The Night They Raided Minsky's (1968)

Director:

William Friedkin

Writers:

Arnold Schulman (screenplay) &
Sidney Michaels (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

22 December 1968 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy

Tagline:

If You Can't Stand The Terrific Girls (10 Count 'Em 10) There's Always The Comics

Plot:

Rachel arrives in New York from her Amish community intent on becoming a dancer. Unfortunately Billy...

Plot Keywords:

Amish | Female Nudity | Beautiful Woman | Stripper | Murphy Bed

Cast

Jason Robards	...	Raymond Paine
Britt Ekland	...	Rachel Schpitendavel
Norman Wisdom	...	Chick Williams
Forrest Tucker	...	Trim Houlihan
Harry Andrews	...	Jacob Schpitendavel
Joseph Wiseman	...	Louis Minsky
Denholm Elliott	...	Vance Fowler
Elliott Gould	...	Billy Minsky
Jack Burns	...	Candy Butcher
Bert Lahr	...	Professor Spats
Gloria LeRoy	...	Mae Harris
Eddie Lawrence	...	Scratch
Dexter Maitland	...	Duffy
Lillian Hayman	...	Singer in Speakeasy
Richard Libertini	...	Pockets (as Dick Libertini)

Also Known As:

The Night They Invented Striptease

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for suggestive content and brief nudity.

Runtime:

99 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

USA:PG-13 | Sweden:Btl | USA:M (original rating) | USA:PG

Filming Locations:

New York City, New York, USA

Company:

Tandem Productions

Trivia:

Richard Libertini's film debut.

Goofs:

Factual errors: Rachel says she has never kissed a man without a beard but an Amishman does not shave his beard after he becomes married.

Quotes:

Jacob Schpitendavel: Louis Minsky, if you do not now go at once to prevent thy son from bringing my daughter to such ignominy, I shall, as Agnon
[?]
Jacob Schpitendavel: did, raise the finger of righteousness
[raises index finger]
Jacob Schpitendavel: to call down the wrath of heaven.
Vance Fowler: My father, an Episcopal vestryman, used this
[raises pinkie finger]
Vance Fowler: as the finger of righteousness.
Louis Minsky: Bah! And again, Bah! There is no finger of righteousness. This
[raises pinkie and turns it in his ear]
[...]

Movie Connections:

Spoofed in "Get Smart: The Day They Raided the Knights (#4.16)" (1969)

Soundtrack:

The Night They Raided Minsky's

one of the best

This movie captures the time period so beautifully and is the only movie I've ever seen that does so with this genre, it must be accepted as exceptional. The cinematography is very good, the acting excellent, the story very good, and the music perfect. The final touches are real burlesque acts in their entirety, great side acts not part of the stage yet depicting burlesque, great tension (the Amish father, Minskys father, and the threat of closing the theater down for moral reasons), and most of all seeing the movie through the eyes of a titillated Amish virgin, create the kind of perfection rarely seen in cinema. I saw this movie 35 years ago and forgot about it. I just viewed it and realize it deserves to be recognized as exceptional. Not a discarded movie rarely seen on cable.