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Foul Play (1978)

6.6
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Ratings: 6.6/10 from 7,394 users  
Reviews: 74 user | 24 critic

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

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Title: Foul Play (1978)

Foul Play (1978) on IMDb 6.6/10

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Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 8 nominations. See more awards »
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Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
...
...
...
Rachel Roberts ...
...
...
Stanley Tibbets
Marilyn Sokol ...
...
Fergie
...
Stiltskin
...
Theatre Manager
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J.J. MacKuen
...
Scarface
Bruce Solomon ...
Scott
...
Sandy
Pat Ast ...
Mrs. Venus
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Storyline

When, unbeknownst to Gloria, a microfilm cassette is left with her by a dying agent, she becomes entangled in a complicated series of events. She's pursued by a dwarf and an albino, and becomes convinced that they are out to kill her. Finally, with the help of San Francisco detective Tony Carlson, she begins to turn the tables on her pursuers. It becomes clear that the nerfarious crew after her are plotting a dastardly deed indeed - to assassinate the Pope as he visits the city to see _The Mikado_. Gloria and Tony must race against time to prevent this terrible crime. Written by Rick Munoz <rick.munoz@his.com>

Plot Summary | Plot Synopsis

Plot Keywords:

albino | detective | librarian | police | pope | See more »

Taglines:

A new comedy thriller from the creators of "Silver Streak". See more »


Certificate:

PG | See all certifications »

Parents Guide:

 »
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Details

Country:

Language:

Release Date:

14 July 1978 (USA)  »

Also Known As:

Killing Lydia  »

Box Office

Gross:

SEK 33,316,312 (Sweden)
 »

Company Credits

Show detailed on  »

Technical Specs

Runtime:

Sound Mix:

Color:

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1
See  »
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Did You Know?

Trivia

The movie inspired a short-lived 10-episode TV sitcom series Foul Play which was broadcast for only a few weeks in 1981. It starred Barry Bostwick and Deborah Raffin. See more »

Goofs

The cowboy's truck obviously has a sun roof during shots inside the cab when Officer Carlson is driving it to the theatre. However, in all the shots from outside the truck, there is no sun roof. See more »

Quotes

[giving Gloria a rape alarm, a can of MACE and a knuckleduster]
Stella: Take these. Without them, you are a walking light-bulb... waiting to be screwed.
See more »

Crazy Credits

Esme the snake is played by Shirley Python See more »

Connections

Spoofs The Trouble with Harry (1955) See more »

Soundtracks

"READY TO TAKE A CHANCE AGAIN"
Record engineer Michael Delugg
Orchestrated by Richard Behrke
See more »

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User Reviews

 
Lots of fun
29 October 2005 | by (United States) – See all my reviews

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.


9 of 11 people found this review helpful.  Was this review helpful to you?

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