The Jerk (1979)

Director:

Carl Reiner

Writers:

Steve Martin (screenplay) &
Carl Gottlieb (screenplay) ...
(more)

Release Date:

14 December 1979 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy

Tagline:

From rags to riches... to rags.

Plot:

A complete imbecile struggles to make it through life on his own, until a strange invention makes him unbelievably wealthy.

Plot Keywords:

Homelessness | Stupidity | Dog | Marijuana | Maid

Cast

Steve Martin	...	Navin / Cat Juggler (as Pig Eye Jackson also)
Bernadette Peters	...	Marie
Catlin Adams	...	Patty Bernstein
Mabel King	...	Mother
Richard Ward	...	Father
Dick Anthony Williams	...	Taj
Bill Macy	...	Stan Fox
M. Emmet Walsh	...	Madman
Dick O'Neill	...	Frosty
Maurice Evans	...	Hobart
Helena Carroll	...	Hester
Renn Woods	...	Elvira (as Ren Wood)
Pepe Serna	...	Punk #1
Sonny Terry	...	Blues Singer
Brownie McGhee	...	Blues Singer (as Brownie McGee)
Jackie Mason	...	Harry Hartounian
David Landsberg	...	Bank Manager
Domingo Ambriz	...	Father De Cordoba
Richard Foronjy	...	Con Man
Lenny Montana	...	Con Man
Carl Gottlieb	...	Iron Balls McGinty
Clete Roberts	...	Announcer
Frances E. Williams	...	Grandma Johnson
Lydia McGhee	...	Cleotis Johnson
Niko Denise Holmes	...	Satch Johnson
Shawn Harris	...	Pierre Johnson
Nyles Harris	...	Leroy Johnson (as Niles Harris)
Susan Denise Harrison	...	Lisa Johnson
Douglas S. Close	...	Fireman
Sharon Johansen	...	Mrs. Hartounian
Trinidad Silva	...	Punk
Alston Ahern	...	Bride
Lawrence Green	...	Father of Bride
Ken Magee	...	Carnival Rube
Tom J. Delaney	...	Tourist
Alfred Dennis	...	Irving
Marc Loge	...	Farm Boy
Jon Leichter	...	Billy
Lillian Adams	...	Tillie
Joe Lynn	...	Voodoo Dancer
Maurice Marsac	...	French Waiter
Gene LeBell	...	Con Man (as Gene Lebell)
Fred Lerner	...	Con Man
Jerry G. Velasco	...	Man in Garden
Kimberly Cameron	...	Disco Party
Elizabeth Macey	...	Disco Party
Richie Reiner	...	Disco Party
Daniel Trevor	...	Disco Party
Carl Reiner	...	Carl Reiner The Celebrity (as Carl Reiner The Celebrity)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Luis Contreras	...	Extra in 'Cat Juggling' Scene (uncredited)
Larry Hankin	...	Circus hand (uncredited)
Flower Parry	...	Bag Lady (uncredited)
Rob Reiner	...	Truck Driver Picking Up Navin (uncredited)
Gailard Sartain	...	Guy with Cracked Airplane Seats (uncredited)
William Schallert	...	Judge M.A. Loring (uncredited)

Directed by
Carl Reiner

Writing credits
Steve Martin		(screenplay) &
Carl Gottlieb		(screenplay) &
Michael Elias		(screenplay)
Steve Martin		(story) &
Carl Gottlieb		(story)

Produced by
Peter Macgregor-Scott	....	associate producer
William E. McEuen	....	producer
David V. Picker	....	producer

Original Music by
Jack Elliott

Cinematography by
Victor J. Kemper		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
Bud Molin
Ron Spang

Casting by
Gino Havens
Penny Perry

Production Design by
Jack T. Collis

Set Decoration by
Richard C. Goddard		(set decorations) (as Richard Goddard)

Costume Design by
Theadora Van Runkle

Makeup Department
Del Acevedo	....	makeup artist
Barbara Lorenz	....	hair stylist

Production Management
Peter Macgregor-Scott	....	production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Newt Arnold	....	first assistant director (as Newton Arnold)
Ed Milkovich	....	second assistant director

Art Department
Joseph E. Hubbard	....	set designer (as Joe Hubbard)
Ed Karas	....	construction foreman
Johnny Lattanzio	....	paint foreman (as John Lattanzio)
Dennis J. Parrish	....	property master (as Dennis Parrish)

Sound Department
Gordon Daniel	....	sound effects editor
Marvin I. Kosberg	....	loop dialogue editor
Gilbert D. Marchant	....	sound effects editor (as Gil Marchant)
William L. McCaughey	....	sound rerecording
Hoppy Mehterian	....	sound rerecording
Eddie Nelson	....	sound rerecording
Anthony Palk	....	sound effects editor (as Tony Polk)
Keith Stafford	....	sound effects editor
Charles M. Wilborn	....	sound
Robert Nichols II	....	sound recordist (uncredited)

