The Barefoot Executive (1971)

User Rating:

5.5/10   

Director:

Robert Butler

Writers:

Joseph L. McEveety (screenplay)
Lila Garrett (story) ...

Release Date:

17 March 1971 (USA)

Genre:

Family | Comedy

Tagline:

Look who's GONE BANANAS !

Plot:

A young man who works in the mailroom at a TV network wants to move up the corporate ladder but finds himself stymied by his selfish boss...

Plot Keywords:

Chimpanzee | Corporate Ladder | Mailroom | Broken China | Projectionist

Cast

Kurt Russell	...	Steven Post
Joe Flynn	...	Francis X. Wilbanks
Harry Morgan	...	E.J. Crampton
Wally Cox	...	Mertons
Heather North	...	Jennifer Scott
Alan Hewitt	...	Farnsworth
Hayden Rorke	...	Clifford
John Ritter	...	Roger
Jack Bender	...	Tom
Tom Anfinsen	...	Dr. Schmidt
George N. Neise	...	Network Executive
Edwin Reimers	...	Announcer (as Ed Reimers)
Morgan Farley	...	Advertising Executive
Glenn Dixon	...	Sponsor
Robert Shayne	...	Sponsor

Also Known As:

The Rating Game (USA) (working title)

Runtime:

96 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound Recording)

Certification:

UK:U | USA:G (Approved No. 22775) | Argentina:Atp | Chile:TE | Finland:S | Sweden:Btl | Iceland:L

Filming Locations:

Long Beach, California, USA

Company:

Walt Disney Productions

Goofs:

Continuity: Steven's hair length fluctuates between shots.

Quotes:

Roger: Let me tell you something. Anybody who graduates from Melrose Avenue certainly won't make it at the network.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in 1st Annual Mystery Science Theater 3000 Summer Blockbuster Review (1997) (TV)

Soundtrack:

He's Gonna Make It

So that's who took off "T.J. Hooker"....

A monkey who fills network slots?

Just another executive meeting at the networks, you might think, but this is the beauty of the plot that is "The Barefoot Executive", a movie made when Disney was in its live action glory.

A still-young Russell is a mail boy at one of the big networks who has ideas but the stuffy boss (Flynn) will have none of it. Then, Russell agress to babysit his girfriends' neighbor's pet chimp (probably a '70s thing) who turns out to be a whiz at picking out all the popular shows. One thing leads to another until Russell, playing all the chimp's hunches, finds himself on top of the TV programming world.

It's not Prokofiev but for pure fun this movie is a keeper. How can you dislike a movie that not only has Russell and a cute chimp but also the comedic timing of both Joe Flynn and Wally Cox? Their moments together are pure hilarity. Even "MASH"'s Col. Potter (aka - Harry Morgan) has plenty of good scenes as a blustering head honcho.

For kids and grown-ups who grew up on these movies, there can be no substitutes. "The Barefoot Executive" is monkeying around at its best.

Nine stars. And we'll get through this if we ALL KEEP COOL HEADS!