The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad! (1988)

Incompetent cop Frank Drebin has to foil an attempt to assassinate Queen Elizabeth II.

Director:

David Zucker

Writers:

Jerry Zucker, Jim Abrahams,

Stars:

Leslie Nielsen, Priscilla Presley, Ricardo Montalban

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Leslie Nielsen	...	Frank Drebin
Priscilla Presley	...	Jane Spencer
Ricardo Montalban	...	Vincent Ludwig
George Kennedy	...	Ed Hocken
O.J. Simpson	...	Nordberg
Susan Beaubian	...	Mrs. Nordberg
Nancy Marchand	...	Mayor
Raye Birk	...	Pahpshmir
Jeannette Charles	...	Queen Elizabeth II
Ed Williams	...	Ted Olsen
Tiny Ron	...	Al
'Weird Al' Yankovic	...	'Weird Al'
Leslie Maier	...	'Weird Leslie'
Winifred Freedman	...	Stephie
Joe Grifasi	...	Foreman

Storyline

A re-run of many of the gags from the original TV series 'Police Squad'. An Airplane type spoof, this time with the an incompetent lieutenant (Drebin) who always 'gets his man'. Visual gags come thick and fast, and it's impossible to catch them all with one viewing. The plot.. Queen Elizabeth II of England is coming to town, and Vincent Ludwig has plans to assassinate her using a brainwashed baseball player.

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Plot Keywords:

police | queen | baseball | mind control | murder | 

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Taglines:

The Villain. Even Mother Teresa wanted him dead.

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Genres:

Action | Comedy | Crime | Romance

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Certificate:

PG-13

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

2 December 1988 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Naked Gun

Filming Locations:

University of San Diego, San Diego, California, USA

Box Office

Gross:

$78,041,829 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Paramount Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

85 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

A number of characters from the series were recast for the film series, these include O.J. Simpson (replacing Peter Lupus as Norberg, which has the spelling changed to Nordberg), and George Kennedy (replacing Alan North as Ed Hocken). Leslie Nielsen (as Frank Drebin) and Ed Williams (as Ted Olsen) where the only main characters to stay the same.

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Goofs

When Ed looks at the picture in the hospital, he says "I LUV YOU, out of Caracas. A Panamanian ship.." Caracas is in Venezuela, not Panama. Also, when the picture is shown to the audience, there is no indication of the ship's registry (no visible flag, crest, or wording). Ed would have no way of knowing that the ship was from Caracas.

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Quotes

Frank: It's true what they say: Cops and women don't mix. It's like eating a spoonful of Drano; sure, it'll clean you out, but it'll leave you hollow inside.

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Crazy Credits

Many of the bit players are credited next to the one line of dialogue they had in the film. For example: "Hey, it's Enrico Pallazzo!" ... Mark Holton

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Connections

Spoofs Double Indemnity (1944)

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Soundtracks

"I'm Into Something Good"
(1964)
Written by Gerry Goffin and Carole King
Performed by Peter Noone
Courtesy of Cypress Records

User Reviews

The Zucker's best. Nielson's best as well

ZAZ's(David Zucker, Jim Abrahams and Jerry Zucker) The Naked Gun is one of the funniest (if not funniest) film ever with more parodies and gags than one could ever imagine. And the writing is if not good, great that never lets up (even through the finale baseball game with Reggie Jackson).

But what really gets this film up there is it's main characters. Leslie Nielson has never been better and probably won;t ever be this good ever again. He brings an insane type of humor from a cop that hasn't been seen since Clouseau. The supporting characters are good also, including Priscilla Pressley, George Kennedy, Ricardo Montebaum, Nancy Marchand and (odd to see him in a movie today) OJ Simpson. There zany characters and added with a great script make this a treasure in cinema comedy. One of the best films of the 80's. A++