. It makes me feel old and long for the days before reality TV ruled when good drama and sitcoms proliferated.


Have just started watching AGAIN the well worn VHS tapes of Tenko. We first watched it in early 1980s on TV and became capitvated by the strength of these women.........you become wrapped up in the lives of each one of them. Unlike that concentration movie with the women's orchestra, think a Redgrave was in it..........that was "fluff" compared to this. Do so wish it would be copied on DVD that is compatible with USA TVs. We enjoy movies of WWI and WWII giving us some feeling for what people "over there" went thru. This series will draw you into it, believe me. Even friends who we have loaned the tapes to, that had no interest in the time frame.......returned the tapes with gratitude for the loan and highest praise for the series. And many of the wonderful actors are still at it today.....nice to follow their careers. If you never watch another concentration camp film, watch this one! yes, the British accent takes a bit of listening to catch on to, worth the effort!


Ask me what time it is. Very very very strange and very entertaining bit of European cinema from Wacko Jaco Van Dormael, a former circus clown turned director. This film about fate, love, and childhood fantasies gone awry is very hard to describe. Imagine a kids film directed by Lars Von Trier, add a dash of "Amelie," a scent of "Donnie Darko," a sprinkle of Lynchian strangeness, and a good heaping of Terry Gilliam inspired wackiness, place in a blender, then travel back in time (as this movie came long before and probably inspired "Amelie" and "Donnie Darko") and voilà, you'll have "Toto." Sometimes heartbreaking, sometimes funny (everybody seems to love those dancing tulips), sometimes weird, always captivating, this is a film for people who enjoy non-linear and creative story-telling. Also, that much talked about floating plastic bag stuff from "American Beauty" is taken straight from this film's unforgettable final scenes. Dormael seemed to have so much good stuff going on in this film, it's ashame he's only made one film since this, as any film buff who watches it will no doubt imagine a few more great films being pulled out of Dormael's magician's hat.


The first movie from Belgium director Jaco Van Dormael is pure magic. It's what cinema should always be.

I've just seen the movie, for the third time, on TV past midnight yesterday and I couldn't close my eyes. Why ? Because Van Dormael knows how to tell a story. Also, you become very attached to all the character, bad and good one.

The cinematography give you the impression that you are dreaming. The camera is so light and the colors are so bright so you know that the imagination of Thomas, the "Toto" from the title, is working very hard to remember exactly what happened in his childhood.

If you love a good story with a very interesting plot, this is the one.


The 1991 Belgian film "Toto le Heros" ("Toto the Hero") is a slick little expressionistic allegory which should be extremely depressing as it presents the process of living as a damned if you do-damned if you don't choice. And that choice as something which is made for each person by their basic nature and the events that shape their early life. The film follows two childhood neighbors who were born about the same time but into very different circumstances. Their parallel destinies occasionally touch each other and finally merge at the end, although the end is shown at the beginning and the story then told in a series of fluid non-linear flashbacks. It is the only film that begins with a person simultaneously choking on a sweet, being shot in the back, strangling in a curtain, and drowning?

While most of the flashbacks are done realistically there are some with an expressionistic style; those linked together by the catchy theme song "When Your Heart Goes Boom" are especially cool. Also noteworthy is the shelf of toy soldiers who march to their destruction as the plane's vibrations topple them off the edge.

Thomas Van Hasebroeck (teasingly nicknamed Van Chickensoup) is a lifelong dreamer because he fears action and commitment after his precocious sister (Alice) is killed because of his demands that she do something that will prove she still loves him. As an old man he finds himself filled with regret over lost opportunities and unfulfilled heroic dreams (insert the title here).

His counterpart, Alfred, lives life as a man of action and privilege, whose life of wrong choices leaves him with a lot of enemies and at least as many regrets as Thomas. From an early age Thomas envied Alfred, even concocting a fantasy about the two of them being switched at birth. Ironically, Alfred has lived his whole life envious of Thomas's seemingly unencumbered life.

Ultimately the story is less depressing than one would expect. In part because of a fair amount of humor and whimsy but also because of the introduction of a third alternative to living. Celestin is Thomas's developmentally disabled brother, content with just appreciating what life offers, an allegorical representation of the "stop and smell the roses" idea. Celestin is very loving and very much at peace with his existence, in one scene he is contently lying on the grass tuned into the movement of a mole tunneling in the ground beneath him.

