Top Secret! (1984)

Parody of WWII spy movies in which an American rock and roll singer becomes involved in a Resistance plot to rescue a scientist imprisoned in East Germany.

Directors:

Jim Abrahams, David Zucker,

Writers:

Jim Abrahams, David Zucker,

Stars:

Val Kilmer, Lucy Gutteridge, Peter Cushing

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Val Kilmer	...	Nick Rivers
Lucy Gutteridge	...	Hillary Flammond
Peter Cushing	...	Bookstore Proprietor
Jeremy Kemp	...	General Streck
Christopher Villiers	...	Nigel
Warren Clarke	...	Colonel von Horst
Michael Gough	...	Dr. Paul Flammond
Harry Ditson	...	Du Quois
Jim Carter	...	Déjà Vu
Eddie Tagoe	...	Chocolate Mousse
Omar Sharif	...	Agent Cedric
Tristram Jellinek	...	Major Crumpler
Billy J. Mitchell	...	Martin
Major Wiley	...	Porter
Gertan Klauber	...	Mayor

Storyline

This time Zucker and Abrams are spoofing, most notably, Elvis films and WWII spy movies. Val Kilmer stars as Nick Rivers, a handsome American 50s-style rock and roll singer. While performing in East Germany, he falls in love with a beautiful heroine and becomes involved with the French Resistance.

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Plot Keywords:

east germany | spy | elvis | motorcycle | cow | 

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Taglines:

A Film

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Genres:

Comedy

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Certificate:

PG

Details

Country:

USA UK

Language:

English German Yiddish

Release Date:

8 June 1984 (USA)

Also Known As:

Top Secret

Filming Locations:

Osterley Park House, Isleworth, Middlesex, England, UK

Box Office

Gross:

SEK 3,076,942 (Sweden)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Kingsmere Properties, Paramount Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

90 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

A soundtrack LP for the film was issued featuring Val Kilmer singing and in-jokes such as a very brief total playing time, and it has since become a collector's item.

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Goofs

Nick puts the 20th tally on the jail cell wall representing his 20th minute in jail. In the next shot the wall doesn't show any tally marks.

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Quotes

Du Quois: Nigel made me go back to the meter shed. He ordered me to set off the alarms.
Deja Vu: And what does he want us to do now?
Du Quois: Nothing you numbskull, Nigel's the traitor!

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Crazy Credits

The Third Man ....... Guido Reidy

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Connections

Referenced in The Cinema Snob: Nukie (2011)

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Soundtracks

"NUTCRACKER"
By Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
Courtesy of Everest Records

User Reviews

very underrated

The Zucker-Abrahams-Zucker team, master of the rapid-fire humor and insane spoofs, strike again! This time with "Top Secret!", which is a very underrated movie that, in my humble opinion, is just as good as "Airplane!" (which of course is considered their best work).

I don't understand it - what makes this film inferior to "Airplane!"? There are just as many jokes, the jokes are just as good, the timing is as always perfect. Am I missing something? Is it just that "Airplane!" was bold in breaking barriers for spoof movies, setting a precedent that "Top Secret!" was just there to follow?

That's not to diminish the quality of "Airplane!", which is one of my favorites. But what's wrong with "Top Secret!"? Why only a 6.6 rating? It must be from those purists who don't understand movies like this, and don't like this movie because the plot is not as well-developed as the plot of "Airplane!" Don't get me wrong - ordinarily a more developed plot only makes a movie funnier, but in the case of a spoof like this, the plot isn't important (it has often been said that the plot is just a "clothesline" for the jokes in such movies). Those purists completely miss the point of this movie.

Watch this movie unless you're one of those blasted aforementioned purists. If that is the case, go watch "The Philadelphia Story" for the thousandth time.