The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad! (1988)

User Rating:

7.6/10   

Director:

David Zucker

Writers (WGA):

Jim Abrahams (television series Police Squad) &
David Zucker (television series "Police Squad") ...
(more)

Release Date:

2 December 1988 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Comedy | Crime | Romance

Tagline:

The Villain. Even Mother Teresa wanted him dead.

Plot:

Incompetent cop Frank Drebbin has to foil an attempt to assasinate Queen Elizabeth II.

Plot Keywords:

Police | Queen | Baseball | Mind Control | Scheme

Cast

Leslie Nielsen	...	Lt. Frank Drebin
Priscilla Presley	...	Jane Spencer
Ricardo Montalban	...	Vincent Ludwig
George Kennedy	...	Capt. Ed Hocken
O.J. Simpson	...	Det. Nordberg
Susan Beaubian	...	Wilma Nordberg
Nancy Marchand	...	Mayor Barkley
Raye Birk	...	Papshmir
Jeannette Charles	...	Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II
Ed Williams	...	Ted Olsen
Tiny Ron	...	Al, Tall Lab Tech
'Weird Al' Yankovic	...	Weird Al Yankovic
Leslie Maier	...	Herself
Winifred Freedman	...	Stephanie
Joe Grifasi	...	Pier 32 Dockman
Tony Brafa	...	Enrico Pallazzo
Lorali Hart	...	Woman on Ledge
Nicholas Worth	...	Thug #1
Ronald G. Joseph	...	Thug #27
Doris Hess	...	Nurse #2
Charlotte Zucker	...	Dominique, Ludwig's Secretary
Larry Pines	...	Drug Dealer #1
Tom Dugan	...	Drug Dealer #2
Burton Zucker	...	Airport Photographer
David Katz	...	Arafat
Robert LuJane	...	Khadafi (as Robert Lujane)
Charles Gherardi	...	Khomeini (as Charles Gherard)
Prince Hughes	...	Idi Amin
David Lloyd Austin	...	Gorbachev
Ken Minyard	...	Ken
Robert Arthur	...	Bob (as Bob Arthur)
Greg Breslau	...	Man Deleted from Fireworks Scene
Sharon Breslau	...	Woman Deleted from Fireworks Scene
Reggie Jackson	...	Angels Rightfielder
Michael J. Montes	...	Angels Shortstop
Charles Fick	...	Angels Catcher
Lawrence Tierney	...	Angels Manager
Hank Robinson	...	First Base Umpire
Joe West	...	Third Base Umpire
Jay Johnstone	...	Seattle First Up
Randy Harvey	...	Seattle Pitcher
Brett Bartlett	...	Seattle Centerfielder
Dennis Packer	...	Baseball PA Announcer
Dick Vitale	...	Baseball Announcer
Dick Enberg	...	Baseball Announcer
Jim Palmer	...	Baseball Announcer
Mel Allen	...	Baseball Announcer
Curt Gowdy	...	Baseball Announcer
Tim McCarver	...	Baseball Announcer
Joyce Brothers	...	Baseball Announcer (as Dr. Joyce Brothers)
Don Woodard	...	Airport Reporter
Christopher J. Keene	...	Dock Policeman
Mary Norman	...	Press Conference Panelist
Susan Breslau	...	Woman at Police Station
Rick Seaman	...	Truck Driver
Fredric Arnold	...	Man at Queen's Reception
Ron Tank	...	Press Conference Reporter
Mallory Sandler	...	Nurse #1
Edwina Moore	...	Stadium Official
Jeff Wright	...	Stadium Head Usher
Jim Smith	...	Stadium Janitor
Mark Holton	...	Man in Stadium Crowd
Jane Couris	...	Woman at Stadium
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Arthur Lamont Berger	...	Woman Hugger at Stadium (uncredited)
Maureen Flaherty	...	(uncredited)
John Houseman	...	Driving Instructor (uncredited)
Stuart Lancaster	...	Press Conference Toilet Voiceover (uncredited)
Conrad E. Palmisano	...	Hijacked Taurus Driver (uncredited)
Brinke Stevens	...	Woman in Shower (uncredited)
Sydney Urshan	...	Man Pushing Nordberg's Wheelchair (uncredited)
USC Trojan Marching Band	...	Marching Band (uncredited)
Robert K. Weiss	...	Park Hot Dog Vendor (uncredited)

Directed by
David Zucker

Writing credits (WGA)
Jim Abrahams		television series Police Squad &
David Zucker		television series "Police Squad" &
Jerry Zucker		television series Police Squad
Jerry Zucker		(written by) &
Jim Abrahams		(written by) &
David Zucker		(written by) &
Pat Proft		(written by)

