Fingers (1978)

A dysfunctional young man is pulled between loyalties to his Italian mob-connected loan shark father and his mentally disturbed Jewish concert pianist mother.

Director:

James Toback

Writer:

James Toback

Stars:

Harvey Keitel, Tisa Farrow, Jim Brown

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Harvey Keitel	...	Jimmy Fingers
Tisa Farrow	...	Carol
Jim Brown	...	Dreems
Michael V. Gazzo	...	Ben
Marian Seldes	...	Ruth
Danny Aiello	...	Butch
Ed Marinaro	...	Gino
Georgette Mosbacher	...	Anita (as Georgette Muir)
Tanya Roberts	...	Julie
Carole Francis	...	Christa
Lenny Montana	...	Luchino
Vasco Valladeres	...	Luchino's Son
Tony Sirico	...	Riccamonza (as Anthony Sirico)
Tom Signorelli	...	Italian Prisoner
Dominic Chianese	...	Arthur Fox

Storyline

Keitel plays the lead in this schizophrenic movie in which he is continually pulled by the two conflicting sides of his personality, on the one hand that of a quiet piano virtuoso and on the other a ruthless debt collector for his mobster father. Keitel is introspective as only Keitel can be, really making the audience feel for him and his pained existence.

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Plot Keywords:

piano | debt collector | loan shark | pianist | nude model | 

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Taglines:

A powerful film about sex, music and violent crime.

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Music

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

23 August 1978 (France)

Also Known As:

Det beskidte job

Filming Locations:

Sutton Place Park, 57th Street, Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Brut Productions, Fingers Productions Inc.

Technical Specs

Runtime:

90 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Danny Aiello, who played one of Tony Sirica's two bodyguards, objected to holding the door or lighting the cigarette of his boss while in character. Those actions were done by actor Ed Marinaro, who played the other thug.

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Quotes

Jimmy Fingers: Excuse me. I got a phone call this morning. A voice said to come here and look for a girl on the phone. She'll be the girl of your dreams. 5'5', dark hair, blue eyes. She's wearing a dusty rose bikini and her name is Julie.
Julie: Well, you made a mistake. I'm 5'6'.

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Connections

Referenced in Get Shorty (1995)

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Soundtracks

"Angel of the Morning"
Written by Chip Taylor
Performed by Merrilee Rush and The Turnabouts
Courtesy of Bell Records

User Reviews

Unfortunately always in the shadow of "Taxi Driver".

This early movie of actor Harvey Keitel is still rather unknown and was always overshadowed by the successful Keitel and de Niro movies like Scorsese's "Mean Streets" and "Taxi Driver". With Scorsese and di Niro being absent in this production, it was Keitel's time for a leading part.

He plays the schizophrenic character "Fingers", a brutal repo man who is dreaming of a classical piano player career in a distant future beyond violence. He falls in love with an ignorant woman, tries to convince his father and mentor of his musical talents, but also has to take any dirty job to survive. Finally he takes his famous "last job" and tries to get a large amount of money from a brutal Mafia youngster, but has to face his biggest enemy - and his last big showdown.

"Fingers" is a rather calm movie which leaves enough place for Keitel to show the different personalities of "Fingers". There are dirty back roads, a bloody showdown and the tristesse of other sad New York stories, but not the glam and the roaring action of the Scorsese movies. And there are always evidences of hope and love which are finally crushed by the wheels of reality... Watch out for "Fingers", one of Harvey Keitel's best performances ever.