For Pete's Sake (1974)

User Rating:

6.3/10   

Director:

Peter Yates

Writers:

Stanley Shapiro (written by) and
Maurice Richlin (written by)

Release Date:

13 September 1974 (Sweden)

Genre:

Comedy

Tagline:

Zany Barbra!

Plot:

Henrietta Robins works out of her home and her husband Pete drives a cab to try to support her. When...

Plot Keywords:

Money | Cattle | Loan Shark | Manhole | Subway

Cast

Barbra Streisand	...	Henrietta 'Henry' Robbins
Michael Sarrazin	...	Pete Robbins
Estelle Parsons	...	Helen Robbins
Molly Picon	...	Mrs. Cherry
William Redfield	...	Fred Robbins
Louis Zorich	...	Nick Kasabian, the Dispatcher
Heywood Hale Broun	...	Judge Hiller
Richard Ward	...	Bernie
Ed Bakey	...	Angelo
Peter Mamakos	...	Dominic
Vivian Bonnell	...	Loretta
Joseph Maher	...	Mr. Coates (as Joe Maher)
Anne Ramsey	...	Telephone Lady
Jack Hollander	...	Loanshark
Gary Pagett	...	Assistant Bank Manager

Also Known As:

July Pork Bellies

Runtime:

90 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Certification:

Iceland:L | UK:PG | Australia:PG (TV rating) | Australia:M | Finland:S | Norway:11 | Sweden:Btl | USA:PG | Netherlands:AL

Filming Locations:

4th Avenue, Brooklyn, New York City, New York, USA

Company:

Barclay

Trivia:

The original title was "July Pork Bellies".

Goofs:

Continuity: While Henrietta and her husband's sister-in-law are arguing on the porch, a white car parked curbside up the street appears and disappears between shots.

Quotes:

Henrietta 'Henry' Robbins: This is Henrietta Robbins, your cousin from Brooklyn... How's Dallas?... Great. Look. I hate to bother you again, but um I thought you'd like to know we got the pork bellies. The only thing is now they want 4000, or they're gonna kill me... Pete!... Oh My god, they got Pete!

Movie Connections:

Remade as Aap Ki Khatir (1977)

Soundtrack:

For Pete's Sake (Don't Let Him Down)

FOR PETE’S SAKE (Peter Yates, 1974) **1/2

Although I have been aware of this film for a long time, it was only after watching its amusing theatrical trailer – on THE OWL AND THE PUSSYCAT (1970) DVD – that I became eager to watch it. The end result proved to be a patchy affair but, nevertheless, it does have its fair share of belly-laughs and, in any case, watching Streisand in kooky mode is always fun; Estelle Parsons and William Redfield are her hubby (Michael Sarrazin)’s well-to-do and snobbish relatives who particularly look down on Streisand.

It clearly emulates the screwball style of WHAT’S UP, DOC? (1972), parodies THE FRENCH CONNECTION (1971) – the underground station cat-and-mouse chase between Gene Hackman and Fernando Rey is performed here by a disguised Streisand and a persistent police dog! – and it also homages Buster Keaton’s GO WEST (1925) in the urban cow stampede sequence and Luis Bunuel’s BELLE DE JOUR (1967) in the role-playing encounters during Streisand’s disastrous stint as a call-girl! British action director Yates was surprisingly roped in for this, but he seems to have enjoyed the experience as his next project was on similarly zany lines – the black comedy MOTHER, JUGS AND SPEED (1976; which I’ll be watching presently).

Another notable sequence sees the heroine involved, unbeknownst to her, in terrorist activity (she’s asked to deliver a package in disguise to a similarly-dressed woman) – which eventually rebounds on her shady brother employers! Similarly, one of the best lines has Streisand’s nonchalant black maid (she hires a Hispanic woman to do her own cleaning-up!) who, admiring the former’s tenacity, tells her: “Girl, you could even sell a Confederate flag in Harlem!”