Curly Sue (1991)

Director:

John Hughes

Writer (WGA):

John Hughes (written by)

Release Date:

25 October 1991 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama | Family | Romance

Tagline:

Big laughs come in small packages.

Plot:

Bill Dancer and his young companion Curly Sue are the classic homeless folks with hearts of gold. Their scams are aimed not at turning a profit...

Plot Keywords:

Male Female Relationship | Accident | Street Life | Itchy Tights | Love

Awards:

1 win

Cast

James Belushi	...	Bill Dancer
Kelly Lynch	...	Grey Ellison
Alisan Porter	...	Curly Sue
John Getz	...	Walker McCormick
Fred Dalton Thompson	...	Bernard Oxbar
Cameron Thor	...	Maitre d'
Branscombe Richmond	...	Albert
Steve Carell	...	Tesio (as Steven Carell)
Gail Boggs	...	Anise Hall
Burke Byrnes	...	Dr. Maxwell
Viveka Davis	...	Trina
Barbara Tarbuck	...	Mrs. Arnold
Edie McClurg	...	Secretary
Charles Adams	...	Prison Guard
James W. Boinski	...	Pawnbroker
Lyle Browne	...	Theater Patron (as Lyle Brown)
Nadine Burke	...	Social Worker
Adele Robbins	...	DCFS Caseworker
Carol Chickering	...	Soprano
Grace Collette	...	Foster Mother
Ralph Foody	...	Drifter
Cedrick Pipes	...	Cook
Alonzo Hall	...	Cook
Luke Reichle	...	Store Clerk 1
Joel Levin	...	Store Clerk 2
Tammy Karabas	...	Store Clerk 3 (as Tammy Karabas-Brody)
Patricia Hooker	...	Store Clerk 4
Joe Liss	...	Ticket Taker
Rocco Pecirno	...	Father of the Bride
Ely Pouget	...	Dinah Tompkins
Susan Mayer	...	Woman with Champagne Glass
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
John Ashton	...	Frank Arnold (uncredited)
James DeAngelo	...	Hobo (uncredited)
Shon Little	...	Federico (uncredited)
Larry Nazimek	...	Homeless Person (uncredited)
Robert 'Bobby Z' Zajonc	...	State Trooper (uncredited)

Directed by
John Hughes

Writing credits (WGA)
John Hughes		(written by)

Produced by
Tarquin Gotch	....	executive producer
John Hughes	....	producer
Lynn M. Morgan	....	associate producer

Original Music by
Georges Delerue

Cinematography by
Jeffrey L. Kimball		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
Peck Prior
Harvey Rosenstock

Production Design by
Doug Kraner

Art Direction by
Steven Schwartz

Set Decoration by
Marjorie Fritz-Birch
Samara Schaffer		(as Sam Schaffer)

Costume Design by
Michael Kaplan

Makeup Department
Linda Boykin-Williams	....	makeup artist
Bonnie Clevering	....	hair stylist (as Bonnie M. Cleverling)
Susan Mayer	....	makeup artist (as Susan 'Sam' Mayer)
Ve Neill	....	makeup artist
Kathe Swanson	....	hair stylist

Production Management
Lynn M. Morgan	....	production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Jeanne Caliendo	....	first assistant director: second unit
Jeanne Caliendo	....	second assistant director
James Giovannetti Jr.	....	first assistant director
Geoffrey Hansen	....	second assistant director
Freddie Hice	....	second unit director
Aimee Kohn	....	second second assistant director

Art Department
Daril Alder	....	leadman
Gary Baugh	....	set designer
Daniel B. Clancy	....	leadman: Chicago (as Dan Clancy)
Edward England	....	construction coordinator (as Ed England)
William B. Fosser	....	set designer (as William Fosser)
Randy Gordon	....	construction foreman
Kim S. Hobbs	....	art department coordinator
Aaron Holden	....	property master (as Aaron Charles Holden)
Aaron C. Holden Jr.	....	assistant props
Patty Hooker	....	property master
Jeffrey Kushon	....	leadman: Chicago
Masako Masuda	....	set designer
Amie McCarthy	....	assistant props
John Mikels	....	stand-by painter
Agnes Oberth	....	painter
Pat Raney	....	construction foreman
Steven Wolff	....	assistant art director (as Steve Wolff)
John Biesack	....	art production assistant (uncredited)
Anthony Joseph Fatigato	....	painter (uncredited)
Robert E. Knight	....	lead scenic painter (uncredited)
James Nedza	....	art department coordinator (uncredited)
Tyler Osman	....	carpenter foreman (uncredited)

