Under the Rainbow (1981)

Director:

Steve Rash

Writers:

Fred Bauer (story) and
Pat Bradley (story) ...

Release Date:

31 July 1981 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy

Tagline:

A Giant Comedy.

Plot:

In World War II era Los Angeles, the manager of the Culver Hotel leaves his nephew in charge for a weekend...

Plot Keywords:

Sword Fight | Running | Cane | Asian | Chase

Awards:

2 nominations

Cast

Chevy Chase	...	Bruce Thorpe
Carrie Fisher	...	Annie Clark
Eve Arden	...	The Duchess
Joseph Maher	...	The Duke
Robert Donner	...	The Assassin
Billy Barty	...	Otto Kriegling
Mako	...	Nakomuri
Cork Hubbert	...	Rollo Sweet
Pat McCormick	...	Tiny
Adam Arkin	...	Henry Hudson
Richard Stahl	...	Lester Hudson
Freeman King	...	Otis
Peter Isacksen	...	Homer
Jack Kruschen	...	Louie
Bennett Ohta	...	Akido

Runtime:

97 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

USA:PG | UK:PG

Company:

FCA

Trivia:

When Carrie Fisher was a guest on the Tonight Show, she admitted that this was one of the worst movies she ever starred in.

Goofs:

Factual errors: The movie suggests that The Wizard of Oz (1939) went into production after Gone with the Wind (1939), when in fact it was the other way around.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Los Angeles Plays Itself (2003)

It's a Funny Movie

Chevy Chase, Carrie Fisher, Pat McCormack, Billy Barty, Eve Arden, Joseph Maher, Adam Arkin, Cork Hubbard, Robert Donner – how could it not be good. The temporary manager (Arkin) of the Culver Hotel, across from MGM in 1939, changes its name to Hotel Rainbow to take advantage of the publicity surrounding the soon-to-be shot Wizard of Oz. It works as the studio's talent agent (Fisher) books rooms for all of their wouldbe munchkins. So, we start with hundreds of partying little people who make a Shriners convention look like a religious retreat. Throw in an FBI agent (Chase) protecting a traveling Duke (Maher) and Duchess (Arden) from a crazed assassin (Donner), and then a couple of dozen photo- snapping Japanese tourists whose bus breaks down in front of the hotel. Finally, sift in a Japanese agent (Mako) and a dwarf Nazi spy (Barty) who are looking for each other in a hotel full of Japanese and dwarfs. The plot is decent without getting in the way of the comedy, the acting is great, and the dialogue is often superb (What floor do you want? Ballroom. Oh' I'm sorry, I didn't know I was crowding you.) All in all, it's a great way to spend an afternoon.