¡Three Amigos! (1986)

Director:

John Landis

Writers:

Steve Martin (written by) and
Lorne Michaels (written by) ...
(more)

Release Date:

12 December 1986 (USA)

Genre:

Adventure | Comedy | Western

Tagline:

They're Down On Their Luck And Up To Their Necks In Senoritas, Margaritas, Banditos And Bullets!

Plot:

Three unemployed actors accept an invitation to a Mexican village to replay their bandit fighter roles, unaware that it is the real thing.

Plot Keywords:

Actor | Village | Mexico | Bandit | Horse

Cast

Steve Martin	...	Lucky Day
Chevy Chase	...	Dusty Bottoms
Martin Short	...	Ned Nederlander
Alfonso Arau	...	El Guapo
Tony Plana	...	Jefe
Patrice Martinez	...	Carmen
Jorge Cervera Jr.	...	Bandito #1 (as Jorge Cervera)
Kai Wulff	...	German
Abel Franco	...	Papa Sanchez
Fred Asparagus	...	Bartender
Jon Lovitz	...	Morty
Joe Mantegna	...	Harry Flugleman
Philip Gordon	...	Rodrigo
Michael Wren	...	Cowboy
Gene Hartline	...	Silent Movie Bandito
William B. Kaplan	...	Silent Movie Bandito (as William Kaplan)
Sophia Lamour	...	Silent Movie Senorita
Santos Morales	...	Telegrapher
Phil Hartman	...	Sam (as Philip E. Hartmann)
Tino Insana	...	Studio Guard
Craig Berenson	...	Telegram Delivery Boy
Joshua Gallegos	...	Bar Patron (as Josh Gallegos)
Norbert Weisser	...	German's Friend
Brian Thompson	...	German's Other Friend
Hector Elias	...	Pedro
Hector Morales	...	Carlos
Betty Carvalho	...	Mama Sanchez
Benita Marti	...	Rosita (as Benita)
Dyana Ortelli	...	Juanita
Humberto Ortiz	...	Pablo
Candy Castillo	...	Bandito #2
Jeff O'Haco	...	Bandito #3
Loyda Ramos	...	Conchita
Carl La Fong	...	Tortoise (as Carl LaFong)
Randy Newman	...	Singing Bush (voice)
Rebecca Ferratti	...	Señorita Kissing Ned (as Rebecca Underwood)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Cosmo Mata	...	Man in Bar (uncredited)
Brinke Stevens	...	Actress in Silent Movie (uncredited)
Tom Tangen	...	Stagecoach Passenger (uncredited)

Directed by
John Landis

Writing credits
Steve Martin		(written by) and
Lorne Michaels		(written by) and
Randy Newman		(written by)

Produced by
Leslie Belzberg	....	associate producer
George Folsey Jr.	....	producer
Steve Martin	....	executive producer
Lorne Michaels	....	producer

Original Music by
Elmer Bernstein

Cinematography by
Ronald W. Browne		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
Malcolm Campbell

Casting by
Jackie Burch
Candy Castillo

Production Design by
Richard Tom Sawyer		(as Richard Sawyer)

Art Direction by
Gregory Pickrell

Set Decoration by
Richard C. Goddard		(as Richard Goddard)

Costume Design by
Deborah Nadoolman

Makeup Department
Jean Austin	....	hair stylist
Virginia Darcy	....	hair stylist (as Virginia D'Arcy)
Leonard Engelman	....	makeup artist
Frank Griffin	....	makeup artist
Virginia G. Hadfield	....	hair stylist
Mark Reedall	....	makeup artist
Ric Sagliani	....	makeup artist
Linda Trainoff	....	hair stylist

Production Management
Dan Allingham	....	production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Rob Corn	....	second assistant director
George Folsey Jr.	....	second unit director
Steven R. McGlothen	....	assistant director
Steven R. McGlothen	....	second unit director
Victoria E. Rhodes	....	second assistant director
David Sosna	....	first assistant director
John M. Stephens	....	second unit director (as John Stephens)