Sound Department
Christopher Assells	....	dialogue editor
Robert Batha	....	sound effects editor
Gregg Baxter	....	supervising adr editor
David E. Campbell	....	sound re-recording mixer (as Dave Campbell)
Stuart Copely	....	dialogue editor
Richard Dwan Jr.	....	dialogue editor
Gary A. Hecker	....	foley mixer (as Gary 'Wrecker' Hecker)
Chris Hogan	....	sound effects editor
Christopher Moriana	....	foley artist
John T. Reitz	....	sound re-recording mixer (as John Reitz)
Jay B. Richardson	....	sound effects editor (as Jay Richardson)
Gregg Rudloff	....	sound re-recording mixer
Kenneth Schwarz	....	boom operator (as Ken Schwarz)
Wylie Stateman	....	supervising sound editor
Bill Voigtlander	....	adr editor
Charles M. Wilborn	....	sound mixer (as Charles Wilborn)
Jeffrey Wilhoit	....	foley artist
Michael D. Wilhoit	....	supervising sound editor (as Michael Wilhoit)
Willy Allen	....	foley editor (uncredited)
Dino Dimuro	....	sound effects editor (uncredited)
Janet Gratz	....	assistant sound editor (uncredited)
Mark Lanza	....	sound effects editor (uncredited)
Glenn T. Morgan	....	sound effects editor (uncredited)

Special Effects by
John E. Gray	....	special effects coordinator
Mike Hohe	....	special effects
Rodman Kiser	....	special effects

Visual Effects by
Kevin Nordine	....	opticals

Stunts
Troy Brown	....	stunt player
Freddie Hice	....	stunt coordinator
Freddie Hice	....	stunt player
Johnny Hock	....	stunt player
Rick Le Fevour	....	stunt player (as Rick LeFevour)
Stacy Logan	....	stunt player
Daniel Maldonado	....	stunt player (as Daniel Maldanado)
Randy Popplewell	....	stunt player
Chad Randall	....	stunt player
Cris Thomas-Palomino	....	stunt player
Rich Wilkie	....	stunt player

Camera and Electrical Department
Paolo Cascio	....	second assistant camera (as Paul A. Cascio)
John Connell	....	gyrosphere camera assistant
Peter J. Donoghue	....	rigging gaffer
Tom Holloway	....	best boy grip (as Thomas Holloway)
Mel P. Mack	....	assistant chief lighting technician
Bradley T. Matthys	....	dolly grip
Donald E. Miller	....	key grip: Chicago (as Don Miller)
James A. Miller	....	chief lighting technician
David B. Nowell	....	aerial photographer
Flemming Olsen	....	director of photography: second unit
J. Michael Popovich	....	key grip
Douglas Ryan	....	camera operator
Gregory J. Schmidt	....	first assistant camera (as Gregory Schmidt)
Robert Ulland	....	Steadicam operator (as Bob Ulland)
Michael P. Weinstein	....	still photographer (as Michael Weinstein)
Frank Yario Jr.	....	video playback operator
Adam C. Eichhorst	....	grip (uncredited)
Ron Kunecke	....	musco light operator (uncredited)
Gregory Lundsgaard	....	Steadicam operator (uncredited)
Mark N. Woods	....	electrician (uncredited)

Casting Department
Janet Hirshenson	....	casting
Catherine Holzer-Ballowe	....	extras casting director
Catherine Holzer-Ballowe	....	extras casting
Jane Jenkins	....	casting
Jacqueline King	....	casting assistant
Mark A. Ridge	....	extras casting (uncredited)
Suzy Sachs	....	additional casting: Seattle (uncredited)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Cathy Newport-Logan	....	costumer: women
Kaye Nottbusch	....	costumer: women
Luke Reichle	....	costumer: men
Barbara Scott	....	costume supervisor

Editorial Department
Donah Bassett	....	negative cutter
Eric L. Beason	....	assistant editor
Chris Boscardin	....	assistant editor
Jerrie Fowler	....	assistant editor
John Lafferty	....	first assistant editor
Jim Makiej	....	assistant editor (as John Makiej)
Ray Martin	....	color timer
Julie Rogers	....	assistant editor
David Stiven	....	additional film editor (as David B. Stiven)
Sandy French	....	assistant editor (uncredited)
Steve Kraus	....	editing systems technician (uncredited)

Music Department
Daniel Allan Carlin	....	supervising music editor (as Dan Carlin)
Dan Carlin Sr.	....	supervising music editor (as Dan Carlin)
Robert Fernandez	....	scoring mixer (as Bobby Fernandez)
Jeffrey P. Kloth	....	composer: additional music
Blake Martin Moulin	....	assistant music editor
Eric Reasoner	....	music editor
Michael Dittrick	....	music editor (uncredited)