Sandrine Blancke was especially good as Alice, whose sudden adolescence flowering leaves both Thomas and Alfred hopelessly in love with her; a love that will torment them both for the rest of their lives. My favorite scenes are Alice's determined confrontations with the Blessed Virgin after her father's disappearance.

A big strength of "Toto le Heros" is the directing. There is not a single weak performance, especially amazing because the main characters are portrayed by a succession of actors of differing ages. Writer-director Jaco Van Dormael and his make-up people are the real "Heros" as their physical casting and make-up effects provide utterly believable visual examples of each character at different life stages. It is like watching persons literally age before your eyes.


This movie is sheer visual poetry. Although it is in subtitles and I don't speak a lick of French, I found myself not needing to read the subtitles as the visuals told the entire story. This is rather impressive, as the story is very complicated. It tells the tale of one man's life by interweaving four different elements of his life: Childhood, Middle-Age, Old-Age, and a Film Noir Fantasy World. To give it even more of a chance of being confusing, these elements are not shown chronologically. However, "Toto..." is not confusing at all. It pulls off this complicated plot beautifully. This movie truly is a Modern Day Classic!! DVD? When? Criterion Edition!


Take a deep breath... and dive... The movie is about to take you in a journey trough an extraordinary life... Not very overwhelming, one might say... but the story of "Toto le héros" is an unpredictable tale about a man who always thought he was nobody, and found at the very end of his life, that he was, in fact, a hero...

The very simple storyline is a sketch, for director Jaco Van Dormael, to elaborate a complex visual narration. Since we follow the main character, Toto, throughout his whole life, the movie is full of "time games". Van Dormael uses flash-back and leap in time to get away from a simple linearity. The aproach to dreams is very similar to Terry Gilliam's that we've seen in "Brazil" and "12 Monkeys".

"Toto le héros" is a touching film that will please the movie critics as well as the common viewers.

It is a chef-d'oeuvre...


A most unusual cinematic treat. I happened on this film in the middle. I was so intrigued by it I scanned the TV guide for a month until I could see it from beginning to end.

There are more than many comments one can make on his own life. In this film we can make our own judgment on the life of Thomas the Hero. We know from the outset that he feels he has been cheated from his birthright. Can he regain what has been taken from him? Or has he been unable to comprehend the quality of his own life? These issues are dealt with in four stories told almost simultaneously.The resolution is at once redeeming and thought-provoking.


Toto the Hero is one of those rare films that improves with each viewing (and you will want to watch it again and again) there are enough levels going on to satisfy the hardened movie deconstructionist but at the same time the story-telling is engagingly simple and seemingly naive. At the surface level a narrative of lost love, mistaken identity, family tragedy, life/death and tulips. Dig deeper and there is a complex reflexive subtext about language and subject identity that encompasses philosophy, psychoanalysis and the role of the media itself. Joyce, Levi Strauss, Freud and Lacan are cited alongside countless references to cinema and television. Watch the opening of Billy Wilder's Sunset Boulevard or read the first page of Joyce's Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man after Toto and you may catch my drift. A truly superb piece of cinema that skillfully manages to avoid the post-modern posturing that condemns many of Van Dormael's contemporaries.


If you loved this film, and most people do, please help get the word out that this movie should be released for Region 1 DVD (US). I was able to find this on Region 2 DVD on Amazon.fr (Amazon France) but it was out of stock. What to do when the movie you love is unavailable?!?

I also recommend getting yourself a Charles Trenet cd who's song "Boum!" is used for the dancing tulips. I believe that he was a traitor during Nazi occupation, siding with the puppet French government...but he did remake his name before his death.

And yes, what a pity this director hasn't made more films. What gives? If you like this film, you might also like The Hairdresser's Husband which came out around the same time.


This is one of those rare films that can be enjoyed or appreciated on many levels separately, or all at once. The point is that it is very enjoyable at whatever level you take it.

