Foul Play (1978)

Director:

Colin Higgins

Writer:

Colin Higgins (writer)

Release Date:

14 July 1978 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Thriller

Tagline:

A new comedy-thriller from Paramount for Summer '78

Plot:

A shy San Francisco librarian and a bumbling cop fall in love as they solve a crime involving albinos, dwarves, and the Catholic Church.

Plot Keywords:

Albino | Librarian | Pope | Detective | Hitman

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 8 nominations

Cast

Goldie Hawn	...	Gloria Mundy
Chevy Chase	...	Tony Carlson
Burgess Meredith	...	Mr. Hennessey
Rachel Roberts	...	Delia Darrow / Gerda Casswell
Eugene Roche	...	Archbishop Thorncrest / Archbishop's brother
Dudley Moore	...	Stanley Tibbets
Marilyn Sokol	...	Stella
Brian Dennehy	...	Fergie
Marc Lawrence	...	Rupert Stiltskin
Chuck McCann	...	Theatre manager
Billy Barty	...	J.J. MacKuen
Don Calfa	...	Scarface
Bruce Solomon	...	Bob Scott
Cooper Huckabee	...	Sandy
Pat Ast	...	Mrs. Venus

Also Known As:

Killing Lydia (USA) (working title)

Runtime:

116 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Certification:

Iceland:L | Netherlands:12 | Singapore:PG | Argentina:13 | Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15 | USA:PG | UK:PG | Australia:M

Filming Locations:

22nd & Church Streets, Noe Valley, San Francisco, California, USA

Company:

Paramount Pictures

Trivia:

The name of Goldie Hawn's character, Gloria Mundy, is taken from the Latin phrase "Sic transit gloria mundi," which translates as "So passes the glory of the world."

Goofs:

Factual errors: The Alan Ladd movie that Gloria Mundy is watching is called This Gun for Hire (1942), not "This Gun is Mine" as it appears in the movie.

Quotes:

Fergie: I've been on some dumb calls in my time, but this one tops 'em all. Where did you meet this ding dong anyway? And what's all that stuff about having her for lunch down at the station house. You're not even supposed to be riding around with her.
Tony Carlson: It's fate, Fergie. It's kismet.
Fergie: Kismet, my ass. Listen, this girl is weird, Tony...
Tony Carlson: Yeah, yeah, yeah, but she's got the prettiest green eyes I've ever seen.
Fergie: Hey, they're blue. And behind those blue eyes is a fruitcake with a homicidal umbrella.
Tony Carlson: [excitedly] Wait a minute.
[...]

Movie Connections:

References Trail to Gunsight (1944)

Soundtrack:

Excerpts from Gilbert & Sullivan's THE MIKADO

Lots of fun

Likable comedy murder mystery. Gloria Mundy (Goldie Hawn) gets involved with an assassination attempt. Cop Chevy Chase is hired to protect her. There's more to the plot but that's the basics.

This is a beautiful movie--shot on location in San Francisco. The stars are likable; the script is interesting, if all little too confusing and there are many funny--and suspenseful--moments throughout. I saw this back in 1978 and loved it and it still holds up beautifully. A lot of people says this plagiarizes Hitchcock. It does a little but it's so entertaining it doesn't really matter.

Chase is good in his first film after leaving "Saturday Night Live" and Hawn is just delightful. There's also strong support from Burgess Meredith, Brian Dennehy and Dudley Moore. Also there are some beautiful shots of San Francisco all through the movie. And it starts off great with the Barry Manilow song "Ready To Take A Chance Again". Just basically a great big fun commercial film. Well worth catching. I'm only giving it a 9 because it IS a little too long.