Disorganized Crime (1989)

Career criminal Frank plans a bank heist and sends for his buddies to help pull the job. Before his buddies arrive, he's caught, forcing his cohorts to pull the job alone. Frank soon escapes, setting off a search by the bumbling cops.

Director:

Jim Kouf

Writer:

Jim Kouf

Stars:

Hoyt Axton, Corbin Bernsen, Rubén Blades

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Hoyt Axton	...	Sheriff Henault
Corbin Bernsen	...	Frank Salazar
Rubén Blades	...	Carlos Barrios
Fred Gwynne	...	Max Green
Ed O'Neill	...	George Denver
Lou Diamond Phillips	...	Ray Forgy
Daniel Roebuck	...	Bill Lonigan
William Russ	...	Nick Bartkowski
Marie Butler	...	Wanda Brem (as Marie Butler Kouf)
Gregory Wurster	...	Deputy Greg
Patrick Collins	...	Deputy Monroe
Mitch Carter	...	Deputy Larry
Dean Norris	...	Deputy Joe
Thomas Schellenberg	...	Deputy Jim
Robert K. Feldmann	...	Dispatcher (as Robert Feldmann)

Storyline

This movie places some top thiefs, looking to steal money from a bank. The All-Star cast has many blunders on the way. Meanwhile a member of their group is missing and two cops chase after him.

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Plot Keywords:

career criminal | bumbling cop | sheriff | new jersey | gun | 

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Taglines:

Five crooks without a plan are out to rob one bank with lots of cash. So what's the hold-up?

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Genres:

Action | Comedy | Crime

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

14 April 1989 (USA)

Also Known As:

Désorganisation de malfaiteurs

Filming Locations:

Ravalli County District Courthouse, 205 Bedford Street, Hamilton, Montana, USA

Box Office

Gross:

$7,723,506 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Kouf/Bigelow Productions, Silver Screen Partners IV, Touchstone Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

98 min 103 min (cable)

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Working titles of the film: "Where's Salazar?" and "Waiting for Salazar".

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Goofs

When Ray is planting the last bomb on George's Crown Vic, he reaches up past the oil filter to the distributor. The only engines with that configuration are the straight sixes, which were never used in Crown Vics or any police-package. All police cars of that era have V8s, which have the distributor on top in the center, where it's impossible to reach from the below. Ford puts the distributor at the front; GM & Chrysler at the rear. Also, the distributor clearly has only 7 wires - one for each of the 6 cylinders, and 1 from the coil.

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Quotes

Carlos Barrios: Only $600 dollars, not enough.
Max Green: We need another $900.
Carlos Barrios: Why don't we just take out a loan?
Max Green: We can hit one more.
Carlos Barrios: Are you out of your mind? We're going to get nailed.
Max Green: This isn't Miami, you know. Every cop they have'll be swarming over that market. If we hit another right now they won't be ready.
Carlos Barrios: They won't be ready? I'm not ready! I haven't done this since I was 17!

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Connections

Featured in Biography: Fred Gwynne: More Than a Munster (1999)

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Soundtracks

"Red Eyes, White Whiskey, Blue Heart"
Written by Jim Stowell
Performed by Jim Stowell, Mark Terry & Jim Shields
Produced by Jim Stowell & Mark Terry

User Reviews

A highly enjoyable parody of the typical bank robbery plot

Why do I like DISORGANIZED CRIME so much? Why do I chuckle or laugh out loud any time I think of a dozen or more scenes from this movie? It's kind of hard to explain, but I'll give it a try. First of all, it's very funny indeed - in contrast to what lots of "official" reviews want you to believe. But then again, that depends entirely on your sense of humour, so there is no sense in arguing about that. Often the humour is in the dialogue, and often it is situational comedy. There is for instance this very hilarious scene in which the 4 gang members have been given a lift in the back of a truck. When the farmer drops them, they just stand there by the road, covered all over with cow s*** or whatever. They are totally unnerved; then, realizing the humour of the scene, they one by one start laughing about themselves, and Ruben Blades (as Carlos), looking (and certainly smelling) terrible, nonchalantly takes out some mouth spray to at least do something about his breath (simply describing the scene here makes me chuckle again!). Which leads to the second point: the acting. Fred Gwynne, Lou Diamond Phillips, William Russ, Ruben Blades and Corbin Bernsen (okay, the latter overdoes it a bit at times) all fit and play their parts beautifully - in fact, you get the feeling they must have been enjoying themselves too when shooting the film. Thirdly, there is the plot . Jim Kouf, the director and screenwriter, is very laid-back; he takes his time to let the plot unfold and have the individual characters establish themselves. More often than not, there is no real action, and yet you enjoy these 4 very different people - who attempt to rob a bank although their boss (Bernsen) does not seem to turn up - grumble about each other and even-tually, grudgingly, like each other. The movie is a fantastic parody of the typical bank robbery plot - totally impossible with all its twists and coincidences, yet utterly convincing in its love for ironic details. Incidentally, the title of the film is one of the best I have ever come across, because it per-fectly summarizes the plot in a very ironic way. Therefore, take my advice: watch this film, but if you don't chuckle, grin or smile during the first 10 minutes, forget it - it's not your type of film. PS. The only negative thing about this movie is that there seems to be no way to get hold of the screenplay - if you happen to know how, do tell me.