For me, it is a profoundly moving film. It combines the comedy and frivolousness of the best of French film, with the most poignant and touching tragedy. The title provides much of the fodder for thought. Toto (what does that name mean?) the Hero. (Hero?) What kind of hero? Do you admire his heroism? Is it misplaced? Is it an act of self-sacrifice or...something else... What is a "hero"? Do we need them? Why? And where do they come from, what causes one man, a seemingly ordinary man, to perform an heroic act? Is he all of us? Is this potential inside us all? Delight in the asking of these questions, then delight in answering , some of them, one of them....none of them. This film is a fable, with all the potential whimsy and ambiguity therein.

Enjoy.


The only gripe I have with this film is the ending? Does it really necessary to make the rich kid with the 'good life' to envy the less fortunate one's for his 'freedom'? To get the protagonist killed to prove a point? Maybe the writing here is more of self expression than depicting human condition in general? Loud volume doesn't make the music more significant. Perhaps something could have left unsaid to the audience's imagination...

I always liked the French movies for there seemingly understated fashion over the dog barks of moral debate and preaching of the Anglo-American types - assuming the viewer is deaf and dumb. Well, the movie's ending is a bit surprise to me. Instead of letting the actors barking at each other, it chose to create a big bang with its twisted story line in the end. I certainly saw it coming after the middle point of the film. But still, I'd have no problem giving it 10 had it not been for the forced ending. I thought the biggest tragedy for people like Toto is that they never got anything right and nobody cares what they do or do not do. Therefore, to force Alfred to 'envy' Toto in the end and let Toto leave with a bang instead of a wimp is certainly gratifying to the audience, Hollywood style. But it feels very concocted and unnatural. Trying to force a tragedy into a comedy really is pointless. Because life really do sucks for folks like Toto.


Without "ifs" and "buts": this is the best movie of the last decade. Made by most gifted filmmaker of the last decade. It s unique in its wealth of ideas and complex structure. Thank you, Jaco - also for your second feature "Eight Day".


My God! You people actually gave this movie something higher than 3? This was a disgusting and queer piece of work. You can't even find what the storyline for this movie was in the first place! If you see yourself as an idiot, then go to Blockbuster and wow yourself with a film that could be shot in the 60s. Yes, you heard me- the 60s! You have a little perverted brother sleeping and washing his older sister, you have a nut for a dad saying, "Boom, Chick-a-Chick-a-Chick-a-Boom! Blah-dad-de-de-da-de!" Plus, when Toto's all grown up, he starts seeing another woman just because she's a lot like his sister who blew up! The weirdest scene by far was the Conclusion. It had Toto laughing and giggling as a pile of ash, it showed a chicken, a ship and a whole lotta things that are played in the song.I suggest that if you find this description amusing, you should watch the movie and decide for yourself.


I gave this film a rating of "1" because of the terrible things it contains. There is near-child pornography, an adolescent brother and sister that are in love with each other and take baths together and sleep together (one scene shows the boy licking the girl's arm), the children plotting to burn the neighbor's house down, an older man fantasizing about stuffing a bottle of pills down a nurse's throat, the two sublings smashing a statue of the Virgin Mary, and the film shows a man that has been suffocated, choked, drowned, and shot. If you liked "The Eighth Day," which was written and directed by the same person, you won't like this. It's disgusting and violent and has perverted sexuality.


This was one of Howard's early directorial efforts (he even gives himself a Hitchcockian-style cameo in an alley kiss near the beginning), and one of his straight-out funniest. Many have commented on Keaton's top-notch breakout performance -- and it truly is one of the funniest supporting performances since Matthau's Whiplash Willie Gingrich. But, there are many other wonderful tidbits to enjoy thoroughly -- beginning with an incredibly clever script by Ganz and Mandell -- so many classic lines I almost don't know where to begin. Gina Hecht is also magnificently memorable in her supporting role as Winkler's neurotic girlfriend, and Nita Talbot is a gem as the domineering mother. Winkler is perfect as the understated nebbish lead, and the contrast of the low-income realities and the humor found in the script is marvelously unusual in American movies beyond "Little Shop of Horrors". In fact, the movie deftly blends reality and absurdity in a manner few have succeeded at. Finally, the ahead-of-its-time cast includes Shannen Doherty as a junior girl scout, Richard Belzer as a grotesque gangster pimp, Kevin Costner as a frat boy, Clint Howard (Ron's younger brother who starred in Gentle Ben and a classic Star Trek episode) as Keaton's first limo customer, Murphy Brown's Pat Corley as Hecht's father, and Ghost's Vincent Schiavelli as an obnoxious deliveryman. And, I do disagree with mainstream thought that Shelley Long was miscast -- she actually imbues her character with some underappreciated mannerisms that ring very true for me that transcend the hooker-with-a-heart-of-gold cliche. All in all, a funny and harrowing film much better than it is generally given credit for.


