Heaven Help Us (1985)

User Rating:

6.7/10   

Director:

Michael Dinner

Writer:

Charles Purpura (writer)

Release Date:

8 February 1985 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama | Romance

Tagline:

If God had wanted them to be angels, He would have given them wings!

Plot:

A new transfer student to St. Basil's Boys' Prep School tries to fit in while romantically pursuing a troubled young girl.

Plot Keywords:

Brooklyn | Catholic School | Pope Paul VI | Coney Island New York | Priesthood

Cast

Donald Sutherland	...	Brother Thadeus
John Heard	...	Brother Timothy
Andrew McCarthy	...	Michael Dunn
Mary Stuart Masterson	...	Danni
Kevin Dillon	...	Rooney
Malcolm Danare	...	Caesar
Jennifer Dundas	...	Boo (as Jennie Dundas)
Kate Reid	...	Grandma
Wallace Shawn	...	Father Abruzzi
Jay Patterson	...	Brother Constance
George Anders	...	Brother Augustus
Dana Barron	...	Janine
John Bentley	...	First Man
Imogene Bliss	...	Cook
Philip Bosco	...	Brother Paul
Donald Breitman	...	Brother Gregory
Nolan Carley	...	Bartender
Al Cerullo	...	Pilot (as Al Cerullo Jr.)
Calvert DeForest	...	Bridge Operator
Patrick Dempsey	...	Corbet
Christopher Durang	...	Priest
William Eustace	...	Brother William
Henry Fehren	...	Priest Celebrant
Janice Fuller	...	Passenger
Pamela Galvin	...	Sister Thomasina
Stephen Geoffreys	...	Williams
Richard Hamilton	...	Grandpa
Jody Jensen	...	Girl #2
Mary Koch	...	Cafeteria Lady
Paul Marchand	...	Perrin
Kachina Myers	...	Girl #1
Vic Polizos	...	Police Officer
Douglas Seale	...	Brother Domenic
Yeardley Smith	...	Cathleen
Jimmie Ray Weeks	...	Danni's Father
Mel Winkler	...	Willie
Ed Zang	...	Confessor
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Craig Austin	...	High School Student (uncredited)
Victoria Boa	...	Catholic School Girl (uncredited)
Nancy Cartwright	...	Girl at Dance (uncredited)
George G. Colucci	...	High School Student (uncredited)
Kathleen Gati	...	Catholic school girl (uncredited)
Tom Van Dell	...	Student (uncredited)
Maggie Wagner	...	Catholic School Girl (uncredited)

Directed by
Michael Dinner

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Charles Purpura		writer

Produced by
Mark Carliner	....	producer
Kenneth Utt	....	associate producer
Dan Wigutow	....	producer

Original Music by
James Horner

Cinematography by
Miroslav Ondrícek

Film Editing by
Stephen A. Rotter

Casting by
Howard Feuer
Jeremy Ritzer

Production Design by
Michael Molly

Art Direction by
Robert Guerra

Set Decoration by
Gary J. Brink

Costume Design by
Joseph G. Aulisi

Makeup Department
Frank Bianco	....	hair stylist
Carl Fullerton	....	makeup artist
Craig Lyman	....	makeup artist

Production Management
Myron Adams	....	assistant unit production manager
Kenneth Utt	....	production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Peter Giuliano	....	first assistant director
Deborah L. Marrs	....	second assistant director

Art Department
William Chaiken	....	scenic artist
Tony Gamiello	....	set dresser
Robert Miller	....	construction grip
Bruce J. Paquette	....	chief carpenter (as Bruce J. Paquette)
Walter Stocklin	....	property master
Hans Swanson	....	set dresser

Sound Department
Bob Balzarini	....	sound recordist
John Benson	....	supervising sound editor
Mark Berger	....	supervising re-recording mixer
Gloria D'Alessandro	....	assistant sound editor
Ellen Heuer	....	foley artist
Peter Ilardi	....	sound mixer (as Peter A. Ilardi)
Cliff Latimer	....	foley editor
Cliff Latimer	....	sound editor (as Clifford Latimer)
Barbara McBane	....	dialogue supervisor
Dan O'Connell	....	foley artist
David Parker	....	sound re-recording mixer
E. Jeane Putnam	....	assistant sound editor (as Jeane Putnam)
Sara Roberts	....	assistant sound editor
Philip Rogers	....	sound recordist
Thomas Scott	....	sound re-recording mixer (as Tom Scott)
Karen Spangenberg	....	sound editor

Camera and Electrical Department
Craig DiBona	....	panaglide operator (as Craig Di Bona)
Vincent Galindez	....	assistant camera
Bill Gerardo	....	second assistant camera (as William Gerardo)
Vinnie Gerardo	....	assistant camera
Michael Ginsburg	....	still photographer
Jim Hovey	....	camera operator (as James Hovey)
Billy Kerwick	....	dolly grip
Richard Quinlan	....	gaffer
Ed Quinn	....	key grip

