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

In Officer McNamara's boathouse, Teller's leg brushes against a cylindrical cushion and knocks it off the couch as he is walking across the room. Shortly thereafter, the cushion has returned to the couch, and Teller picks it up before sitting down.

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Quotes

[the first time Teller has ever spoken on-camera]
Teller: Listen...
The Fan: [shocked] Come on, Teller! The audience knows Teller doesn't talk!

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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

References A Plumbing We Will Go (1940)

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Soundtracks

'Weekend Live Theme"
Written by John Miller

User Reviews

Not as good as their stage show.

Being a big Penn and Teller fan, and after hearing about this movie I was looking forwards to seeing it, and was gratified when, on a lonely Friday night, I saw it was showing on TV.

It started a little slowly, but I persevered, watching on. Yes it's a mildly amusing film. Certainly it gives us an insight into the world of the magicians, but when it comes down to it, it's simply a series of magic tricks strung together by a very thin plot. The tricks themselves are quite impressive, but in no way are they comparable to the magnificence of the duos live shows. It just doesn't compete. Worth watching but don't look forwards to anything special.