This movie finds it's humor in seeing the absurdity of situations that are unusual but not completely unbelievable. The characters are memorable, especially as Henry Winkler plays a role that is a complete departure from previous roles and he does so convincingly. Winkler is a great straight man to Michael Keaton's high energy "idea man" and Shelley Long is well cast as the quintessential hooker-with-a-heart of gold. It's a very 80's film, but one that has stood the test of time. Even if the story line is "formula" it produces exactly the result you would expect: it's a loud, colorful, rollicking good time. It may be dated, but it is still funny after all these years.


Chuck Lumley (Henry Winkler) is a harried, put-upon nerd who gave up a prominent career on Wall Street because it was making him a nervous wreck. Now he works a peaceful, low stress job at the city morgue - but things change when he's forced into working the night shift.

He's partnered with Bill Blazejowski (Michael Keaton, in an instant attention-getting debut film performance), a wild and offbeat "idea man" who likes to carry around a tape recorder so he can record his crackpot ideas - example, feeding mayonnaise to tuna-fish.

He also makes the acquaintance of Belinda Keaton (Shelley Long), a "nice girl" prostitute who's just moved into his building. She reveals to him that she and her friends are in need of a pimp since their last one was murdered.

Well, Bill gets the bright idea that he and Chuck should be pimps for Belinda and her friends and that they should operate out of the morgue (Bill's already enough of an entrepreneur to rent out the hearse as a limo for horny college kids).

What follows next is truly one of the brightest and funniest - and actually endearing - comedies to emerge from the 1980's.

This is no mean trick. I mean, making an upbeat, easygoing (yet still R-rated) comedy about prostitution would seem like a crazy thing to do. Yet, screenwriters Lowell Ganz and Babaloo Mandel (that is the craziest stage name I've ever heard!) mine all situations for their humor and heart.

Most of the mileage comes out of Keaton's comic energy - and whenever this picture starts to drag, he can be counted on to bring back some life into the thing.

Chuck is a sweet, simple guy who I actually like - the complete antithesis of The Fonz - and it turns out to have been one of Winkler's best performances ever, guided well by his old 'Happy Days' cohort Ron Howard (who has a cameo as the annoying saxophone player).

Even Shelley Long is really, really sweet, delivering one of her more notable feature film performances.

LOTS of familiar faces in the supporting cast, and these include Gina Hecht, Pat Corley, Vincent Schiavelli, Charles Fleischer, Richard Belzer, Joe Spinell, Howard's cult icon brother Clint, and others. Be on the lookout for Kevin Costner (I sure had a hard time spotting him!) as a frat boy, Shannen Doherty as a Bluebell, and Drew Barrymore's mom Jaid as one of the prostitutes.

Film introduces the song 'That's What Friends Are For', sung and produced by Rod Stewart. A few years later, it would be a hit for Dionne Warwick and Friends.

"Night Shift" is entertaining and likable and that's pretty much all that matters.

Just a couple of good lines to pique your interest:

"Oh, that Barney Rubble...what an actor!"

"Hello, this is Chuck to remind Bill to SHUT UP!"

"LOOOOOOOOVE BROKERS!"

"Note to self...call Starkist."

7/10


A film about morgue workers and prostitutes? That's what someone who hasn't seen the movie may ask. Without sentimentalism or cheap jokes like Adam Sandler's, this film is funny, with Keaton outrageous as an idea-man and Winkler perfect for the rational person in all of us. Every part does the job. It's a must-see.


If you love Michael Keaton in early 80s comedy, then Night Shift is definitely recommended for you. He and Henry Winkler as a pair of mismatched oddballs make the perfect comic duo in this Ron Howard comedy.

Henry Winkler is the soft spoken, timid Chuck Lumley. He's a moper, and works at the city morgue, which is where he meets the wild Bill Blazejowski (Michael Keaton), an absolute fun-loving weirdo with a headful of crazy get-rich-quick ideas. Bill wants Chuck to be his partner for his next business venture: they're going to run a high class prostitution ring out of the city morgue.

