Burglar (1987)

Bernice "Bernie" Rhodenbarr is a burglar by trade, and she runs a bookstore as well. Her friend Carl Hefler is a dog groomer. After a successful burglary, it's discovered that a dead body ... See full summary »

Director:

Hugh Wilson

Writers:

Lawrence Block (novels), Jeph Loeb (screenplay),

Stars:

Whoopi Goldberg, Bobcat Goldthwait, G.W. Bailey

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Whoopi Goldberg	...	Bernice Rhodenbarr
Bobcat Goldthwait	...	Carl Hefler
G.W. Bailey	...	Ray Kirschman
Lesley Ann Warren	...	Dr. Cynthia Sheldrake
James Handy	...	Carson Verrill
Anne De Salvo	...	Detective Todras (as Anne DeSalvo)
John Goodman	...	Detective Nyswander
Elizabeth Ruscio	...	Frankie
Vyto Ruginis	...	K.E. Graybow
Larry Mintz	...	Vincent 'Knobby' DiCarno
Raye Birk	...	The Jogger
Eric Poppick	...	Deliveryman
Scott Lincoln	...	Man in Cadillac
Thom Bray	...	Shoplifter in Bookstore
Nathan Davis	...	Mr. Paggif

Storyline

Bernice "Bernie" Rhodenbarr is a burglar by trade, and she runs a bookstore as well. Her friend Carl Hefler is a dog groomer. After a successful burglary, it's discovered that a dead body was in the house she burgled. As she's the only one who can be placed at the scene of the crime, she has to use her criminal skills to clear her name of the murder AND avoid getting charged with the burglary.

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Plot Keywords:

burglar | bookstore | murder | cat burglar | female protagonist | 

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Taglines:

A first rate comedy about a second story woman.

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Genres:

Comedy | Crime

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

USA Canada

Language:

English

Release Date:

20 March 1987 (USA)

Also Known As:

A Ladrona

Filming Locations:

San Francisco, California, USA

Box Office

Gross:

$16,337,355 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Nelvana, Warner Bros

Technical Specs

Runtime:

103 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Bruce Willis was originally offered the role of Bernie (before the character was changed to a woman in the screenplay).

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Goofs

When Bernice disables the alarm, she has to remove two screws securing the panel cover. While she unscrews the lower one, we can clearly see that the upper screw sticks out of the panel as if it had already been unscrewed. However, the next thing we can see is the upper screw still unscrewed in the panel.

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Quotes

Bernice 'Bernie' Rhodenbarr: [Bernice enters the apartment and the alarm sounds] That's right, bitch, don't tell me about the alarm.

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Connections

References Star Wars (1977)

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Soundtracks

"I'm the Burglar"
Performed by Sly Stone
Written by The Distance, Tom Kelly and Billy Steinberg
Produced by Bernard Edwards
Courtesy of A&M Records

User Reviews

A good B+ action comedy--the cast is better than the

Whoopi made three action comedies in the late 80's: Fatal Beauty, Jumping Jack Flash and this one. None of them are deathless cinema or comparable to her later stuff, but they are all better than their reviews would generally indicate. They usually get 1* reviews -- I would give them 2 to 2 1/2 (out of 5*), especially if you are a fan of Ms Goldberg. All three of these films are worthy of a couple of $ for a rental or sticking with through a late night rerun. With all three, it does take a first rate cast to bring some rather tired material to life, but there are a lot worse films getting a lot better reviews--check 'em out for yourself!