For Pete's Sake (1974)

User Rating:

6.3/10   

Director:

Peter Yates

Writers:

Stanley Shapiro (written by) and
Maurice Richlin (written by)

Release Date:

13 September 1974 (Sweden)

Genre:

Comedy

Tagline:

Zany Barbra!

Plot:

Henrietta Robins works out of her home and her husband Pete drives a cab to try to support her. When...

Plot Keywords:

Money | Cattle | Loan Shark | Manhole | Subway

Cast

Barbra Streisand	...	Henrietta 'Henry' Robbins
Michael Sarrazin	...	Pete Robbins
Estelle Parsons	...	Helen Robbins
Molly Picon	...	Mrs. Cherry
William Redfield	...	Fred Robbins
Louis Zorich	...	Nick Kasabian, the Dispatcher
Heywood Hale Broun	...	Judge Hiller
Richard Ward	...	Bernie
Ed Bakey	...	Angelo
Peter Mamakos	...	Dominic
Vivian Bonnell	...	Loretta
Joseph Maher	...	Mr. Coates (as Joe Maher)
Anne Ramsey	...	Telephone Lady
Jack Hollander	...	Loanshark
Gary Pagett	...	Assistant Bank Manager
Wil Albert	...	Cop Dressed as Woman
Herb Armstrong	...	Insurance Man
Fred Stuthman	...	Loan Officer
Bella Bruck	...	Lady in Supermarket
Stuart Wagstaff	...	Man in Chandelier Store
Joseph Hardy	...	Second Cop
Vincent Schiavelli	...	Grocery Clerk
Sidney Miller	...	Drunk Driver
Norman Marshall	...	First Worker
Martin Erlichman	...	Man in Theatre
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Bill McKinney	...	Rocky - Cattle Rustler (uncredited)
Joe Pantoliano	...	Undercover Cop who arrests Mark (uncredited)
Jeffrey Sayre	...	Bank Clerk (uncredited)
Walter Williamson	...	Man in Subway (uncredited)

Directed by
Peter Yates

Writing credits
Stanley Shapiro		(written by) and
Maurice Richlin		(written by)

Produced by
Martin Erlichman	....	producer
Phil Feldman	....	executive producer
Stanley Shapiro	....	producer

Original Music by
Artie Butler

Cinematography by
László Kovács		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
Frank P. Keller

Casting by
Marion Dougherty

Production Design by
Gene Callahan

Set Decoration by
James L. Berkey

Costume Design by
Frank L. Thompson		(as Frank Thompson)

Makeup Department
Don L. Cash	....	makeup artist (as Don Cash)
Jon Peters	....	hair stylist: Barbra Streisand
Kaye Pownall	....	hair stylist

Production Management
Jim Di Gangi	....	production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Harry Caplan	....	assistant director
Stuart Fleming	....	second assistant director (as Stu Fleming)

Art Department
Richard M. Rubin	....	properties

Sound Department
Jim Cook	....	sound re-recording mixer (as James R. Cook)
Don Parker	....	sound

Special Effects by
Ira Anderson Jr.	....	special effects

Stunts
Denny Arnold	....	stunts (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Holly Bower	....	still photographer
Bobby Byrne	....	camera operator (as Robert Byrne)
Gary Muller	....	second assistant camera: New York

Casting Department
Jennifer Shull	....	additional casting

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Seth Banks	....	wardrobe: men
Shirlee Strahm	....	wardrobe: ladies

Editorial Department
Cliffe Oland	....	assistant film editor

Music Department
Milton Lustig	....	music editor

Other crew
Lew Burke	....	dog trainer
Betty Crosby	....	script supervisor
Robert Davenport	....	bull trainer (as Bobby J. Davenport)
Sandy Dvore	....	title designer
Stephen A. Glanzrock	....	production assistant: New York
Daniel Grodnik	....	assistant to producer
David Horowitz	....	unit publicist
Corky Randall	....	livestock handler

Production Companies

• Barclay
• Rastar Pictures

Distributors

• Columbia Pictures (1974) (USA) (theatrical)
• American Broadcasting Company (ABC) (1975) (USA) (TV)

Other Companies

• Marion Dougherty Associates  casting

Also Known As:

July Pork Bellies

Runtime:

90 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Certification:

Iceland:L | UK:PG | Australia:PG (TV rating) | Australia:M | Finland:S | Norway:11 | Sweden:Btl | USA:PG | Netherlands:AL

Filming Locations:

4th Avenue, Brooklyn, New York City, New York, USA

Company:

Barclay

Trivia:

The original title was "July Pork Bellies".

Goofs:

Continuity: While Henrietta and her husband's sister-in-law are arguing on the porch, a white car parked curbside up the street appears and disappears between shots.

Quotes:

Henrietta 'Henry' Robbins: Hello? This is Henrietta Robbins, your cousin from Brooklyn... Wait, don't hang up. Pork bellies went up, everything's terrific. Pete bought my contract from Rocky and we still have plenty left. We only have one problem, and you living in Texas, we thought you might be interested. How'd you like to buy some hot cows? Hello?... Hello?...

Movie Connections:

Remade as Aap Ki Khatir (1977)

Soundtrack:

For Pete's Sake (Don't Let Him Down)

Smart satire eventually gives way to galumphing slapstick...

The first 30 minutes or so of "For Pete's Sake" are amusingly on-target: Brooklyn housewife Barbra Streisand drops her husband off at work on their motorcycle and then pops a wheelie; she proceeds to forge a battle of the bills with the grocery store cashier, the insurance company, the banker, and the telephone company exec (Anne Ramsey, pre-"Throw Momma From The Train"). All this time, Streisand is in terrific comedic form, her expressions more and more incredulous. A dinner with her husband's relatives is equally funny, but "Pete" starts to give out somewhere after this. Barbra can't pay back loan sharks and has to work as a prostitute, a bomb deliverer and a cattle rustler. This last job gives the movie its big slapstick scene, which was a groaner even in 1974. Clearly a rip-off of Streisand's "What's Up, Doc?", it features a stampede of cows down the Columbia backlot accompanied by some of the silliest "country" music I've ever heard. If the filmmakers had kept the movie on a grounded level--and kept Streisand as the perfect Everywoman--this might have been a dead-on satire of the ailing economy. As it is, it's passable fluff. **1/2 from ****