Tin Men (1987)

A minor car accident drives two rival aluminum-siding salesmen to the ridiculous extremes of man versus man in 1963 Baltimore.

Director:

Barry Levinson

Writer:

Barry Levinson

Stars:

Richard Dreyfuss, Danny DeVito, Barbara Hershey

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Richard Dreyfuss	...	Bill 'BB' Babowsky
Danny DeVito	...	Ernest Tilley
Barbara Hershey	...	Nora Tilley
John Mahoney	...	Moe Adams
Jackie Gayle	...	Sam
Stanley Brock	...	Gil
Seymour Cassel	...	Cheese
Bruno Kirby	...	Mouse
J.T. Walsh	...	Wing
Richard Portnow	...	Carly
Matt Craven	...	Looney
Alan Blumenfeld	...	Stanley
Brad Sullivan	...	Masters
Michael Tucker	...	Bagel
Deirdre O'Connell	...	Nellie

Storyline

One step short of larceny, the aluminum siding salesmen in this movie sell their wares, compete with each other, and engage in a lot of great dialog. Tin Men focuses on the rivalry between BB Babowsky and Ernest Tilley. At the same time, the end of small world of which they are kings looms near as a government probe investigates their industry.

---

Plot Keywords:

1960s | car accident | baltimore maryland | salesman | adultery | 

---

Taglines:

The Year - 1963. Selling the American Dream is a risky, funny business - you could wind up paying with your wife!

---

Genres:

Comedy | Drama

---

Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

6 March 1987 (USA)

Also Known As:

Les filous

Filming Locations:

Baltimore, Maryland, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$11,000,000 (estimated)

Gross:

$25,411,386 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Bandai Films, Silver Screen Partners III, Touchstone Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

112 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Barry Levinson:  [Ralph Tabakin]  Ralph (Mr. Hudson) has appeared in every Levinson picture from Diner to Liberty Heights.

---

Goofs

The movie was set in 1963 but four songs by the Fine Young Cannibals were featured in it. That group was not formed until 1984.

---

Quotes

Bill Babowsky: Are you a Lunatic? Are you tellin' me that you didn't see me comin' out of this lot? There's a red light there for cryin' out loud! You're supposed to stop!

---

Connections

References Little Lord Fauntleroy (1936)

---

Soundtracks

"Tell Me What"
Lyrics by Roland Gift
Music by David Steele
Performed by Fine Young Cannibals
Courtesy of IRS Records and London Records

User Reviews

An old friend

TIN MEN is certainly among the dozen or so movies that I have watched more than a dozen or so times, so I have no claim to being objective about critiquing it. It's just one of my favorite movies. Beyond the obvious praise it's due for its period detail and its terrific supporting comedic cast and the balancing act Levinson achieves between its overall tragic arc and its genuinely funny script, what keeps me coming back to this movie time after time are its many "perfect" moments, most of which come courtesy of Barbara Hershey.

I don't know if Ms. Hershey is indeed one of our best actresses... it's quite possible that her performance in THIS movie for THIS director in THIS setting is brilliant out of sheer serendipity, but her quiet, unmannered performance here is one of my Favorite Things in This World. Her chemistry with Mr. DeVito is pitch-perfect, and their scenes together serve as the movie's thermometer. The dialog she is given and what she does with it are marvels. When her house is repossessed and she encounters her husband on the front porch, she complaints that her husband doesn't give a damn about her or about the many things of hers still in the locked-up house: "The headboard, that was given to me by my Aunt Josephine, that's gotta be at least a hundred... you know, 50 years old, or... you know, it's OLD." If reading this bit doesn't convey the idea of "perfect moment" understand that Ms. Hershey's character is a person who so values honesty, in the midst of a life surrounded by professionally dishonest people, that she self-corrects on a trivial point. So much information is telegraphed in that brief stutter--and in similar moments throughout the movie... I've seldom fallen so hard in love with a movie character as a result.

Elsewhere, when Richard Dreyfuss's character professes his love for her in a rain-soaked scene, it culminates in: "I wanna... ... ... you know?" And the thing is, you DO know--again, all essential information about this character and his situation is telegraphed in the elipsis.

These moments have become part of my personal movie mythos: they serve as the nearest-in-reach examples of what a great movie is made of. Certainly more--a lot more--is needed for a great movie, and whether Tin Men has all the other elements in place is a question I'll leave to the professional critics. But I'm sure of the many moments of greatness in Tin Men. This movie is NOT a guilty pleasure.