Art Department
Larry Clark Bird	....	property master (as Larry Bird)
Nigel A. Boucher	....	lead man (as Nigel Boucher)
Ronnie Chambers	....	lead man (as Ron Chambers)
Chuck Eskridge	....	stand-by painter
Mark Fabus	....	set designer
Bill Gregory	....	lead man
Bob Kargetta	....	construction foreman
David F. Klassen	....	assistant art director
Joseph Musso	....	set illustrator (as Joe Musso)
Dan Ondrejko	....	greensman
Jim Ondrejko	....	construction foreman
James F. Orendorff	....	construction coordinator
Gregory Pickrell	....	assistant art director
Richard Reynolds	....	assistant art director
Kenneth Robertson	....	head painter foreman (as Ken H. Robertson)
Jerry Sargent	....	construction foreman
Marla Sawyer	....	art department assistant
John Schacht	....	lead man
Alex Scutti Jr.	....	plaster foreman
Stan Tropp	....	set designer
Vinnie Vecchio	....	props
Clyde Zimmerman	....	painter foreman
Ken Zimmerman	....	assistant property master

Sound Department
Gary Alexander	....	sound re-recordist
Jeff Bushelman	....	sound editor
Charles L. Campbell	....	sound editor
Larry Carow	....	sound editor
Samuel C. Crutcher	....	sound editor
Don Digirolamo	....	sound re-recordist
Louis L. Edemann	....	sound editor
Richard C. Franklin	....	sound editor
Robert J. Glass	....	sound re-recordist
William B. Kaplan	....	sound mixer
David Kelson	....	cable person
Steven Klinghoffer	....	cable person (as Steve Klinghoffer)
Robert Knudson	....	sound re-recordist (as Buzz Knudsen)
Colin C. Mouat	....	sound editor
Chuck Neely	....	sound editor
Greg Orloff	....	foley mixer
Rod Rogers	....	assistant adr editor
Earl Sampson	....	boom operator
Larry Singer	....	supervising adr editor
Jerry Stanford	....	sound editor
Larry Stensvold	....	sound re-recordist
David A. Whittaker	....	sound editor
John Roesch	....	foley artist (uncredited)

Special Effects by
Roy Arbogast	....	special effects
Michael Burnett	....	animatronic animals
Tony Gardner	....	animatronic animals
William Lee	....	special effects
Tom Lifsey	....	special effects
Dick Wood	....	special effects (as Richard Wood)
Tim Turner	....	assistant: animatronic animals (uncredited)

Visual Effects by
Norm Stangl	....	visual effects: Nelvana Ltd.
Lisa Atkinson	....	optical painter and quality control (uncredited)
Norm Stangl	....	animator: singing horses (uncredited)
Cynthia Ward	....	animator (uncredited)

Stunts
Roy Bonner	....	stunts
Danny Costa	....	stunts
Steve Cremin	....	stunts
Phil Culotta	....	stunts (as Philip Culotta)
Tom Elliott	....	stunts (as Tom Elliot)
Richard Epper	....	stunts
Gil Escandon	....	stunts (as Gil Escandor)
Debbie Evans	....	stunts
Joe Finnegan	....	stunts
Jerry Gatlin	....	stunt coordinator
Joie Gatlin	....	stunts
Clifford Happy	....	stunts
Marguerite Happy	....	stunts
Gene Hartline	....	stunts
Bob Herron	....	stunts (as Robert Herron)
Johnny Hock	....	stunt double (as John Hock)
Daniel Holguín	....	stunts (as Daniel Holguin)
Loren Janes	....	stunts
Robert Jauregui	....	stunt double (as Bob Jauregui)
Tracy Keehn-Dashnaw	....	stunts (as Tracy Keehn)
Walt La Rue	....	stunts
James Lasley	....	stunts
Clay M. Lilley	....	stunts (as Clay Lilley)
Jack Lilley	....	stunts
Mike H. McGaughy	....	stunts (as Mike McGaughy)
Cole S. McKay	....	stunts (as Cole McKay)
Bobby McLaughlin	....	stunts
Gene Merlino	....	stunts
Jeffrey Meyer	....	stunts
Daniel O'Haco	....	stunts (as Danny O'Haco)
Kathleen O'Haco	....	stunt double
Bruce Randall	....	stunts (as Bruce Wayne Randall)
Larry Randles	....	stunts
Thomas Rosales Jr.	....	stunts
Ben Scott	....	stunts
Michael Stull	....	stunts
Robert Tebow	....	stunts
R.L. Tolbert	....	stunts
Grady Walker	....	stunts
Rock A. Walker	....	stunt double (as Rock Walker)
Jennifer Watson-Johnston	....	stunts (as Jennifer Watson)
Mike Watson	....	stunts

