Stir Crazy (1980)

Skip and Harry are framed for a bank robbery and end up in a western prison. The two eastern boys are having difficulty adjusting to the new life until the warden finds that Skip has a ... See full summary »

Director:

Sidney Poitier

Writer:

Bruce Jay Friedman

Stars:

Gene Wilder, Richard Pryor, Georg Stanford Brown

1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
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

Storyline

Skip and Harry are framed for a bank robbery and end up in a western prison. The two eastern boys are having difficulty adjusting to the new life until the warden finds that Skip has a natural talent for riding broncos with the inter-prison rodeo coming up.

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Plot Keywords:

prison | bank | rodeo | bank robbery | gay | 

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Taglines:

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

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Genres:

Comedy | Crime

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

12 December 1980 (USA)

Also Known As:

Locos de remate

Filming Locations:

Florence, Arizona, USA

Box Office

Gross:

$101,500,000 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Columbia Pictures Corporation

Technical Specs

Runtime:

111 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The cast and crew had to leave the prison walking in single file every night so the prison guards could ensure that no prisoners escaped. One night, Charles Weldon was mistaken for a prisoner by the guards, pulled out of the line and sent to the cell block. A production coordinator noticed he was missing and rushed back to the prison to vouch for Weldon.

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Goofs

Meredith gets a job as a waitress in a "raunchy strip club", yet she is fully clothed (long-sleeved shirt and jeans).

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Quotes

Warden Walter Beatty: You're gonna represent Glenboro prison in the annual Top Hand-competition. Congratulations!
Skip Donahue: Oh! Oh my god! Warden! I can't do that!
Warden Walter Beatty: What in the hell are you talking about...?
Skip Donahue: Well, I should have told you in your office! My mother was a veterinarian! I can't have anything to do with the exploatation of animals, she'd turn over in her grave!
Warden Walter Beatty: I don't believe you heard me correctly. This is very important to me!
Skip Donahue: Important to you? My mother is watching over every step I make! Do you know that my ...
[...]

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Connections

Referenced in Saturday Night Live: Rod Stewart (1981)

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Soundtracks

"Love"
Sung by Randy Goodrum
Composed by Michael Masser and Randy Goodrum
Produced by Michael Masser

User Reviews

crazier and crazier

Everyone likes a prison movie, and everyone likes a Gene Wilder-Richard Pryor comedy, so combine those two genres, and you've got a formidable piece of cinematic history. The two comedians play Skip Donahue and Harry Monroe, a pair of New Yorkers whose lives are going nowhere. After witnessing a very unpleasant scene in a bar, they decide to move out west. In Arizona, they get a job in a bank as dancing woodpeckers. Then, some thugs get hold of the costumes and rob the bank. The crime naturally gets pinned on Skip and Harry, who get put in jail. Adjusting to life behind bars isn't all that easy for them, until Skip everyone discovers Skip's rodeo talent.

Gene Wilder and Richard Pryor always made a great comedy team, and "Stir Crazy" is no exception. When I was in fifth grade and the teacher showed us "Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory", she told everyone that Gene Wilder was a great actor in many movies. I said "Stir Crazy", and she asked "Uh, did your parents let you see the whole thing?" My parents did let me see the whole thing, although there are some scenes that make it R-rated. But it's a really funny movie; you should see it.