Stir Crazy (1980)

Director:

Sidney Poitier

Writer:

Bruce Jay Friedman (written by)

Release Date:

12 December 1980 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Crime

Tagline:

Only these two pigeons could dress up as woodpeckers...

Plot:

Skip and Harry are framed for a bank robery and end up in a western prison. The two eastern boys are...

Plot Keywords:

Rodeo | Prison | Bank | Woodpecker Costume | Buddy

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Gene Wilder	...	Skip Donahue
Richard Pryor	...	Harry Monroe
Georg Stanford Brown	...	Rory Schultebrand
JoBeth Williams	...	Meredith
Miguel Ángel Suárez	...	Jesus Ramirez (as Miguelangel Suarez)
Craig T. Nelson	...	Deputy Ward Wilson
Barry Corbin	...	Warden Walter Beatty
Charles Weldon	...	Blade
Nicolas Coster	...	Warden Henry Sampson
Joel Brooks	...	Len Garber
Jonathan Banks	...	Jack Graham
Erland van Lidth	...	Grossberger (as Erland Van Lidth De Jeude)
Lewis Van Bergen	...	Guard #1
Karmin Murcelo	...	Teresa Ramirez
Franklyn Ajaye	...	Young Man in Hospital
Estelle Omens	...	Mrs. R.H. Broache
Peter Looney	...	Kicker #1
Cedrick Hardman	...	Big Mean
Doug Johnson	...	Guard #2
Henry Kingi	...	Ramon
Joe Massengale	...	Caesar Geronimo (as Joseph Massengale)
Herman Poppe	...	Alex
Luis Avalos	...	Chico
Esther Sutherland	...	Sissie
Pamela Poitier	...	Cook's Helper
James Oscar Lee	...	Kicker #2
Rod McCary	...	Minister
Claudia Cron	...	Joy
Bill Bailey	...	Announcer
Donna Kei Benz	...	Nancy (as Donna Benz)
Grand L. Bush	...	Big Mean's Sidekick (as Grand Bush)
Alvin Ing	...	Korean Doctor
Thomas Moore	...	Judge
Danna Hansen	...	Mrs. Sampson
Gwen Van Dam	...	Mrs. Beatty
Herb Armstrong	...	County Jail Guard
Herbert Hirschman	...	Man at Dinner Party
Don Circle	...	Bank Teller
Madison Arnold	...	Guard #3
Gene Earl	...	Sheriff (as Gene Earle)
Mickey Jones	...	Guard #8
Tracy Lee Rowe	...	Little Girl
Essex Smith	...	Blade's Friend
Kenneth Menard	...	Repairman
Billy Beck	...	Flycatching Prisoner
Lee Purcell	...	Susan
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Tony Burton	...	Guy who Punches Big Mean (uncredited)
Jim Henry	...	Rodeo Cowboy (uncredited)
Drasha Meyer	...	Lady in Restaurant (uncredited)
John Richard Petersen	...	Rodeo Spectator (uncredited)
Al Silvani	...	Inmate (uncredited)
Earl W. Smith	...	Jack Graham's Enforcer (uncredited)
Brien Varady	...	Young Inmate (uncredited)

Directed by
Sidney Poitier

Writing credits
Bruce Jay Friedman		(written by)

Produced by
François De Menil	....	associate producer (as Francois deMenil)
Melville Tucker	....	executive producer
Hannah Weinstein	....	producer

Original Music by
Tom Scott

Cinematography by
Fred Schuler		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
Harry Keller

Casting by
Toni Howard
Lynn Stalmaster

Production Design by
Alfred Sweeney

Set Decoration by
Arthur Jeph Parker

Costume Design by
Patricia Edwards

Makeup Department
Richard Cobos	....	makeup artist
Lola Kemp	....	hair stylist

Production Management
Mickey McCardle	....	unit production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Daniel McCauley	....	first assistant director (as Daniel J. McCauley)
Joseph Paul Moore	....	second assistant director (as Joseph Moore)
Don Wilkerson	....	second assistant director

Art Department
Harold Broner	....	construction coordinator
Donald B. Nunley	....	property master (as Donald Nunley)
Santos Raspa	....	construction coordinator
William Ladd Skinner	....	set designer (uncredited)

Sound Department
Glenn E. Anderson	....	sound mixer (as Glen Anderson)
Glenn E. Anderson	....	sound (as Glen Anderson)
Wayne Artman	....	sound re-recording mixer
Tom Beckert	....	sound re-recording mixer
Jeff Bushelman	....	sound effects
Michael Jiron	....	sound re-recording mixer
Pat Somerset	....	sound effects