Special Effects by
Henry Millar	....	special effects

Stunts
Debbie Evans	....	stunts
Conrad E. Palmisano	....	stunt coordinator (as Conrad Palmisano)
Conrad E. Palmisano	....	stunt double: Steve Martin
Bruce Paul Barbour	....	stunt performer (uncredited)
Steven Burnett	....	stunts (uncredited)
David S. Cass Sr.	....	stunts (uncredited)
Jeannie Epper	....	stunts (uncredited)
Diane Peterson	....	stunts (uncredited)
Rick Seaman	....	stunts (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Earl Gilbert	....	gaffer
Rhio Haessig	....	best boy
Robert Marta	....	assistant cameraman
Gaylin P. Schultz	....	key grip (as Gaylin Schultz)
Bernie Schwartz	....	best boy
Robert C. Thomas	....	camera operator (as Robert Thomas)
Stephen Vaughan	....	stills
David Augsburger	....	second assistant camera (uncredited)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
April Ferry	....	costume supervisor
Michael J. Harte	....	costume supervisor

Music Department
Jack Elliott	....	conductor
Milton Lustig	....	music editor
Jon Charles	....	orchestrator (uncredited)
George Doering	....	musician (uncredited)

Transportation Department
Craig Pinkard	....	transportation captain
'Bud' Williams	....	transportation co-captain (as Bud Williams)

Other crew
Betty Glickman	....	assistant to producer
Dow Griffith	....	location manager
Terry Robertson	....	production secretary
Bill Rodenbaugh	....	accountant (as William Rodenbaugh)
Marshall J. Wolins	....	script supervisor (as Marshal Wolins)

Production Companies

• Aspen Film Society (as An Aspen Film Society William E. McEuen David V. Picker Production)

Distributors

• Universal Pictures (1979) (USA) (theatrical) (as Universal® An MCA Company)
• DiscoVision (1979) (USA) (VHS)
• DiscoVision (1979) (USA) (video) (laserdisc)
• American Broadcasting Company (ABC) (1982) (USA) (TV) (broadcast premiere)
• MCA Home Video (1984) (USA) (VHS)
• MCA/Universal Home Video (1993) (USA) (VHS)
• MCA/Universal Home Video (1993) (USA) (video) (laserdisc)
• Universal Home Entertainment (2003) (USA) (DVD)
• Universal Pictures (Spain) (Spain) (DVD)

Other Companies

• Optics by Victor  optigrab (as Optics By Victor)
• Pacific Title  titles

Also Known As:

Runtime:

104 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Australia:M | Norway:12 | Sweden:15 | UK:15 (video rating) (1986) (2000) | USA:R | West Germany:12 | Singapore:PG | Iceland:L | Finland:K-16 (cut) (1980) | Portugal:M/12 | UK:15 (tv rating) | UK:AA (original rating) | Netherlands:AL (orginal rating)

Filming Locations:

Beverly House - 1011 N. Beverly Drive, Beverly Hills, California, USA

Company:

Aspen Film Society

Trivia:

Bill Murray filmed a cameo that was deleted. On the 15 December 1979 broadcast of "Saturday Night Live" (1975), Murray jokingly reviewed The Jerk (1979), saying: "I was in the movie but cut out of it. That doesn't influence my opinion. The movie is a dog. There's something missing. I don't know who it is, I can't say."

Goofs:

Continuity: When Navin first receives the glasses from Stan Fox, the part of the glasses that hook around the ears have almost no hook to them. After Navin installs the nose bridge handle (the opti-grab), the glasses have normal ear hooks.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Navin R. Johnson:Huh? I am *not* a bum. I'm a jerk. I once had wealth, power, and the love of a beautiful woman. Now I only have two things: my friends, and... uh... my thermos. Huh? My story? Okay. It was never easy for me. I was born a poor black child. I remember the days, sittin' on the porch with my family, singin' and dancin' down in Mississippi...

Movie Connections:

Featured in Learn How to Play 'Tonight You Belong to Me' (2005) (V)

Soundtrack:

You Belong To Me

Overwhelmingly and brilliantly funny with genius throwaways.

To enter the realm inhabited by Martin's blissfully original caricatures, you must first be tested for wit, intellect and an innocent revelry in life itself. If you qualify, you will be led on to a rollercoaster of oxygen-sapping gags, stupendously clever motifs, brilliant performances and an absolutely fabulous script. There are gags here so new and surprising that to try and emulate them could only court failure. The joy of true love accompanied by him on the ukelele and on the last stanza by her on the........ trumpet: and a beautiful little song. Is it the humour or the innocence brings a tear to your eye? Don't call the dog "life saver", call him "s***head" - and for evermore, he is. The white man who is distraught to discover that he is not black. The goodbye note and Martin reading bits of words as they are washed away. The seminal "all I need" scene which is milked to the point of asphixia. The Jerk is simply the funniest most understatedly clever movie ever produced. There has simply never been anything this good, nor will there ever be. The message is simple and is a very old one: the buffoon as saint. From Bottom in Shakespeare, to Tristram Shandy, to Chaplin, to the genius understatement of Cary Grant, to Norman Wisdom: they have all touched on and come tantalisingly close, but they have all lacked one ingredient, an ingrediant calledSteve Martin. Like Orson Welles and Kane or Frederick Forsyth and the Jackal or Men at Work and Land Down Under, Martin has played his best shot first, unfettered, undisciplined, unconstrained genius. Let us all be better, brighter, cleverer and genuinely funnier by being the jerk. And if that's too frightening, just watch it.