Secret Admirer (1985)

Director:

David Greenwalt

Writers:

Jim Kouf (written by) &
David Greenwalt (written by)

Release Date:

14 June 1985 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Romance

Tagline:

Toni gave Michael a letter, so he could give Debbie one...

Plot:

On the last day before summer vacations Michael receives a glowing, but anonymous, love-letter. He suspects...

Plot Keywords:

Love Letter | Summer Vacation | Summer | Secret Admirer | Electronic Music Score

Cast

C. Thomas Howell	...	Michael Ryan
Lori Loughlin	...	Toni
Kelly Preston	...	Deborah Anne Fimple
Dee Wallace	...	Connie Ryan (as Dee Wallace Stone)
Cliff De Young	...	George Ryan (as Cliff DeYoung)
Leigh Taylor-Young	...	Elizabeth Fimple
Fred Ward	...	Lou Fimple
Casey Siemaszko	...	Roger Despard
Geoffrey Blake	...	Ricardo
Rodney Pearson	...	Kirkpatrick
Courtney Gains	...	Doug
J.J. Cohen	...	Barry
Scott McGinnis	...	Steve Powers
Corey Haim	...	Jeff (as Cory Haim)
Michael Menzies	...	Mr. Simpson
Michael Moore	...	Leon
John Terlesky	...	Rick
Keith Mills	...	Mailman
Ken Lerner	...	Waiter
Dermott Downs	...	Ungrateful Teen
Doug Savant	...	Boy
Leslie Allan	...	Girl
Gypsi DeYoung	...	Mrs. Henderson
Janet Carroll	...	Toni's Mother
Mike Toto	...	Toni's Father
Ron Burke	...	Mr. Henderson
Brockton O'Toole	...	Norwegian Dock Worker (as Arvid Malnaa)
Ernie Lively	...	Guard (as Ernie Brown)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Tony Margulies	...	Joe Jock (uncredited)
Joy Michelle Moore	...	Boat Passenger (uncredited)
Tom Tangen	...	Pizza Guy (uncredited)

Directed by
David Greenwalt

Writing credits
Jim Kouf		(written by) &
David Greenwalt		(written by)

Produced by
Lynn Bigelow	....	associate producer
C.O. Erickson	....	executive producer
Jim Kouf	....	co-producer
Stephen J. Roth	....	producer (as Steve Roth)

Original Music by
Jan Hammer

Cinematography by
Victor J. Kemper		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
Dennis Virkler

Casting by
Jane Feinberg
Mike Fenton

Production Design by
William J. Cassidy

Set Decoration by
Barbara Krieger

Costume Design by
Mary E. Vogt		(as Mary Vogt)

Makeup Department
Frank Griffin	....	additional makeup artist
Barbara Lampson	....	hair stylist
Daniel C. Striepeke	....	makeup artist

Production Management
C.O. Erickson	....	unit production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
William J. Cassidy	....	second unit director
Martha M. Elcan	....	dga trainee
Robert Engelman	....	second assistant director (as Robert Engelman III)
L. Andrew Stone	....	first assistant director

Art Department
Stan Cockerell	....	assistant property master
Sidney H. Greenwood	....	property master
Gary Kudroff	....	lead man
Jonathan O'Connell	....	master painter
Ken Reed	....	construction foreman
John A. Scott III	....	set dresser (as John Scott)
William Kemper Wright	....	set dresser (as William Wright)

Sound Department
Joseph F. Brennan	....	boom operator
Thomas Causey	....	production sound mixer
Hank Garfield	....	boom operator
Don Higgins	....	sound editor
Pierre Jalbert	....	supervising adr editor
Rick Kline	....	sound re-recording mixer
Sharon Michaels	....	foley artist
Donald O. Mitchell	....	sound re-recording mixer
Kevin O'Connell	....	sound re-recording mixer
John Post	....	sound editor
Christine Roberts	....	assistant sound editor
William L. Stevenson	....	supervising sound editor

Special Effects by
Allen Hall	....	special effects

Stunts
Janet Brady	....	stunt player
Ron Burke	....	stunt player
David Burton	....	stunt player
Hal Burton	....	stunt player
William H. Burton	....	stunt player (as William Burton)
Gilbert B. Combs	....	stunt player
Justin De Rosa	....	stunt player
Eddy Donno	....	stunt player
Stephanie Epper	....	stunt player
Debbie Evans	....	stunt player
Joe Finnegan	....	stunt player
James M. Halty	....	stunt player (as James Haulty)
Clifford Happy	....	stunt player
Billy Hank Hooker	....	stunt player (as Bill Chank Hooker)
Chris Howell	....	stunt coordinator
Steve Hulin	....	stunt player
Noon Orsatti	....	stunt player
Pat Romano	....	stunt player (as Patrick Romano)
Rick Seaman	....	stunt player
Peter Stader	....	stunt player
Scott Wilder	....	stunt player
Harry Wowchuk	....	stunt player

