A Fish Called Wanda (1988)

In London, four very different people team up to commit armed robbery, then try to doublecross each other for the loot.

Director:

Charles Crichton

Writers:

John Cleese (story), Charles Crichton (story),

Stars:

John Cleese, Jamie Lee Curtis, Kevin Kline

Won 1 Oscar. Another 8 wins & 15 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
John Cleese	...	Archie Leach
Jamie Lee Curtis	...	Wanda Gershwitz
Kevin Kline	...	Otto
Michael Palin	...	Ken Pile
Maria Aitken	...	Wendy
Tom Georgeson	...	Georges Thomason
Patricia Hayes	...	Mrs. Coady
Geoffrey Palmer	...	Judge
Cynthia Cleese	...	Portia (as Cynthia Caylor)
Mark Elwes	...	Customer in Jeweler's Shop
Neville Phillips	...	Manager of Jeweler's Shop
Peter Jonfield	...	Inspector Marvin
Ken Campbell	...	Bartlett
Al Ashton	...	Warder
Roger Hume	...	Locksmith

Storyline

Sexy American diamonds lover Wanda and her boyfriend Otto are in England to plot alongside George and Ken the robbery of a diamond collection. Wanda and Otto want the stolen diamonds for themselves, and inform the police about George not knowing that he has already moved the diamonds to another secret place. Wanda thinks the best way to find out is by getting close to George's lawyer - Archie Leach.

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Plot Keywords:

barrister | stuttering | lawyer | fish tank | dog | 

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Taglines:

A New Comedy About Sex, Murder and Seafood.

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Genres:

Comedy | Crime

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

USA UK

Language:

English Italian Russian

Release Date:

15 July 1988 (USA)

Also Known As:

Los enredos de Wanda

Filming Locations:

Roehampton Church School, Wandsworth, London, England, UK

Box Office

Budget:

$7,500,000 (estimated)

Gross:

$63,493,712 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM), Prominent Features, Star Partners Limited Partnership

Technical Specs

Runtime:

108 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Jamie Lee Curtis was listed as "Jamie Lee Schwartz" on all the call sheets, because John Cleese found it amusing that her father Tony Curtis's real name was Bernard Schwartz.

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Goofs

When the crew meets for the first time before the robbery, Otto throws a knife at a poster on the wall where it hits the a baby seal on a poster exactly between the eyes. Later in the movie the poster is undamaged.

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Quotes

Wanda: Archie? Do you speak Italian?
Archie: I am Italian! Sono italiano in spirito. Ma ho sposato una donna che preferisce lavorare in giardino a fare l'amore appassionato. Uno sbaglio grande! But it's such an ugly language. How about... Russian?

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Crazy Credits

At the very end of the closing credits is the word FIN -- which is how French films say THE END, but in English a "fin" is a part of a fish.

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Connections

Featured in Harry Måneskin: Episode #1.2 (1990)

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Soundtracks

"Nel blu, dipinto di blu"
Written by Franco Migliacci and Domenico Modugno
Performed by Domenico Modugno

User Reviews

Perfect comedy.

This is one of the funniest films I have ever seen. The film is so well put together that time flew on by and I was sitting there wanting more. This movie is perfectly cast and well directed. There is no real style to the direction, but when you have a script like this all you need to do is point the camera and let it rip. I would like to point out that if you haven't seen this movie yet, check it out for Kevin Kline's performance alone. It is one of the best comedic performances you will ever witness. Great movie.