Camera and Electrical Department
Danny Boldroff	....	dolly grip
Greg Cantrell	....	electrician
Philip Caplan	....	camera operator (as Phil Caplan)
Ed Cooper	....	electrician
George Dunagan	....	electrician
Norman Glasser	....	gaffer (as Norm Glasser)
Peter Hapke	....	camera operator
Robert LaBonge	....	first assistant camera
Johnny London Jr.	....	grip
Tom May	....	second grip
Spencer McDonald	....	second assistant camera
Steven C. McGee	....	electrician
Reggie Newkirk	....	additional assistant camera
Jeffrey W. Petersen	....	electrician
Bill Rustic	....	grip
George R. Schrader	....	grip
Gary W. Shaw	....	lighting technician
James M. Sheppherd	....	key grip (as Jim Sheppherd)
John M. Stephens	....	camera operator: second unit (as John Stephens)
Oscar H. Stevens II	....	video assist
Francis X. Valdez III	....	electrician
Manny Vouniozos	....	grip
Rick Fee	....	first assistant camera (uncredited)
John R. Shannon	....	still photographer (uncredited)

Casting Department
Billy DaMota	....	casting assistant
Tom Tangen	....	location casting

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Darryl M. Athons	....	costumer
Lorraine Dawson	....	costumer
Kelly Kimball	....	assistant costume designer
Hugo Peña	....	costumer: men (as Hugo Pena)
Dennis Schoonderwoerd	....	costumer
Linda Serijan	....	costumer
Steve Shubin	....	costumer
Pamela Wise	....	costumer: women (as Pam Wise)

Editorial Department
Donah Bassett	....	negative cutter
Lisa Zeno Churgin	....	first assistant editor
Lori Hollingshead	....	assistant editor
Bob Noland	....	color timer
Eric Whitfield	....	first assistant editor

Music Department
Kathy Durning	....	music editor
Paul Mottram	....	orchestrator
Patrick Russ	....	orchestrator
David Spear	....	orchestrator
Dan Wallin	....	score mixer
Tommy Tedesco	....	musician: guitar (uncredited)

Transportation Department
Steve Boyd	....	transportation captain
Anne Renfro	....	transportation captain
Jeff F. Renfro	....	transportation coordinator
Benjamin Rivera	....	driver

Other crew
James S. Appleby	....	aerial coordinator (as Jim Appleby)
Michelle Butin	....	production assistant
Pamela Cederquist	....	production assistant
Pam Cornfeld-Walker	....	production coordinator (as Pam Cornfeld)
Phil Cowling	....	wrangler
Dan Curry	....	title designer
Robert Davenport	....	wrangler (as Bobby Davenport)
Sharon Dolin	....	secretary: Mr. Landis
Mark Fitzgerald	....	production assistant
Jim Franklin	....	pilot: Tubman 601
Karlene Gallegly	....	location scout
John Grace	....	location manager: second unit
Bruce Hanson	....	craft service
Sharon Haskell	....	title designer
Saul Kahan	....	publicist
Saul Kahan	....	unit publicist
Tony Kerum	....	caterer
Deborah Laub	....	location manager
David R. Lawson	....	first aid
David R. Lawson	....	medic
Stevie Lazo	....	assistant production accountant
Kenneth Lee	....	wrangler
Joel Lomax	....	wrangler
Boone Narr	....	animal trainer
Sharon Nederlander	....	assistant production coordinator
Arvo Ojala	....	gun coach
Rex Peterson	....	wrangler
Corky Randall	....	head wrangler
Anne Rapp	....	script supervisor
Cliff T.E. Roseman	....	location manager
Tracy Rosenthal-Newsom	....	production assistant (as Tracy Rosenthal)
Sidney Sharron	....	teacher
Phil Smith	....	animal trainer
Jim Turner	....	financial consultant
Kristan Wagner	....	location manager
Carole Wattles	....	assistant accountant
Janet L. Wattles	....	production accountant
Carol Westphall	....	additional script supervisor
Roy Williams	....	wrangler
Tony Gardner	....	puppeteer (uncredited)
Chris Stiles	....	production assistant (uncredited)
Emmanuel Vouniozos	....	on-set technician (uncredited)