The idea sounds stupid, but it is well-meaning in some regards, since these are career prostitutes who've gotten pushed around for too long. Bill and Chuck are going to be their friendly godpimps, and help them be successful, high class hookers. Their clientelle are kind, jolly fellows, and the pimps (Chuck and Bill) are always good to the girls. And they all make a sh*tload of cash. Unfortunately, in trying to create this romantic comedy aspect (Chuck falls in love with Belinda--Shelly Long--who is one of the hookers), it glamorizes prostitution, which is pretty sad and at the same time, pretty stupid.

Also, while Chuck and Bill are having their fun, a pimp and his goon (Richard Belzer and Badja Djola)want to know where all of their girls have gone and why, if someone else is running the business, they haven't been given a cut of the profits. They're a dangerous pair (although, they turn out to be pretty wimpy in the end).

The movie becomes a combination of the Odd Couple as Bill tries to invovle Chuck in all sorts of his crazy ideas once the prostitution gimmick picks up and becomes quite successful. Chuck, it being part of his nature to always do things safely and not too spontaneously, gradually becomes annoyed with Bill, especially when Bill's ideas start to get him in a whole lot of trouble. Though, in Bill's defense, he does try to help his friend out by trying to get him to stand up for himself and quit being afraid of everything. Henry Winkler and Michael Keaton are terrific here in all of their zany antics.

The other half of the movie is something like Irma La Douce in that Belinda is the lovely prostitute that Chuck has fallen for. And, once he does, he doesn't want her hooking anymore. Shelly Long was also quite good in this movie, and a natural, as always. What an underrated actress.

Night Shift is a pretty good comedy with a great cast that makes a somewhat stupid story work great. The dialogue is just absolutely silly (like when Bill and Chuck are fighting in the office and all Bill can say is as he's crashing through glass and junk is that Bill should be careful because Chuck's wearing white).


**Possible Spoilers** How do you make a funny movie using a morgue and prostitution as subject matter? Leave it to screenwriters Lowell Ganz and Babaloo Mandel, who put a rollicking script in the hands of director Ron Howard, who ran with it and ended up scoring a minor comedy classic with `Night Shift.' Chuck Lumley (Henry Winkler) is in something of a funk; he's been relegated to the night shift at the morgue where he's worked for years, thanks to the nepotism of his boss, who has installed a nephew into Chuck's day shift. Now Chuck has to train the new man, one Bill Blazejowski (Michael Keaton) a real `idea man' who can't sit still and never seems to quit talking, much to the chagrin of the conservative Chuck, who likes to keep things quiet and simple. When Chuck befriends Belinda (Shelley Long), a neighbor in his apartment who just happens to be a prostitute, Bill gets wind of it and has an idea. Belinda and her friends are in a dangerous business, and they could use some help and protection. Nights at the morgue are slow, and they have a limo at their disposal (Sure, it's a hearse, but slap a sign on the door, and you're in business). Bill convinces Chuck that they could make a fortune as `love brokers,' working right out of the morgue. And soon Chuck's life will never be the same. Keaton is absolutely spectacular as Bill (`Call me Billy Blaze'), in whom he has created a totally off-the-wall, quirky, uniquely nuanced and endearing character you're never going to forget. He pulls out all the stops and never quits, playing perfectly off of Winkler's reserved and cautious-to-a-fault Chuck, the perfect foil for Bill. The timing between these two is right on the mark, and Howard keeps the pace steady and the laughs coming. Wisely, the story avoids any moralizing or delving into the murky waters of the subject matter; after all, this is a comedy, not `Taxi Driver,' and Howard never lets it slip even close to leaving the laugh track. He keeps it light and funny and makes sure the characters are real people; there's no buffoonery or slapstick here, and it keeps the real humor centered and at the heart of the story. Shelley Long, too, adds a nice touch with her spin on Belinda, the hooker with the heart-of-gold. The supporting cast includes Gina Hecht (Charlotte), Pat Corley (Edward), Bobby Di Cicco (Leonard), Nita Talbot (Vivian), Clint Howard (Jefferey) and Joe Spinell (Manetti); and look closely for Kevin Costner as a frat boy in the party scene at the morgue. Howard gets high marks for making `Night Shift' a memorable comedy, and for keeping the dynamic Keaton on track to deliver one of the most singular performances of his career. This is a movie with heart, and most importantly, plenty of laughs. You'll be glad you didn't let this one pass you by. I rate this one 8/10.


