The In-Laws (1979)

Director:

Arthur Hiller

Writer:

Andrew Bergman (writer)

Release Date:

12 September 1979 (France)

Genre:

Adventure | Comedy | Crime | Thriller | Action

Tagline:

The FIRST Certified Crazy Person's Comedy.

Plot:

In preparation for his daughter's wedding, dentist Sheldon Kornpett meets Vince Ricardo, the groom's father...

Plot Keywords:

Armored Car Robbery | Spy | Father Daughter Relationship | Dentist | Diner

Cast

Peter Falk	...	Vincent J. Ricardo
Alan Arkin	...	Sheldon S. Kornpett, D.D.S.
Richard Libertini	...	General Garcia
Nancy Dussault	...	Carol Kornpett
Penny Peyser	...	Barbara Kornpett
Arlene Golonka	...	Jean Ricardo
Michael Lembeck	...	Tommy Ricardo
Paul L. Smith	...	Mo (as Paul Lawrence Smith)
Carmine Caridi	...	Angie
Ed Begley Jr.	...	Barry Lutz, CIA Intelligence officer at Embassy in Tijada
Sammy Smith	...	Mr. Hirschorn, Dental Patient
James Hong	...	Bing Wong, owner Wong Airlines
Barbara Dana	...	Theresa the Bank Teller
Rozsika Halmos	...	Mrs. Adelman, 2nd Dental Patient
Álvaro Carcaño	...	Edgardo

Runtime:

103 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Spanish | Mandarin

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Iceland:L | Australia:PG | Finland:K-16 | France:U | UK:PG | USA:PG | Singapore:PG | Canada:PG

Filming Locations:

Cuernavaca, Morelos, Mexico

Company:

Warner Bros. Pictures

Trivia:

According to the audio commentary, Andrew Bergman said this was originally going to be a sequel to Freebie and the Bean (1974) which had starred Alan Arkin.

Goofs:

Factual errors: It is mentioned at least once and seen on a newspaper headline that the United States Mint (Mint) was robbed. The Mint deals with coins. The Bureau of Engraving and Printing (BEP) deals with currency. The BEP would have the engravings for currency, not the Mint.

Quotes:

General Garcia: I am a pacifist by nature with a deep Quaker belief in the sanctity of human life. I wish I had a choice but to kill you.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Looking for Comedy in the Muslim World (2005)

Agua fria, agua fria!!

Watched it again this weekend and laughed as hard - no, harder - than the previous 20 viewings! What is it about this movie? It gets FUNNIER every time. Oh sure, everyone comments here about the biggest laugh: Serpentine! Arguably one of the funniest in film history. But there are SO MANY great lines and moments: "Don't shoot, I'm a dentist!" "Left turn at The General Garcia Toll Bridge...it's a fitting tribute general...yes, much better than a statue." "We have no blindfolds senor, we are a poor country." Vince: "from here on in it's very cut and dry." Shelley: "it's not cut. it's not dry." How about Shelley's expression as the general pours cold water into his own hand to calm down his agitated friend? And the airline safety instructions delivered by Billy (or is it Bing?) in Chinese. IT JUST GOES ON AND ON! Tell everyone you know, don't go see the remake - rent the original!