Thanks
Peter Bernstein	....	special thanks
Dan Curry	....	special thanks
Max Landis	....	special thanks
Rachel Landis	....	special thanks
Christopher Palmer	....	special thanks

Production Companies

• L.A. Films
• Home Box Office (HBO) (in association with)

Distributors

• Orion Pictures Corporation (1986) (USA) (theatrical)
• Hoyts Distribution (1986) (Australia) (theatrical)
• Columbia TriStar Home Video (19??) (Australia) (VHS)
• Flashstar (19??) (Brazil) (VHS)
• Home Box Office Home Video (HBO) (1987) (USA) (video) (laserdisc)
• Home Box Office Home Video (HBO) (1999) (USA) (DVD)
• Home Box Office Home Video (HBO) (2001) (USA) (VHS)
• MGM Home Entertainment (Europe) (2001) (UK) (DVD)
• MGM Home Entertainment (200?) (Germany) (DVD)
• MGM Home Entertainment (2000) (France) (DVD)
• PlayArte Home Vídeo (2005) (Brazil) (DVD)
• RCA/Columbia Pictures International Video (1990) (Germany) (video) (laserdisc)
• RCA/Columbia-Hoyts Home Video (19??) (Australia) (VHS)
• Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment (2007) (Netherlands) (DVD)

Special Effects

• Doug Beswick Productions Inc. (tortoise animatronics)

Other Companies

• Astro Pyrotechnics  fireworks
• Cinema Research  titles and opticals (as Cinema Research Corporation)
• City of Simi Valley  thanks (as The City of Simi Valley)
• Donah Bassett and Associates  negative cutting (as Donah Bassett & Assoc.)
• Nelvana  animation (as Nelvana Limited)
• TAJ Soundworks  foley recording
• TPI/PPI  payroll services
• Todd-AO Studios  sound re-recording
• Tucson Film Commission  thanks (as The Tucson Film Commission)

Also Known As:

The Three Caballeros (USA) (working title)
Three Amigos (USA) (alternative spelling)
Three Amigos! (Australia) (cable TV title)

Runtime:

104 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Iceland:12 | USA:PG (Certificate #28272) | Netherlands:6 | Australia:PG | Finland:K-14 | Sweden:15 | UK:PG | West Germany:12 | Singapore:PG

Filming Locations:

Coronado National Forest, Arizona, USA

Company:

L.A. Films

Trivia:

The bats hunted by Ned, is actually fried bacon, served on skewers.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: When the Three Amigos are escaping on the airplane with Carmen, the string holding up the plane is visible when it curves to the right.

Quotes:

Lucky Day: Well, we're just gonna have to use our brains.
Ned Nederlander, Dusty Bottoms: Damn it!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Married with Children: Death of a Shoe Salesman (#7.10)" (1992)

Soundtrack:

MY LITTLE BUTTERCUP

We are the 3 Ah-haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaMigos!

Love it. Love it. Love it. This movie is jam-packed with hilarity. The story is good for an 80s comedy as well. Chase, Martin and Short are a power house as the 3 Amigos. And El Guapo has so many good lines I'm laughing just thinking about them, "Do you even know what a plethora is???" Every time I hear that word I think of him, which is pretty sad I guess. The scene with Dusty Bottoms (Chase), singing at the celebrations as if he has a frog in his throat makes me laugh every time, My little buttercup scene in the tavern with Ned (Short) with the hankerchief on his head, the calls they have to make to summon the invisible swordsman, the part in the desert..."lip balm?" I'm embarrassed to say how many times I have seen this movie, I'm just going to say a lot...and would recommend to everyone!