This movie rocks. The cast, the soundtrack, the writing, the timing, it has it all. It is not your typical 80's movie, although a lot of movies were (and still are) being made where this one takes place in New York City. The plot is quite simple as Michael Keaton (Billy Blazejowski) and Henry Winkler (Chuck Lumley) work on the night shift at a morgue. Billy is an idea man,(he wants to feed mayonaisse to tuna to simplify the process of having to mix the mayo with the tuna) while Chuck is seems less and less content spending time when he can alone with his neurotic girlfriend. One day as he arrived at his apartment building, Chuck bumps into his neighbor, Shelly Long, after she had been beaten up by her pimp. Chuck later shares her plight with Billy Blaze. Well, it's at that point that Billy suggests that he and Chuck should run an escort service out of the morgue at night as pimps for Chuck's neighbor. The hilarity begins well before that, as there are too many quotes to list. I will say that once they become "LOVEBROKERS", as Billy so entusiastically suggested, their lifestyles change as the main characters' Parsons allow. This is a great movie that I now proudly own. You should too, if you're into first rate comedies about prostitution and pimp daddies. I know I am.


Like STRIPES (1981; see review elsewhere), I was too young to catch this adult comedy  best-known today for being former actor Howard's sophomore directorial effort and for providing Michael Keaton with a star-making role. To be honest, I am rather ambivalent towards Howard's supposed talent as a film-maker: well-suited to light-hearted, life-affirming fare such as this, SPLASH (1984) and COCOON (1985), he has regrettably failed to convince when tackling more serious subjects. Anyway, this was certainly an auspicious beginning: an original, if not exactly credible, premise wherein two morgue attendants (mild-mannered Henry Winkler  Howard's ex-buddy from his HAPPY DAYS TV series  and charismatic Keaton) decide to turn their literally inert shift into a booming call-girl business! Keaton's uncontained exuberance here may have lead to his getting the title role in BEETLEJUICE (1988) but nonetheless comes across as essentially overstated; Winkler though, miles away from his iconic and ultra-confident Fonzie character, is wonderful and he is matched by Shelley Long (of CHEERS fame, hence another established TV performer trying to break into movies) as the call-girl abused by customers (after her pimp is flamboyantly 'executed') who seeks comfort in the arms of neighbor Winkler (himself engaged to a neurotic woman dominated by strict parents). For all the seediness on display (involving partying in morgues, courtroom exhibitionism and exclusive sex clubs), the film proves a generally agreeable and entertaining ride  faltering only on occasion due to overlength (106 minutes). Consequently, there are plentiful felicities throughout (not least an early rendition of the Burt Bacharach/Rod Stewart song "That's What Friends Are For") in the way of situations (notably a running-gag involving Winkler being chased by a hound let loose in the corridors of his apartment building) and dialogue (particularly when, ending up in prison and being accosted by a murder-happy cellmate, Winkler sarcastically thanks Keaton for having made possible his acquaintance with Peter Lorre's son!). Joe Spinell has a small role towards the end as the slimy manager of the swank brothel to which Long relocates after her association with Winkler and Keaton is disrupted: the latter happens to work at the same joint as a towel-boy(!), while the former follows her there on summing up the courage to finally express his love. By the way, a pre-stardom Kevin Costner can be glimpsed during the party-in-the-morgue sequence!


They don't seem to make comedies like this anymore, but thankfully, they did once. "Night Shift," directed by Ron Howard, stars Michael Keaton, Henry Winkler, and Shelley Long. Winkler plays Chuck Lumley, a securities broker who may have had a nervous breakdown - anyway, he has taken a job at the morgue so he can be in a quiet place. When he's transferred to the night shift, it ruins his time with his eternally dieting fiancée (Gina Hecht).

Worse than that, Chuck's quiet is shattered by a new employee, Bill Blazejowski (Keaton), who talks into a tape recorder and runs a limo service using the hearses. When Chuck's attractive neighbor, Belinda, a hooker, is in need of a pimp, Bill gathers her and her friends, and he and Chuck run a prostitution service out of the morgue. They take much less of a cut than the average pimp, and Chuck invests their money for them, and gets health insurance for them.