Produced by
Jim Abrahams	....	executive producer
Kevin Marcy	....	associate producer (as Kevin M. Marcy)
John D. Schofield	....	associate producer
Robert K. Weiss	....	producer
David Zucker	....	executive producer
Jerry Zucker	....	executive producer

Original Music by
Ira Newborn

Cinematography by
Robert M. Stevens		(director of photography) (as Robert Stevens)

Film Editing by
Michael Jablow

Casting by
Pamela Basker
Fern Champion

Production Design by
John J. Lloyd

Art Direction by
Donald B. Woodruff

Set Decoration by
Rick Gentz

Costume Design by
Mary E. Vogt

Makeup Department
Rolf John Keppler	....	makeup artist
Barbara Lorenz	....	hair stylist: second unit
David B. Miller	....	makeup supervisor
Gail Rowell-Ryan	....	hair stylist (as Gail Ryan)
Cheri Ruff	....	hair stylist
Robert Ryan	....	makeup artist
James R. Scribner	....	makeup artist
Lisa Rocco	....	special makeup effects artist (uncredited)

Production Management
John D. Schofield	....	unit production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Arthur Anderson	....	first assistant director: second unit
Jim Behnke	....	first assistant director: second unit (as James F. Behnke)
George Fortmuller	....	second assistant director: second unit
Nina Halvorsson	....	second assistant director: second unit (as Nina Halvorsen)
Geraldine F. Keener	....	second second assistant director: second unit
Carole Keligian	....	second assistant director
John T. Kretchmer	....	first assistant director
Jeff Okabayashi	....	trainee assistant director (as Jeffrey Okabayashi)
Conrad E. Palmisano	....	second unit director
Jeff Rafner	....	second second assistant director
Robert K. Weiss	....	second unit director

Art Department
Jack E. Ackerman	....	property master
Barbara Adamski	....	property master
Steve Adler	....	assistant property master
Matty Azzarone	....	property person (as Matthew Azzarone)
Richard Baum	....	property person
Richard Baum	....	set dresser
Cliff Bernay	....	property person
Rick Caprarelli	....	lead person
Huey Duval	....	property person (as Huey P. Duvall)
Rainer G. Gruetzmacher	....	construction coordinator
Martin A. Kline	....	storyboard artist
Pat Moudakis	....	assistant property master
Andrew Neskoromny	....	set designer
David P. Newell	....	assistant property master
James Passanante	....	lead painter
Gary Ramirez	....	property master: second unit
Phil Read	....	construction coordinator (as Philip Read)
Christopher Woodworth	....	set painter (as Chris Woodworth)

Sound Department
Joseph F. Brennan	....	boom operator
Thomas Causey	....	sound mixer (as Thomas D. Causey)
Greg Curda	....	foley mixer
Ken Dufva	....	foley sound effects
Juno J. Ellis	....	supervising adr editor
Julia Evershade	....	sound editor
David Lee Fein	....	foley sound effects
Leslie Gaulin	....	foley editor (as Leslie Troy Gaulin)
Joseph Geisinger	....	boom operator (as Joseph G. Geisinger)
Frank Howard	....	sound editor
Ron Judkins	....	sound mixer (as Ronald Judkins)
Richard Kite	....	cable person (as Richard H. Kite)
Rick Kline	....	sound re-recording mixer
Gregg Landaker	....	sound re-recording mixer
Larry Mann	....	sound editor
Victoria Martin	....	foley editor
Steve Maslow	....	sound re-recording mixer
Brian L. McCarty	....	playback operator (as Brian McCarty)
F. Hudson Miller	....	sound editor
Lettie Odney	....	adr editor
Donald Ortiz	....	assistant sound editor
R.J. Palmer	....	sound effects editor
Gary Ritchie	....	sound re-recordist
George Watters II	....	supervising sound editor
Donald C. Rogers	....	technical director of sound (uncredited)

Special Effects by
Gintar Repecka	....	special effects foreman
Eric Roberts	....	special effects
Cliff Wenger	....	special effects supervisor

