Animal House (1978)

At a 1962 College, Dean Vernon Wormer is determined to expel the entire Delta Tau Chi Fraternity, but those troublemakers have other plans for him.

Director:

John Landis

Writers:

Harold Ramis, Douglas Kenney,

Stars:

Tom Hulce, Stephen Furst, John Belushi

2 wins & 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Tom Hulce	...	Larry Kroger (as Thomas Hulce)
Stephen Furst	...	Kent Dorfman
Mark Metcalf	...	Doug Neidermeyer
Mary Louise Weller	...	Mandy Pepperidge
Martha Smith	...	Babs Jansen
James Daughton	...	Greg Marmalard
Kevin Bacon	...	Chip Diller
John Belushi	...	John Blutarsky
Douglas Kenney	...	Stork
Chris Miller	...	Hardbar (as Christian Miller)
Bruce Bonnheim	...	B.B.
Karen Allen	...	Katy
James Widdoes	...	Robert Hoover
Tim Matheson	...	Eric Stratton
Peter Riegert	...	Donald Schoenstein

Storyline

Faber College has one frat house so disreputable it will take anyone. It has a second one full of white, anglo-saxon, rich young men who are so sanctimonious no one can stand them except Dean Wormer. The dean enlists the help of the second frat to get the boys of Delta House off campus. The dean's plan comes into play just before the homecoming parade to end all parades for all time.

---

Plot Keywords:

dean | college | parade | fraternity | homecoming parade | 

---

Taglines:

"We can do anything we want. We're college students!"

---

Genres:

Comedy | Romance

---

Certificate:

R

Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

USA

Language:

English Italian

Release Date:

28 July 1978 (USA)

Also Known As:

National Lampoon's Animal House

Filming Locations:

729 East 11th Street, Eugene, Oregon, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$3,000,000 (estimated)

Gross:

$141,600,000 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Universal Pictures, Oregon Film Factory, Stage III Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

109 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Todd-AO)

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The original script called for a scene of competitive projectile vomiting ("booting") in the Delta House basement. Flounder was going to fail at this repeatedly. Later, after throwing up on Dean Wormer when he's told he's flunked out, Boon congratulates Flounder on his technique.

---

Goofs

In the parade sequence near the end of the movie, there is a mid-'70s model Chevrolet pickup truck in the background.

---

Quotes

Otter: Let me give you a hint. She's got a couple of major-league yabbos.
Boon: Beverly!
Otter: No. But you're getting warmer. Here's another: "Oh God, Oh God, OH GOD!"
Boon: Marlene! Don't tell me you're gonna pork Marlene Desmond!
Otter: Pork?
Boon: You're gonna hump her brains out, aren't you?
Otter: Boon, I anticipate a deeply religious experience.

---

Crazy Credits

Four of the listings in the cast are "mean dude," "meaner dude," "meanest dude," and "gigantic dude".

---

Connections

Referenced in Girlfriend from Hell (1989)

---

Soundtracks

"Who's Sorry Now"
Performed by Connie Francis
Courtesy of MGM Records, Inc.

User Reviews

This one gets a 4.0 for sure!

John Landis's directorial debut, and John Belushi's first starring role make this screw-ball comedy about college life in the early 60's a must-see. I saw this picture for the first time when it was released to theaters and laughed my buns off; it still holds up today, almost 30 years later.

Every actor in the show gives a bravura performance, with stand-out debuts by the likes of Thomas Hulce, Tim Matheson, Karen Allen, Bruce Davidson, and others. In addition, there's a sense throughout the picture that we all knew these guys at one time or another in our lives. Shoot, I think I may have BEEN one or two of these guys at some point in my life. Of course, the picture revolves around Belushi's terrifically over-the-top Bluto Blutarsky; but you simply can't ignore characters like Boone, Otter, Niedermeyer, Gregg Marmalade, and my personal favorite, D-Day.

The writing on this picture is really far better than the loosely-structured plot first indicates. Each character is introduced neatly at their entrance; and, by extension, the other characters are set up by the entrances of their surrounding characters. For instance, when we first meet Belushi's character, he's holding a schooner of beer in one hand and drunkenly taking a leak on the Delta Tau Chi lawn. Right away, we know what the rest of these guys are going to be like. Then, when D-Day makes his entrance, driving his hawg through the front door and up the stairs to play the William Tell Overture on his throat before pulling a beer out of his jacket and popping the top, our fears are confirmed. Meanwhile, we get to meet the uptight, repressed, and mildly facsist other frat through similar vignettes. Kevin Bacon is particularly hilarious in his initiation ("Thank you, sir! May I have another?").

John Landis made his debut with this picture, and what a debut it was! His camera follows each of the characters and events at near breakneck speed, giving the audience little time to recover from one laugh before getting slapped in the head with another. Lots of natural lighting, and sharp, steady pacing with smooth transitions keep the story moving. Refreshingly, the film doesn't rely on over-the-top special effects to hold our attention. Then again, is there really any place for SFX in a picture like this?

The whole picture is one long laugh, from beginning to end. If you're a college grad, you'll forget what it was really like to have to work hard, study, and generally bust your tail to graduate. If you haven't yet gone to college, this picture will give you all the wrong ideas. On the other hand, you've gotta see this one, if for no other reason than to learn all the right (and wrong) things to do at a college party.