Transportation Department
James F. Hogan	....	transportation captain
John P. McAuliffe	....	transportation captain
Armand Paoletti	....	transportation coordinator

Other crew
Betsy Bottando	....	assistant location manager
Mark Bransfield	....	staff assistant
Raymond Bulinski	....	craft service (as Ray Bulinski)
Thomas J. Busch	....	location manager (as Tom Busch)
Scott Delsener	....	staff assistant
Jesse J. Donnelly	....	assistant: Mr. Belushi (as Jesse Donnelly)
Wilma Garscadden-Gahret	....	script supervisor
John Iltis	....	unit publicist
William Johnson	....	production secretary
Tammy Karabas	....	assistant: Mr. Gotch (as Tammy Karabas-Brody)
Lori Koravos	....	production accountant (as Lori LeNoble-Koravos)
Kathryn Madden	....	first aid (as Kathryn A. Madden)
Ernie Malik	....	unit publicist
Pat McNeeley	....	staff assistant
Andy Mentzer	....	painter/dyer
Charlene Norman	....	assistant production secretary
William Ryan	....	assistant: Mr. Hughes (as Bill Ryan)
Bob Saunders	....	staff assistant (as Robert Saunders)
Kirsten Stevens	....	assistant production accountant (as Kirsten A. Stevens)
Elizabeth Tompkins	....	assistant production accountant (as Elizabeth K. Tompkins)
Seth Vamos	....	staff assistant
Jane Vickerilla	....	assistant: Mr. Hughes
Jimmy Borto	....	production assistant (uncredited)
Bill Daly	....	post-production accountant (uncredited)
Mark Gulbrandsen	....	dailies projection technician (uncredited)
Steve Kraus	....	dailies projectionist (uncredited)
Michelle Landes	....	extras coordinator: on-set (uncredited)
James Andrew Pearson	....	production assistant (uncredited)
R.P. Sekon	....	production executive: Hughes Entertainment (uncredited)
Robert 'Bobby Z' Zajonc	....	aerial coordinator (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Hughes Entertainment
• Warner Bros. Pictures (presents) (as Warner Bros.)

Distributors

• National Broadcasting Company (NBC) (1994) (USA) (TV) (broadcast premiere)
• Warner Bros. Pictures (1991) (USA) (theatrical) (as Warner Bros. Pictures A Time Warner Entertainment Company)
• Argentina Video Home (Argentina) (video)
• Warner Bros. (Germany)
• Warner Bros. (Spain)

Special Effects

• Sturm's Special Effects International (snow making)

Other Companies

• Giant Records  soundtrack released by
• Movie Movers  star trailers

Runtime:

101 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Iceland:L | South Korea:All | Peru:PT | Argentina:Atp | Chile:TE | Finland:S | Norway:11 | Spain:T | Sweden:7 | UK:PG | USA:PG | Singapore:PG | Australia:PG | Canada:G (Nova Scotia) (original rating) | Canada:PG (Nova Scotia) (re-rating) | Germany:o.Al.

Filming Locations:

Chicago, Illinois, USA

Company:

Hughes Entertainment

Trivia:

Bill Murray turned down the role Bill Dancer because he was busy with other projects.

Goofs:

Continuity: Sue is trying on her new wardrobe for Grey and her secretary. Grey notices that she's still wearing her cruddy shoes. Sue holds up the fancy shoes and asks "you mean these." She then begins to crawl on the floor and scratch herself. They cut to Grey. They then cut back to Sue, who's now wearing the fancy shoes.

Quotes:

Trina: Do you know how long you have to go to school to become a lawyer?
Curly Sue: No.
Trina: 20 years.
Curly Sue: Slap my butt, no way!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Jeopardy!: (#26.16)" (2009)

Soundtrack:

You're Nobody Till Somebody Loves You

Works as a guilty pleasure

I remember having a pretty low regard for a venture like this when it was first released. James "Not Jim" Belushi, a hammy kid actress, and a cheesy title in a John Hughes formula. You couldn't have paid me to see it 15 years ago. But, I got caught up watching it while wasting away a Sunday afternoon, and it hits me on a couple of levels. The fairy tale (part Pretty Woman, part reverse Pretty Woman), the very vulnerable, Elizabeth_Perkins_in_Miracle_On_42nd_Street -like performance by Kelly Lynch, the escapism. Over all, it gently pulls some very nice strings. It's pretty hard not to fall into the story, develop a crush on Kelly Lynch, identify with James Belushi, dislike the stiff bad guy boyfriend, and laugh at the Curley Sue lines. Has all the ups and downs, with a happy ending, and the kind of message you want to hear. Go ahead, waste your time on this movie, it's worth it.