Visual Effects by
Bruce A. Block	....	visual effects supervisor

Stunts
Harold Burns	....	stunt driver
Terry Jackson	....	stunts
Conrad E. Palmisano	....	stunt coordinator
Bruce Paul Barbour	....	stunt double: Leslie Nielsen (uncredited)
Jeannie Epper	....	stunts (uncredited)
Bob Herron	....	stunts (uncredited)
Leslie Hoffman	....	stunt double: Queen Elizabeth (uncredited)
Gene LeBell	....	stunts (uncredited)
Jimmy Ortega	....	stunts (uncredited)
Mary Peters	....	stunts (uncredited)
Diane Peterson	....	stunts (uncredited)
Rick Sawaya	....	stunts (uncredited)
Lori Seaman	....	stunts (uncredited)
Rick Seaman	....	stunts (uncredited)
Harry Wowchuk	....	stunts (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Mitchell Block	....	second assistant camera: second unit
Philip Caplan	....	camera operator: second unit
Christopher C. Cooper	....	second assistant camera
Allen D. Easton	....	camera operator
Jack Glenn	....	dolly grip (as Jack Glen)
Gene Griffith	....	first company grip: second unit
Douglas S. Holgate	....	first assistant camera: second unit (as Doug Holgate)
Frank M. Holgate	....	director of photography: second unit (as Frank Holgate)
Leslie J. Kovacs	....	chief lighting technician
Elliott Marks	....	still photographer
Willie McClean	....	second company grip: second unit
Benny McNulty	....	assistant chief lighting technician (as Bernard McNulty)
Leo J. Napolitano	....	camera operator: second unit
Michael Orefice	....	chief lighting technician: second unit
Michael D. O'Shea	....	camera operator
E. Christopher Reed	....	assistant chief lighting technician (as Ernest Christopher Reed)
Robert J. San Martin	....	first assistant camera
Chris Schwiebert	....	camera operator: second unit (as Christy Schweibert)
Richard Stevens	....	film loader
Paul E. Sutton	....	first company grip (as Paul Sutton)
Robert C. Thomas	....	director of photography: second unit (as Robert Thomas)
Michael T. Travers	....	best boy grip
Ian Wayne	....	video engineer

Casting Department
Lindsay Chag	....	casting assistant
Sue Swan	....	casting associate

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Gala Autumn	....	costumer
Bob Moore Jr.	....	costumer
Hector Morales	....	costumer: second unit
Gary Sampson	....	costumer (as Gary R. Sampson)
Nick Scarano	....	costume supervisor: men
Deahdra Tyler	....	costume supervisor: women

Editorial Department
Vincent Laino	....	apprentice editor
Lynne Southerland	....	assistant film editor

Music Department
Jeff Carson	....	supervising music editor
Alf Clausen	....	orchestrator
Gary Ladinsky	....	music scoring mixer
Brian L. McCarty	....	music playback operator
Don Nemitz	....	orchestrator
Ira Newborn	....	orchestrator

Transportation Department
Vince del Castillo	....	transportation coordinator
Raymond A. McLaughlin	....	transportation captain
Robert E. McLaughlin	....	transportation co-captain
Rick Wiley	....	driver: camera car

Other crew
Donna Cipriani	....	production accountant
Tony Criscione	....	assistant production auditor
Les Godwin	....	associate location manager
Rita Grant Miller	....	production office coordinator (as Rita Miller-Grant)
Nancy Hopton	....	script supervisor
Leslie Maier	....	assistant to executive producer
Cass Martin	....	location manager
Timothy R. McWilliams	....	production assistant
Gillian Murphy	....	script supervisor: second unit
John Nesterowicz	....	craft service
Huey Redwine	....	stand-in
Reid Rosefelt	....	unit publicist
Judson Schwartz	....	location manager (as Judson N. Schwartz)
Douy Swofford	....	title designer: main titles
William M. DeLuca	....	mechanic (uncredited)
Johnny Disco	....	double (uncredited)
Greg Knapp	....	set and construction medic (uncredited)
Lynnanne Zager	....	adr loop group (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Paramount Pictures (presents)

Distributors

• Paramount Pictures (1988) (USA) (theatrical) (as Paramount A Gulf + Western Company)
• Paramount Home Video (1989) (USA) (video) (laserdisc)
• Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS) (1991) (USA) (TV) (broadcast premiere)
• Phillips (1992) (Germany) (video) (laserdisc)
• Paramount Home Video (1999) (USA) (VHS)
• Paramount Home Video (1999) (USA) (video) (laserdisc)
• Paramount Home Entertainment (Spain) (2000) (Spain) (DVD)
• Paramount Home Video (2000) (USA) (DVD)
• Paramount Home Video (2002) (USA) (DVD)
• Paramount Home Video (2006) (USA) (DVD)
• Argentina Video Home (????) (Argentina) (DVD)
• Argentina Video Home (????) (Argentina) (VHS)
• CIC Vídeo (????) (Brazil) (VHS)
• CIC-Taft Home Video (????) (Australia) (VHS)
• Paramount Home Entertainment (????) (Brazil) (DVD)

