Breaking In (1989)

Professional thief Ernie takes Mike on as an apprentice, but while Mike clearly has "larceny in his heart", it will take him a long time to get as good as Ernie.

Director:

Bill Forsyth

Writer:

John Sayles

Stars:

Burt Reynolds, Casey Siemaszko, Sheila Kelley

2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Burt Reynolds	...	Ernie Mullins
Casey Siemaszko	...	Mike Lafebb
Sheila Kelley	...	Carrie aka Fontaine
Lorraine Toussaint	...	Delphine the Hooker
Albert Salmi	...	Johnny Scot, Poker Player
Harry Carey Jr.	...	Shoes, Poker Player (as Harry Carey)
Maury Chaykin	...	Vincent Tucci, Attorney
Stephen Tobolowsky	...	District Attorney
Richard Key Jones	...	Lou, Bob's Tire & Body
Tom Lasswell	...	Bud, Bob's Tire & Body
Walter Shane	...	Bob's Tire & Body Manager
Frank A. Damiani	...	Waiter
David Frishberg	...	Nighclub Singer
John Baldwin	...	Sam the Apostle
Eddie Driscoll	...	Paul the Apostle

Storyline

Professional thief Ernie takes Mike on as an apprentice, but while Mike clearly has "larceny in his heart", it will take him a long time to get as good as Ernie.

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Plot Keywords:

thief | two word title | teaching | heist | independent film

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Taglines:

An amateur thief and a professional robber team up for an outrageous comic heist.

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Genres:

Adventure | Comedy

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

13 October 1989 (USA)

Also Known As:

Como Ser um Bom Ladrão

Filming Locations:

Oaks Amusement Park - 7805 SE Oaks Park Way, Portland, Oregon, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$6,000,000 (estimated)

Gross:

$1,877,618 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Samuel Goldwyn Company, The, Act III Communications, Breaking In Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

94 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Final film of Albert Salmi.

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Quotes

Ernie Mullins: [parting] Poor kid.
Mike Lafebb: Poor old guy.

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Connections

Referenced in Mystery Science Theater 3000: Hobgoblins (1998)

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Soundtracks

"He Included Me"
Music by Hampton H. Sewell
Words by Johnson Oatman Jr.
Published by Musical Ministries

User Reviews

A small movie gem!

Burt Reynolds has had a very shaky career. Truth be told he has made far more bad movies than he has good movies. I personally believe it is because of very poor choices, such as , lame cop movies, smokey and the bandit sequels and both cannonball run flicks. However, amongst the very large pile of "ruff" this movie is a real diamond. His character of "Earnie", the gruff but lovable experienced thief taking a young naive kid under his wing trying to teach him the ropes and tricks of the trade is done with such subtle depth by Reynolds, that it caught me completely and delightfully offgaurd. When you think about it, this was not a big budget movie and Burt gives a fantastic performance just like he does in "Boogie Nights", which is also not a big budget film. Yet when it is a huge budget movie, Reynolds tends to give rather unispired and perfunctory performances. Maybe he should stick with these indie flicks more often.