Penn & Teller Get Killed (1989)

Penn & Teller enjoy playing jokes on each other. When Penn says on an interview show that he wishes he has someone threatening his life so that he "wouldn't sweat the small stuff," each of ... See full summary »

Director:

Arthur Penn

Writers:

Penn Jillette, Teller

Stars:

Penn Jillette, Teller, Caitlin Clarke

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Penn Jillette	...	Himself (as Penn)
Teller	...	Himself
Caitlin Clarke	...	Carlotta / Officer McNamara (as Celia McGuire)
David Patrick Kelly	...	The Fan
Leonardo Cimino	...	Ernesto
Celia McGuire	...	Officer McNamara
Bill Randolph	...	Floor Director
John Miller	...	Steve the bandleader
Ellen Whyte	...	Makeup Woman
Ted Neustadt	...	Bob the host
Tudor Sherrard	...	1st Frat Boy
Billy Morrissette	...	2nd Frat Boy
Jon Cryer	...	3rd Frat Boy
Leonard Parker	...	Airport Porter
Christopher Durang	...	Jesus Freak

Storyline

Penn & Teller enjoy playing jokes on each other. When Penn says on an interview show that he wishes he has someone threatening his life so that he "wouldn't sweat the small stuff," each of them begins a series of pranks on the other to suggest a real threat. Then they find that a real psychopath is interested in them.

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Plot Keywords:

dark comedy | black comedy | nonexistent actor in cast | stalker | narration from the grave | 

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Taglines:

What more do you want?

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Genres:

Adventure | Comedy

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

22 September 1989 (USA)

Also Known As:

Con la morte non si scherza

Filming Locations:

Atlantic City, New Jersey, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Lorimar Film Entertainment

Technical Specs

Runtime:

89 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Black and White (one scene) Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

In the scene where Teller is being held down with ropes by audience members, the one closest to Penn Jillette is James Randi, aka "The Amazing Randi". A close friend and mentor, Randi wrote the book "The Faith Healers" and exposed psychic doctors to the public, a driving plot point in the film.

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Goofs

When Penn is being removed from the casino by the cop, his chants of "Attica! Attica!" don't match his mouth. That's because he originally sang "We shall overcome! We shall overcome!" as can be seen in the trailer.

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Quotes

[after Penn gets shot]
Woman in Parking Lot: In the shoulder, huh? Well, at that range you were lucky.
Penn: No! I just got shot, that's not lucky. Lucky is winning the lottery.
Woman in Parking Lot: Hey, aren't you that guy who goes on TV and asks people to kill him?
Penn: I didn't ask people to kill me, I said I wished someone were trying to kill me.
Woman in Parking Lot: You said that on national TV? There's a lot of nuts out there! You're lucky I don't have a gun or I'd blow your fucking brains out.
Penn: Yeah, I'm the luckiest guy in the world. Mr. Lucky just got shot in ...

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Crazy Credits

To hide the fact that Caitlin Clarke played a dual role, she was also credited under the pseudonym 'Celia McGuire.' The closing credits reveal the pseudonym with the consecutive credits: Officer McNamara...Celia McGuire Celia McGuire...Caitlin Clarke

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Connections

Features Cruel Tricks for Dear Friends (1987)

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Soundtracks

"I Started A Joke"
Performed by The Bee Gees
Written by Barry Gibb, Robin Gibb & Maurice Gibb

User Reviews

it grows on you

The first time I watched this movie, I was disappointed. The laughs, it seemed, had been few and far between. After watching it again, however, some of the more subtle jokes caught my attention (in a word, Teller's facial expressions), and I found myself watching it yet a third time, and actually enjoying it. In other words, it "grew" on me.