Other Companies

• Cinema Research  opticals
• Goldwyn Sound Facility  sound re-recording
• Matte Effects  matte paintings
• Record Plant Scoring  music recorded at
• Reel People Inc.  negative cutting
• Segue Music  music editing

Also Known As:

The Naked Gun

Runtime:

85 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

South Korea:15 | Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Canada:G (Quebec) | Chile:14 | Denmark:11 | Finland:K-12/9 | Iceland:L | Ireland:15 | Netherlands:AL | Peru:PT | Singapore:PG | Sweden:15 | UK:15 | USA:PG-13 | West Germany:12 | Canada:PG (Manitoba/Ontario) | Spain:T | Canada:A (Nova Scotia)

Filming Locations:

University of San Diego, San Diego, California, USA

Company:

Paramount Pictures

Trivia:

Among Drebin's old food in the refrigerator is a jar of mayo. The expiration date reads 1982, the year "Police Squad!" (1982) debuted on TV.

Goofs:

Miscellaneous: When Frank hits the trash cans in front of the police station, the airbags deploy and the second "airbag" pushes the gear selector up, causing the car to roll down the hill. In a car with an automatic transmission, the selector must be moved down to take the car out of 'park'.

Quotes:

Thug: Drebin?
Frank: Yeah!
Thug: I got a message for you from Vincent Ludwig!
[Shoots gun at Drebin]
Thug: Take this, you son of a bitch!
Frank: I can't hear you! Don't fire the gun while you're talking!

Movie Connections:

Featured in "I Love the 80's 3-D" (2005)

Soundtrack:

I'm Into Something Good

Even when you're not laughing you'll still be chuckling (as long as you're in the mood)

Fresh from tackling terrorism in Beruit, with his own unique hands on style, Lt Frank Drebin is immediately called onto the job to investigate the near fatal shooting of a fellow officer. Det Nordberg was gunned down investigating a case in the docks and Drebin's investigation begins with the company that Nordberg was undercover with – that of pillar of the community Vincent Ludwig. As Frank falls for Ludwig's PA, the beautiful Jane Spencer, he uncovers proof of a dastardly plot by Ludwig – but who will believe him?

If there is a man, woman or child on this earth who can say, hand on heart, that they just don't find Airplane, Naked Gun, Police Squad and the like funny then I would very much like to meet the sad sack just to discover what it takes to elicit a smile from them. Needless to say, this sort of film is very much my type of thing but not to the point where I cannot spot a good one from a bad one. In fact one of the big downsides of this film is that it did create many copies that just couldn't do it as well – so we have had spoofs of all sorts of genres recently, but too many have more hits than misses.

It is to this films credit that it has a very high hit/miss ratio and I enjoy it so much because the laughs keep coming. The material is very silly but it is the constant straight face that it delivers it with that is perfect and makes it work. Other films of the ilk have been overly silly without keeping this straight face. However, our characters here seem oblivious – apart from the odd one who gives the other a funny look etc, and this makes the goings on even funnier. The plot is silly but that doesn't matter as you will be laughing too much to really care. Having seen it so often I have stopped roaring the way I did the first time but I still chuckled all the way.

The writing and direction is spot on – delivering sharp lines that make me laugh due to their sheer unexpectedness or the way they are so very out of place as well as sight gags that are imaginative and clever. However lets not forget a delivery by a very talented cast who make the material work. Praise goes to Nielsen in the lead; he may have worn his role thin over the years with typecasting and, shall we say 'less than perfect' material but give him the tools and he'll do you a job. He can be straight, he can dither or he can just be a clown and he does them all here – his delivery is great whether it's action or reaction shots. Likewise I felt the rest of the cast did well even if most of them are given reaction shots to Drebin. Presley is straight and funny for it while Kennedy seems to fit into the material with ease. OJ doesn't have as much chance to be funny and seems a little stiff in the scenes he is in, but he is still good – just pales a little when next to the others. I love Montalban and he uses his ooze really well in this film – and his reaction shots are very good. The support is all good but it is Nielsen doing his (now) time-honoured turn as spoof-master than steals the show.

Overall I love this genre and consider this film (indeed the series) to be up there with Police Squad and Airplane. It is not as hilarious as Airplane but it has way more hits than misses and is relentlessly funny. As a film it isn't perfect but anyone watching this who complains about plot holes, lack of character development or lack of narrative really have missed the point.