Stir Crazy (1980)

Director:

Sidney Poitier

Writer:

Bruce Jay Friedman (written by)

Release Date:

12 December 1980 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy

Tagline:

Only these two pigeons could dress up as woodpeckers...

Plot:

Skip and Harry are framed for a bank robery and end up in a western prison. The two eastern boys are...

Plot Keywords:

Blockbuster | Castration | Escape | Prison | Desert

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Gene Wilder	...	Skip Donahue
Richard Pryor	...	Harry Monroe
Georg Stanford Brown	...	Rory Schultebrand
JoBeth Williams	...	Meredith
Miguel Ángel Suárez	...	Jesus Ramirez (as Miguelangel Suarez)
Craig T. Nelson	...	Deputy Ward Wilson
Barry Corbin	...	Warden Walter Beatty
Charles Weldon	...	Blade
Nicolas Coster	...	Warden Henry Sampson
Joel Brooks	...	Len Garber
Jonathan Banks	...	Jack Graham
Erland van Lidth	...	Grossberger (as Erland Van Lidth De Jeude)
Lewis Van Bergen	...	Guard #1
Karmin Murcelo	...	Teresa Ramirez
Franklyn Ajaye	...	Young Man in Hospital

Runtime:

108 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Australia:M | Canada:14A (Ontario) | Netherlands:MG6 | Finland:K-12 | Norway:16 | Singapore:NC-16 | UK:15 | USA:R | Canada:A (Nova Scotia)

Filming Locations:

Florence, Arizona, USA

Company:

Columbia Pictures Corporation

Trivia:

Arizona State Prison officials used the money given to rent out their facilities to construct a rodeo arena of their own.

Quotes:

Skip Donahue: I want a bigger cell! With better ventilation!
Deputy Ward Wilson: Why? Grossberger been fartin' on ya?

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Saturday Night Live: Bill Murray/Delbert McClinton (#6.12)" (1981)

Soundtrack:

Eat Your Heart Out

Memorable only for the comedic genius of Pryor and Wilder.

This film is memorable for one reason and one reason only:Gene Wilder and Richard Pryor,together as a unit.They had a chemistry that was undeniable,and they are in full force here.The script is flawed,the supporting cast,at least for the most part,forgettable,and I'm not knocking Sidney Poitier as a director,but I always considered him to be much better in front of the camera than behind it.Much of the dialog and interaction between the two main stars was no doubt improvised,and they probably needed no instruction from Poitier whatsoever.As funny as the two men were separately,there was just something special about them on screen together.They were just knock down,drag out funny,and if you were to just put them on an empty stage with no sets,props or even a script,put a movie camera in front them and just said "action!",the result would most likely be priceless.See Stir Crazy for the unbelievable talent that was Gene Wilder and Richard Pryor.Without them,the film would have been forgotten,and very quickly.