Special Effects by
Larry L. Fuentes	....	special effects (as Larry Fuentes)

Stunts
John Ashby	....	stunts
Kerrie Cullen	....	stunts
Mickey Gilbert	....	stunt coordinator
Chuck Henson	....	stunts
Larry McKinney	....	stunts
Stoney Neufang Jr.	....	stunts
Scott Raftery	....	stunts
Gene Walker	....	stunts
Alex Green	....	stunts (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Sidney Ray Baldwin	....	still photographer (as Sidney Baldwin)
Dustin Blauvelt	....	first assistant camera
Keith Lundy	....	second assistant camera
Joe R. Marquette Jr.	....	camera operator (as Joe Marquette Jr.)
Rick Martens	....	gaffer (as Richard Martens)
Robert Moore	....	grip
Randall Robinson	....	first assistant camera: "b" camera
Dennis Smith	....	camera operator: "b" camera

Casting Department
Jack N. Young	....	extras casting (as Jack Young)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Marie Brown	....	wardrobe: women (as Marie V. Brown)
David Rawley	....	wardrobe: men

Editorial Department
Thomas G. Jingles	....	assistant editor

Music Department
Cliff Kohlweck	....	music editor (as Clif Kohlweck)

Transportation Department
James Langhorne	....	transportation coordinator

Other crew
Ronald L. Carr	....	location manager (as Ron Carr)
Herb Honis	....	unit publicist (as Herbert Honis)
Harold Hourihan	....	production accountant
Claire Mactague	....	production coordinator
Jimmy Medearis	....	head wrangler (as James Medearis)
Patricia J. O'Donohue	....	research consultant
Ray Quiroz	....	script supervisor
Scott Salmon	....	choreographer
Eliot Yaffe	....	location projectionist (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Columbia Pictures Corporation

Distributors

• Columbia Pictures (1980) (USA) (theatrical)
• American Broadcasting Company (ABC) (1983) (USA) (TV) (broadcast premiere)

Other Companies

• Burbank Editorial Service Inc.  sound effects (as Burbank Editorial Services Inc.)
• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)  titles and opticals

Runtime:

108 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Netherlands:MG6 | Canada:14A (Ontario) | Australia:M | Finland:K-12 | Norway:16 | Singapore:NC-16 | UK:15 | USA:R | Canada:A (Nova Scotia)

Filming Locations:

Florence, Arizona, USA

Company:

Columbia Pictures Corporation

Trivia:

Arizona State Prison officials used the money given to rent out their facilities to construct a rodeo arena of their own.

Quotes:

Harry Monroe: [whimpering] Pillow... I want my pillow.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Saturday Night Live: Rod Stewart (#7.1)" (1981)

Soundtrack:

Love

Pryor and Wilder make a great team

Two guys doing a bank promotion dressed as Big Bird are mistaken for the bank robbers who stole their costumes in "Stir Crazy," a 1980 film starring Richard Pryor and Gene Wilder, who worked so well together in several films.

Two friends, Skip and Harry (Wilder and Pryor) both lose their jobs and leave New York City, planning to work their way to the west coast. When the unfortunate situation described above happens, they wind up in prison. The naive Skip (Wilder), an aspiring playwright, takes notes and Harry (Pryor), facing the reality of the situation, is terrified. In prison, they meet the very gay Rory (Georg Stanford Brown), the sweet Jesus (Miguel Angel Suarez), who misses his girlfriend Teresa, the huge, scary Grossberger (Erland van Lidth de Jeude) who turns out to be a pussycat with a beautiful singing voice, the miserable guard (Craig T. Nelson) and the warden (Barry Corbin). When it's discovered that Skip has a natural ability to ride a mechanical bull, the warden enters him in a rodeo where he has a huge bet with another warden (Nicholas Coaster). Harry, Skip, Rory, Grossberger, and Jesus plan an escape to take place at the rodeo.

Very funny film, with one of the highlights being Pryor in the prison hospital because he was told he had to have his appendix out, though they had already been removed. Skip is advised that in order to get the team he wants at the rodeo, he needs to turn down the warden's request that he ride. Putting Hank in the hospital is just one ploy to break him down. The scene is hilarious.

Pryor and Wilder work beautifully together, the street smart black and the naive dreamer. There's always something so sweet about Wilder and nervous about Pryor, one walking into obvious danger while the other one desperately tries to pull him out, that just worked in all their films. It's also a rare chance to see the uniquely talented Erland van Lidth de Jeude, a huge, 6'6" Dutch heldentenor who qualified for the Olympics in wrestling, was a teacher, an MIT graduate, and had his own computer company. An absolutely amazing man who died 7 years after this film.

Lots of fun. Recommended.