This is a really fun movie, with a terrific performance by Keaton as a wild man whose sense of adventure is infectious to the down and out Winkler. Winkler is the anti-Fonz, and he's wonderful. I had the pleasure of interviewing him once. He's one of the warmest, most natural people one could ever meet. Shelley Long is both funny and sympathetic as Belinda.

Very entertaining.


I really could care less who wins Auburn - Miss State, and i wanted a good laugh, so I turned to an old favorite with Henry Winkler and Micael Keaton, along with Shelly Long, Richard Belzer, and Vincent Schiavelli. You'll even find Kevin Costner and Shannen Doherty in here if you look closely.

Winkler got a Golden Globe nomination for his performance, but it was Keaton that got a big start with the film.

Winkler & Long were magnificent, and Keaton was so crazy that you laughed every time he opened his mouth. It was a pleasant experience.

Great soundtrack, too.


1982's "Night Shift" which was one of legendary director Ron Howard's first works can now be considered a comedy classic. The film is certainly funny and it has plenty of funny memorable one liners and it was sharply written with intelligent wit. Yet it is most respected for it's off beat plot and clever nature of opening up a business(an escort service)which will lead to an unlikely friendship and it shows one man that love is possible for anyone.

Set in New York City you have ex Wall street guy Charles Lumley(Henry Winkler)who's a worried and uptight type who now makes his living at the city morgue on the night shift. Things change enter Billy Blazejowski(Michael Keaton in one of his earliest roles)who's hired to be Lumley's night shift partner. And Billy is an opposite as he's more a party animal and care free type who wants to change things and he comes up with a clever ideal. That is he gathers up a group of women and you guessed it they run an escort service for profit! Shelly Long stars as a working girl and strikes up a friendship and even a love making encounter with the uptight Lumley who breaks free of some of his tightness, which was needed especially when he had a sweet tooth wife who loved chocolate! In the end a lot is learned as unexpected love is discovered and all three form a bonding friendship that's memorable and should last so special when it seemed so unlikely. Overall good and well done comedy a now remembered classic.


Well you all should know the plot line by now, from the other comments.

I decided to pick this one up to see if it held up over the years, since I hadn't seen it since the theatrical. Wow 27 years. And I have to say, I laughed just as hard as I did back then. This movie is well worth looking at again. The quotes go on and on. I still say "That Barney Rubble,..what an actor".

And when Michael Keaton is driving and flipping off the cops, come on, what is not to love.

Everyone is great in this movie, Winkler, Keaton, Long, Belzer, when I was young I dreamed Shelly Long would make me eggs.

I could go on and on.

Comedies today should take note of the brash classics of the early eighties.

Also just look at 42nd street before Disney took over.


beautiful but comics. It is useless, here you have paraocchi and unilateral ways of thinking. Some films from comics are rewarded while others are attacked, this film is like any other. this kind of movie derived from comic books do not convince many people. to me like, after all most recent film hollwood are based on comic books to produce them means that enjoy. Bel film cmq. Voting 5.7 indicates that on this site of horror films are seen evil. I ask minds indipenenti not to build the judgments of others and to reward and films but without being too strict. I would try to make a judgement more univoo since this site were underestimated masterpieces by Di caprio Titanic and Charlton Heston.


Very funny, often hilarious comedy from regular writing team Lowell Ganz and Babaloo Mandel. "Night Shift" tells the tale of two young men, one very nervous and reserved, the other loud and over confident, who both work the night shift at the city morgue. All hell and hilarity break loose when the boys decide to go into business as pimps.

Director Ron Howard is always in control of his stars and works the humour well, showing signs of a fine director. Although Michael Keaton is occasionally annoying, Henry Winkler is extremely likable as Charles Lumley III, a timid but brilliant financial wizard. Also starred Shelley Long. Comedy fans, don't miss this one.