Camera and Electrical Department
Billy Beaird	....	dolly grip (as Bill Beaird)
Roland Bell	....	still photographer
Blaise Dahlquist	....	lighting technician
Dan Delgado	....	lighting technician
Cary Griffith	....	key grip
Gregg Guellow	....	second grip
Michael Laws	....	lighting technician
Bill Roe	....	assistant camera
Phillip R. Sarabia	....	company grip (as Phil Sarabia)
John R. Shannon	....	still photographer
Robert M. Stevens	....	director of photography: second unit
Robert C. Thomas	....	camera operator
Curtis J. Wehr	....	gaffer
Mario Zavala	....	assistant camera

Casting Department
Barbara Harris	....	voice casting
Michael Heit	....	extras casting
Robert J. Teitelbaum	....	extras casting

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Kendall Errair	....	costumer: women
Bruce Walkup	....	costumer: men

Editorial Department
Donah Bassett	....	negative cutter
Mark Elson	....	apprentice film editor
Uri Katoni	....	assistant film editor
David Koeppel	....	assistant film editor

Music Department
John Caper Jr.	....	music supervisor
Laurie Gorman	....	music coordinator
Jan Hammer	....	musician
Greg Fulginiti	....	music engineer (uncredited)

Transportation Department
Linda Cipperley	....	transportation
Ken Lubin	....	transportation coordinator
Craig Pinkard	....	transportation captain

Other crew
James Bailey	....	first aid
Sam Bernstein	....	production accountant
Jimmy Davis	....	location assistant
Joan Eisenberg	....	unit publicist
Teresa A. Gullihur	....	yacht coordinator
Brian O. Haynes	....	location manager
June Jordan	....	stand-in
Toni Maier	....	location coordinator
Eileen McGuire	....	assistant to production accountant
Joy Michelle Moore	....	stand-in: Lori Laughlin (as Joy Michelle Ferro)
John Purcell	....	location coordinator
Danis Regal-O'Connell	....	production coordinator
Deborah Ross	....	title designer
Lisa Rubenstein	....	assistant production coordinator
Christopher Striepeke	....	craft service
Esther Vivante	....	script supervisor
Tim Wienckowski	....	police coordinator

Production Companies

• Orion Pictures Corporation

Distributors

• Orion Pictures Corporation (1985) (USA) (theatrical)
• 20th Century Fox (1986) (France) (theatrical)
• LK-TEL Vídeo (19??) (Brazil) (VHS)
• MGM Home Entertainment (2003) (USA) (DVD)

Special Effects

• Movie Magic (opticals)

Other Companies

• Pro 7  legal services
• The Clearing House Ltd.  music clearances

Also Known As:

"The Letter" - USA (alternative title)

Runtime:

90 min | Sweden:97 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Canada:A (Nova Scotia) | UK:15 | Norway:16 | Iceland:L | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Canada:14A | Australia:M | Portugal:M/12 | Finland:K-12 | Sweden:11 | USA:R (certificate #27616)

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Orion Pictures Corporation

Trivia:

Kelly Preston is 4 years older than C. Thomas Howell, and Lori Loughlin is two and a half years older.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Michael is writing the letter to Debbie the pen he is writing with is yellow with a blue top but in the next shot when he brings the pen up it is clear with a black top.

Quotes:

Lou Fimple:[to Steve as he turns to leave] One more thing, lover boy...
Deborah Anne Fimple:[rolls eyes in embarrassment] Oh, God.
Lou Fimple:[pats his pistol] Get her pregnant, I'll blow your dick off.
Deborah Anne Fimple:[as Lou leaves] DADDY!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Good Morning, Miss Bliss: Love Letters (#1.2)" (1988)

Soundtrack:

Leaving It Up To You

Fred Ward steals the show!

Lieutenant Fimple ( Fred Ward ) has had a bad day. He thinks his wife is cheating on him so he follows her to a make out point. Then he goes to his mutual friends house and picks her up because the man that he thinks his wife is having an affair with is the woman's husband ( are you following me so far? ). He gets back to the make out point and they are gone. So he drives home his friend and then he gets into an accident. When he gets home, the man's ( who is apparently sleeping with his wife ) son has just finished giving his daughter a good night kiss. " Good evening Lieutenant Fimple, " the boy says, " F*** you! " Fimple replies. It is one of the funniest moments in the film and the film has quite a few of them.

Secret Admirer is one of the slew of teen films that came out in the 80's that was high on entertainment, if you let it do that. It is one of those films that should not be over analyzed. It is simple entertainment and it is goofball highschool entertainment. The characters in the film have fun with the roles they are thrust into and the dialogue is fresh and funny. Look for the part when the mailman comes to Michael's house and is apparently late with the mail. Classic.

I wish they could make films like this as we head into the new millennium. They are here to entertain and nothing more. And that is sometimes all we can ask for.