The Night They Raided Minsky's (1968)

User Rating:

5.9/10   

Director:

William Friedkin

Writers:

Arnold Schulman (screenplay) &
Sidney Michaels (screenplay) ...
(more)

Release Date:

22 December 1968 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy

Tagline:

If You Can't Stand The Terrific Girls (10 Count 'Em 10) There's Always The Comics

Plot:

Rachel arrives in New York from her Amish community intent on becoming a dancer. Unfortunately Billy...

Plot Keywords:

Amish | Female Nudity | Beautiful Woman | Stripper | Murphy Bed

Cast

Jason Robards	...	Raymond Paine
Britt Ekland	...	Rachel Schpitendavel
Norman Wisdom	...	Chick Williams
Forrest Tucker	...	Trim Houlihan
Harry Andrews	...	Jacob Schpitendavel
Joseph Wiseman	...	Louis Minsky
Denholm Elliott	...	Vance Fowler
Elliott Gould	...	Billy Minsky
Jack Burns	...	Candy Butcher
Bert Lahr	...	Professor Spats
Gloria LeRoy	...	Mae Harris
Eddie Lawrence	...	Scratch
Dexter Maitland	...	Duffy
Lillian Hayman	...	Singer in Speakeasy
Richard Libertini	...	Pockets (as Dick Libertini)
Judith Lowry	...	Mother Annie (as Judith Lowery)
Will B. Able	...	Clyde
Mike Elias	...	Immigration Officer 1
Frank Shaw	...	Immigration Officer 2
Chanin Hale	...	Valerie
Ernestine Barrett	...	Minsky Girl
Kelsey Collins	...	Minsky Girl
Marilyn D'Honau	...	Minsky Girl
Kathryn Doby	...	Minsky Girl
Joanna Rush	...	Minsky Girl (as JoAnn Lehmann)
Dorothea MacFarland	...	Minsky Girl
Billie Mahoney	...	Minsky Girl
Carolyn Morris	...	Minsky Girl
June Eve Story	...	Minsky Girl
Helen Wood	...	Minsky Girl
Rudy Vallee	...	Opening Narrator (voice)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Mary Boylan	...	Laughing Lady In The Audience (uncredited)
Henry Calvert	...	(uncredited)
Herbie Faye	...	Waiter (uncredited)
Stephen Fitzstephens	...	Ice Cream Kisser (uncredited)
Trent Gough	...	Minsky Customer (uncredited)
Lester Mack	...	(uncredited)
Joe E. Marks	...	Mr. Flegelman (uncredited)
Remo Pisani	...	Stagehand (uncredited)
Ellen Stretton	...	Bit part (uncredited)
Fat Thomas	...	Stagehand (uncredited)

Directed by
William Friedkin

Writing credits
Arnold Schulman		(screenplay) &
Sidney Michaels		(screenplay) &
Norman Lear		(screenplay)
Rowland Barber		(book)

Produced by
George Justin	....	associate producer
Norman Lear	....	producer

Original Music by
Charles Strouse

Cinematography by
Andrew Laszlo		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
Ralph Rosenblum
Pablo Ferro		(uncredited)

Casting by
Marion Dougherty

Production Design by
Jean Eckart
William Eckart

Art Direction by
John Robert Lloyd

Set Decoration by
John Godfrey

Costume Design by
Anna Hill Johnstone

Makeup Department
Irving Buchman	....	makeup artist
Bob Grimaldi	....	hairdresser (as Robert Grimaldi)

Production Management
Jim Di Gangi	....	production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Pablo Ferro	....	second unit director
Burtt Harris	....	assistant director
Alan Hopkins	....	second assistant director (as J. Alan Hopkins)

Art Department
Richard Adee	....	set dresser
Edward Garzero	....	chief scenic artist
Donald Holtzman	....	property master
Edward Swanson	....	set construction
Walter Way	....	set construction

Sound Department
Jack Fitzstephens	....	sound editor
Dennis Maitland	....	production sound mixer (as Dennis L. Maitland)
Dick Vorisek	....	sound re-recording mixer (as Richard Vorisek)
Richard P. Cirincione	....	assistant sound editor (uncredited)

Visual Effects by
Pablo Ferro	....	visual consultant

Camera and Electrical Department
Vinnie Gerardo	....	assistant camera (as Vincent Gerardo)
Richard C. Kratina	....	camera operator (as Richard Kratina)
Michael Mahony	....	key grip
Willie Meyerhoff	....	gaffer (as William Meyerhoff)
Josh Weiner	....	still photographer
Ron Zarilla	....	second assistant camera

Casting Department
Bernie Styles	....	extras casting

Costume and Wardrobe Department
George Newman	....	wardrobe
Flo Transfield	....	wardrobe (as Florence Transfield)

Editorial Department
Michael Breddan	....	assistant editor

Music Department
Philip J. Lang	....	conductor
Philip J. Lang	....	orchestrator

Other crew
Danny Daniels	....	choreographer
Dick DeBenedictis	....	choreographer (as Richard DeBenedictis)
Pablo Ferro	....	title designer: main title sequence
William Giorgio	....	assistant to producer
Marguerite James	....	script supervisor (as Marguerite James Powell)
Shirley Marcus	....	production secretary
Morton Minsky	....	technical advisor
Anne Wallace	....	assistant choreographer
Jane Hoyt Thompson	....	assistant: Norman Lear (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Tandem Productions

Distributors

• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)
• United Artists

Other Companies

• Eaves Costume Company  costumes by (as Eaves)
• Optical House, The  opticals by (as The Optical House N.Y.C.)

Also Known As:

The Night They Invented Striptease

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for suggestive content and brief nudity.

Runtime:

99 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

USA:PG-13 | Sweden:Btl | USA:M (original rating) | USA:PG

Filming Locations:

New York City, New York, USA

Company:

Tandem Productions

Trivia:

Tony Curtis was offered the role of Raymond Paine but declined due to disagreements over the script and was replaced at a month's notice by Jason Robards. The role of Billy Minsky was offered to a young Alan Alda but he was unavailable due to his commitment to "The Apple Tree" on Broadway.

Goofs:

Factual errors: Rachel refers to herself as "Amish". The word "Amish" is a term used by non-Amish; the Amish would refer to themselves as the "plain folk".

Quotes:

Rachel: About the protuberances, papa. I think the Lord might feel different from you, since He's the one who gave me them.

Movie Connections:

Spoofed in "Get Smart: The Day They Raided the Knights (#4.16)" (1969)

Soundtrack:

Take Ten Terrific Girls (But Only Nine Costumes)

Love those Amish...

Everyone may know William Friedkin for "The French Connection" and "The Exorcist", but this gem from before his heyday will always come to my mind. During the movie's first few minutes, you're not exactly sure where it's going, but then we meet Rachel Schpitendavel (Britt Ekland), an Amish woman who has just arrived in 1920's New York City. Not quite sure where to go in this bustling metropolis, she goes to Billy Minsky's Burlesque House. Of course, she doesn't know that burlesque involves some stuff that is perpetually anathema to the Amish lifestyle. But performer Raymond Paine (Jason Robards Jr) sees some real potential in her. Meanwhile, there are two forces at work against Rachel's potential success: her father has arrived in town to take her back to the farm, and the police are seeking to shut down the burlesque house.

Overall, "The Night They Raided Minsky's" is one of those nostalgia pieces that always has something coming. Interestingly, it was also a debut and farewell: Elliott Gould made his film debut playing Billy Minsky, and Bert "Cowardly Lion" Lahr plays a role too (he actually died while they were filming). Maybe this movie's not a masterpiece, but it's truly got something for everyone. Cool.