Casting Department
Ame Segull	....	extras casting

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Al Craine	....	costumer (as Alfred C. Crane)
Beverly Cycon	....	costumer

Editorial Department
William S. Scharf	....	assistant editor
Jim Stewart	....	apprentice editor (as James A. Stewart)

Music Department
Jim Henrikson	....	music editor
Shawn Murphy	....	scoring mixer
Dan Wallin	....	score mixer
James Horner	....	conductor (uncredited)

Transportation Department
Bill Curry Jr.	....	transportation captain (as William Curry Sr.)
Bobby Marsh	....	driver

Other crew
Grace Blake	....	production office coordinator
Susan Chernus	....	assistant: Mr. Dinner
Ann Douglas	....	assistant: Mr. Carliner
Robin Fajardo	....	assistant: Mr. Utt
Henry Fehren	....	religious consultant (as Rev. Henry Fehren)
Larry Kaplan	....	unit publicist
Nina Kostroff-Noble	....	production assistant (as Nina Kostroff)
Burke Mattsson	....	titles
Mark Andrew Peress	....	film liaison (as Mark Peress)
Elisabeth Robinson	....	assistant: Mr. Wigutow
Steve Rose	....	location manager
Lynn Twentyman	....	script supervisor
Gerrit van der Meer	....	production auditor

Thanks
Otto Paoloni	....	in remembrance of
Juan Ruiz Anchía	....	special thanks

Production Companies

• Home Box Office (HBO)
• Silver Screen Partners

Distributors

• TriStar Pictures (1985) (USA) (theatrical)
• Home Box Office Home Video (HBO) (1998) (USA) (video)
• VTI Home Vídeo (19??) (Brazil) (VHS)

Other Companies

• Arnold Alberts-Allied Bus Ads  special thanks
• Bureau of Bridge Operations  special thanks
• Hot Line  freight forwarders
• Joy Todd Casting  extras casting
• Lion's Gate Sound  post-production facility
• Metrocolor  prints
• Modern Film Effects  opticals
• NYPD Movie and TV Unit  special thanks
• New Jersey Transit  special thanks
• New York City Department of Transportation  special thanks
• New York City Mayor's Office of Film, Theater & Broadcasting, The  special thanks
• On Location Education  tutors
• Panavision  lenses and panaflex camera
• Saul Zaentz Film Center  sound re-recording
• Technicolor  color
• Trailways  special thanks

Also Known As:

Catholic Boys

Runtime:

104 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Iceland:L | Canada:G (Quebec) | Australia:M | UK:PG | USA:R | West Germany:12

Filming Locations:

Brooklyn, New York City, New York, USA

Company:

Home Box Office (HBO)

Trivia:

The passage that Dani reads to her father is from "Sophistication" a short story by Sherwood Anderson.

Goofs:

Anachronisms: Though set in 1965, virtually every school bus in the film was manufactured in the late-1970s and early-1980s. Most of them were built on truck cowls that didn't exist at the time, and contained features such as amber flashing lights next to the red ones above the windshield, which didn't exist in New York State until 1973.

Quotes:

Social Worker: [the police and social welfare people have arrived to close the store, arrest Danni's father and put her in foster care... a crowd outside has gathered] We'll make arrangements with your mother to have the inventory accounted for.
Michael Dunn: [rushing in] They made this happen, didn't they?
Danni: [crying] Nobody made this happen.
[Dunn embraces her]
Danni: I just don't want you to be sad... 'cause I'm not. Promise?
Michael Dunn: [fighting tears] No.
Social Worker: We have to go.
Michael Dunn: [running up to car Danni has just been loaded in] Well, hey listen, I'm glad I got to dance with you
[...]

Movie Connections:

References A Hard Day's Night (1964)

Soundtrack:

Hawaiian Wedding Song

I went to Catholic School...

..and I was an altar boy, and went to church every day, and confession..

So watching this the other day brought some of that back to me. There were Brothers in the parish but nuns taught school.

As some other comments have suggested, this movie is unimaginable without Kevin Dillon. He's riotous, from beginning to end. He's given all the good lines and makes the most of them. You barely hear Patrick Dempsey's voice at all.

I was and am not an Andrew McCarthy fan, but he's very tolerable in this. Its the lead but the less showy part. His scenes with Mary Stuart Masterson don't exactly jump off the screen, but they are adequate to the movie.

Movie also gets some points from me for the Elvis references. The guys go to an Elvis movie after seeing the Pope (and get in trouble for it), plus the King is heard over the credits at the end. 8/10.