Tuesday, July 2, 1991 - Video


This movie's got plenty of star power there. Henry Winkler of "Happy Days"; Shelly Long of "Cheers" fame; Michael Keaton way before "Beetlejuice" and "Batman". He was a total riot! Winkler plays Chuck Lumley, a lowly morgue attendant who used to work for Wall Street got stuck doing the night shift with a very wild and outlandish partner named Bill "Blaze" Blazejowski(Keaton) who happens to be businessman wannabe. Lumley has a next door neighbor named Belinda Keaton(Long) who happens to be a prostitute. She and several others needed a way to make the money, while avoid two pimps who taking more than their shares of the profits. The two morgue attendants decide to turn the city morgue into the ultimate brothel. They made the prostitutes dreams come true with items they can only imagine having. Lumley and Blaze call themselves, "Love Brokers", and it worked. The competition starts to heat up, and they get the surprise they'll never forget. Especially when the other's gun goes off prematurely on his foot! Though Lumley had a low key, but when Belinda came into his life, he became stronger and puts his foot down on those who pushed his aside. This movie delivers a sense of bolster, and self-assurance. It's a lot of fun, I enjoyed it very well. 3 out of 5 stars!


Nebbish everyman Henry Winkler (shedding his Fonzie image) abandons Wall Street brokerage for the more quiet and subdued night shift at the city morgue, much to the aggravation of his weight worrying girlfriend. While there, Winkler meets a rambunctious, hyper active "idea man" played by a pre-Batman Michael Keaton in his first leading film role - also the one that made him famous to begin with. After a somewhat rocky start, Keaton talks Winkler into starting a call girl ring in their morgue, utilizing Winkler's Wall Street know-how to win over the fellow prostitutes of a prostitute he just happened to meet in the morgue, played by Shelley Long, whom he naturally falls for.

Surprisingly good natured and engaging despite its seedy subject matter. Winkler and Keaton play well off each other, and Long is adorable as the hooker with a heart of gold.

Director Ron Howard has a cameo as the "annoying sax player" on the subway.

"I was my hands and feet of you!"


From a lot of the reviews I've seen here and elsewhere for "Night Shift", Michael Keaton seems to get most of the credit for making the movie entertaining. Well, he is great but few people are giving deserved props to Winkler's performance. Sure, he is a little boring and plain but that's the nature of his character. I related more to him than Keaton, whose wild antics and personality are fun and not too over-the-top. A nice balance is struck between his craziness as Bill and Winkler's calm, yet clumsy and likable Chuck. Appropriately enough, I am finding "Night Shift" an excellent viewing for the night time, particularly as I am settling into bed. Not that it bores me to sleep, far from it...but it's more fun to watch in the evening because of it's setting and premise, NY morgue employees-turned-pimps who do it all at night.


It's not 'throw it away' bad but it's not a total turn-on either. We've had this one on the shelf for the longest time without ever trying it out. I can't remember why we bought it.

It doesn't have the world's best screenplay or the world's most thought out story line. It's - how should one say? It's a light comedy not written all that well (yes I know sorry Babaloo but it really isn't that good not even close) that hops skips and jumps. Don't look for too much realism here, and don't look for even that much. Much of the story in the seams doesn't make any sense. So it's hard to say what this one's about, but it's easy to say whose movie this is.

There's not much of a fight over it either.

She doesn't quite look the role but she does good at it: Shelley Long. Winkler is so totally laid back and the plot continually turns macabre against him. Keaton is so over the top you're likely to feel like Winkler by the end of the movie (which might be the idea). Keaton's supposed to be the one who's so good here, but his character is just downright stupid - an ass. Which isn't really funny at all. Nope - Shelley saves the day. Keaton you can kick and leave in a back alley and things will be really fine - he's not even close to being critical to the plot line - but dump Shelley back there and Ron Howard's venture dies.

Look for a very noodle-like Mr Noodle here - in other words Kevin Costner. The party scene. He's the one marching behind Keaton. Shannen Doherty is supposedly in here too but I haven't seen her and mostly likely won't hurry back to look again. (They say she's in the lift; I still won't go back, as in 'go back for what'.) For that matter there are a lot of familiar faces in here. You might not know their names, but you'll go 'oh yeah so-and-so'.

Some familiar music, some of which you may like; some nice moments - the first breakfast scene is nice; some sentimentality; but don't look for a story that makes too much sense and has you feeling totally good inside by the end, for you won't be like that - you'll feel somewhat empty but of course not fully empty. It's the screenplay - hopping skipping jumping - contrived.

But totally bad it's not, although were it not for Shelley it might be. It just isn't a total turn-on.