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IMDb > Serial (1980)
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Overview

User Rating:
6.6/10   445 votes
MOVIEmeter: ?
Up 26% in popularity this week. See why on IMDbPro.
Director:
Writers:
Cyra McFadden (novel)
Rich Eustis (screenplay) ...
(more)
Contact:
View company contact information for Serial on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
28 March 1980 (USA) more
Genre:
Tagline:
"Honor thy wife, and everyone else's." more
Plot:
It's the end of the 70s. Hippies are assimilating, women are raising their consciousness, and men are becoming confused and ineffectual... more | add synopsis
User Reviews:
Absolutely dead on :-) more (29 total)

Cast

  (in credits order) (complete, awaiting verification)
Martin Mull ... Harvey Holroyd

Tuesday Weld ... Kate Linville Holroyd
Jennifer McAllister ... Joanie Holroyd
Sam Chew Jr. ... Bill
Sally Kellerman ... Martha
Anthony Battaglia ... Stokely
Bill Macy ... Sam Stone
Nita Talbot ... Angela Stone
Pamela Bellwood ... Carol
Barbara Rhoades ... Vivian
Ann Weldon ... Rachel
Peter Bonerz ... Dr. Leonard Miller
Jon Fong ... Wong

Christopher Lee ... Luckman Skull
Patch Mackenzie ... Stella
Stacey Nelkin ... Marlene
Tom Smothers ... Reverend Spike
Clark Brandon ... Spenser
Paul Rossilli ... Paco
Clyde Ventura ... Donald
Rosanna DeSoto ... Maria (as Rosana Soto)
Kevin O'Brien ... Jim

Mark L. Taylor ... Cult Member 1 (as Mark Taylor)
Donna Ponterotto ... Daphne

Lee Wilkof ... Brian
John Thompson ... Store Manager
Kevin Howard ... Roger

Robin Sherwood ... Woman Saltzburger
Bob Balhatchet ... Harold
Victoria Huxtable ... Millie
George American Horse ... Indian Chief
Peter Horton ... Cult Member 4
Jay C. Currin ... Cult Member 6
Buddy Joe Hooker ... Biker
Billy Sands ... Bartender
Sam Denoff ... Painter
Melanie Workhoven ... Secretary
Mark Rasmussen ... Tony Wilson
Bill Jelliffe ... Man on Ferry

Scott Paulin ... Hip Caterer
Jerry Zafer ... Disco Instructor
Katie Waring ... Cult Member 2
Gordon Bush ... Cult Member 5
Jeanna Michaels ... Cult Member 3
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Anthony Fusco ... Hip Caterer
Kenny Endoso ... (uncredited)
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Directed by
Bill Persky 
 
Writing credits
Cyra McFadden (novel)

Rich Eustis (screenplay) &
Michael Elias (screenplay)

Produced by
Sidney Beckerman .... producer
 
Original Music by
Lalo Schifrin 
 
Cinematography by
Rexford L. Metz 
 
Film Editing by
John W. Wheeler 
 
Art Direction by
William Sandell 
 
Set Decoration by
Paul Dal Porto 
Robert Gould 
 
Costume Design by
Jodie Lynn Tillen 
 
Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Jerry Sobul .... assistant director
 
Art Department
Robby Vandermark .... stand-by painter
 
Sound Department
Jack Solomon .... sound
 
Stunts
Jophery C. Brown .... stunt biker
Steve M. Davison .... stunt biker
Steve Holladay .... stunt biker
Steve Walters .... stunt performer
Andree Williams .... stunt woman
 
Camera and Electrical Department
Joseph Cosko Jr. .... assistant camera
Louis Niemeyer .... first assistant camera
 
Music Department
Bruce Miller .... conductor
Bruce Miller .... music arranger
 

Production CompaniesDistributors
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Additional Details

Runtime:
86 min
Country:
Language:
Color:
Sound Mix:
Certification:

Fun Stuff

Quotes:
Martha: Rachel... It's about the uniform.
Rachel: Oh, you want me to wear regular clothes so people will think I'm just your black friend who dropped by to clean your house because I ain't got nothin' better to do?
Martha: Could you?
more
Movie Connections:
Referenced in Fade to Black (1980) more
Soundtrack:
A Changing World more

FAQ

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3 out of 3 people found the following review useful.
Absolutely dead on :-), 24 December 2001
9/10
Author: NJtoTX from Austin, TX

I was always curious about this film. I had always figured that it would be a throwaway heavy-handed hit-and-miss increasingly dated piece about the 70s. Having spent the past 20 years in the SF Bay area, and "encountered" much of the new age mentality that still thrives there, I knew I'd have to at least give it a shot.

Well, Serial turned out to be a treat -- a brilliant, unexpected satire. It had me smiling or laughing from beginning to end, a few "pansy" comments notwithstanding. Sure, the pre-AIDS sexual situations are exaggerated and from another time. But nearly every target -- self-actualization, meditation, medication, cult groups, fad therapy, relationships, etc. -- is hit. Martin Mull plays the central character in the midst of all the mumbo jumbo with perfect subtlety.

Maybe some of the low votes come from people who think that people couldn't possibly talk and act the way these characters do. Well, they did and still do.

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more (29 total)

Message Boards

Discuss this movie with other users on IMDb message board for Serial (1980)
Recent Posts (updated daily)User
D/J on the radio as Harvey and Kate wake up tenglish61
Keep coming back to it- a Classic moore2772
Where's the dvd?! dekkard8
Released on this date... 44yearoldscotch
anyone read the book? cagle94
Name that tune... derek_one
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