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IMDbPro

Hot Tomorrows

  • 19771977
  • 1h 13m
IMDb RATING
7.0/10
86
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
57,475
13,623
Hot Tomorrows
Drama
A portrait of a young man, Michael, so obsessed with death that he decorates his room with a life-size Grim Reaper. One night Michael's closest buddy, Louis, joins him for an adventure in Ho... Read allA portrait of a young man, Michael, so obsessed with death that he decorates his room with a life-size Grim Reaper. One night Michael's closest buddy, Louis, joins him for an adventure in Hollywood on Christmas Eve.A portrait of a young man, Michael, so obsessed with death that he decorates his room with a life-size Grim Reaper. One night Michael's closest buddy, Louis, joins him for an adventure in Hollywood on Christmas Eve.
IMDb RATING
7.0/10
86
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
57,475
13,623
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Director
      • Martin Brest
    • Writer
      • Martin Brest
    • Stars
      • Ken Lerner
      • Ray Sharkey
      • Hervé Villechaize
    Top credits
    • Director
      • Martin Brest
    • Writer
      • Martin Brest
    • Stars
      • Ken Lerner
      • Ray Sharkey
      • Hervé Villechaize
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 4User reviews
    • 7Critic reviews
  • See production, box office & company info
  • Photos7

    Hot Tomorrows (1977)
    Hot Tomorrows (1977)
    Ken Lerner in Hot Tomorrows (1977)
    Ken Lerner in Hot Tomorrows (1977)
    Ken Lerner in Hot Tomorrows (1977)
    Hot Tomorrows

    Top cast

    Edit
    Ken Lerner
    Ken Lerner
    • Michael
    Ray Sharkey
    Ray Sharkey
    • Louis
    Hervé Villechaize
    Hervé Villechaize
    • Alberict
    Victor Argo
    Victor Argo
    • Tony
    George Memmoli
    George Memmoli
    • Man in mortuary
    Donne Daniels
    • Night Embalmer
    Rose Marshall
    • Tante Ethel
    Marina Anderson
    Marina Anderson
    • Lead Dancer
    • (as Marina Penn)
    Marian Beeler
    • Waitress
    Sonia Berman
    • Old Woman Watching Television
    Janet Brandt
    Janet Brandt
    • Old Woman in bus
    Esther Cohen
    • Old Woman With Postcard
    Danny Elfman
    Danny Elfman
    • Singer
    Marie-Pascale Elfman
    Marie-Pascale Elfman
    • Singer
    David Garfield
    • Dr. Stern
    Edith Gwinn
    • Old Woman in Mortuary
    Shelby Leverington
    • Hospital receptionist
    Sondra Lowell
    • Polly
    • Director
      • Martin Brest
    • Writer
      • Martin Brest
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      Premiered at the 1977 New York Film Festival.
    • Quotes

      Alberict: Bartender! I would like another glass of your shitty wine!

    • Connections
      Referenced in Saturday Night Live: Jamie Lee Curtis/James Brown/Ellen Shipley (1980)

    User reviews4

    Review
    Review
    Top review
    9/10
    A wonderfully quirky film about Death, Laurel & Hardy and Oingo Boingo
    I first saw Martin Brest's "Hot Tomorrows" at the Seattle Film Festival in 1977 (or 1978?) and immediately fell in love with it: assured, dreamlike, odd and very much a personal film. Brest made this short (73 minutes) film for $33,000 in 1977 while a student at AFI, and after a few festival screenings, it immediately dropped out of sight (I don't believe it ever had a regular theatrical engagement) and has remained elusive ever since, although diligent searching on the 'Net will turn up a DVD well worth seeking out.

    The beautiful black and white photography was by Jacques Haitkin ("A Nightmare on Elm Street"); the quality shifts from a subtle grain to an out-and-out old home movie quality when the images represent Michael's memories, and the exposures are "hot" - bright lights tend to glow with a glorious aura, lending an other-world quality to the images, especially the musical numbers with Oingo Boingo.

    Fats Waller's jazzy organ solos are used throughout the soundtrack (they were also used by David Lynch in "Eraserhead" the following year) and add the right quirky touch, and the musical performances by Danny and Marie Elfman and Oingo Boingo are terrific.

    Aside from dour Ken Lerner (brother of Michael) and bouncy Ray Sharkey, there are no well-known names (although Orson Welles does a wonderfully creepy/funny voice-over for a radio ad for a local mortuary), but the amateurs playing small roles are mesmerizing, with beautiful idiosyncrasies and manners - you KNOW these women in the few minutes they are on the screen, and Rose Marshall (Tante Ethel), who has no dialog, is especially believable and touching, as is the lady with the postcard.

    The story takes place in Los Angeles during a span of hours on Christmas Eve and Christmas morning. Michael (Ken Lerner) and his childhood friend Louis (Ray Sharkey), who's visiting from the old neighborhood in the Bronx are complete mooks; Michael is a budding writer in his early 20's with an obsession about age and dying (and Laurel & Hardy), and Louis is somewhat of a clown, not too intelligent but full of beans.

    They head out for a dismal night on the town and end up at the Paradise Ballroom, a faded, near-empty venue where the Mystic Knights of the Oingo Boingo are performing in tuxedos and deathly white makeup - Marie Elfman vamps the Marlene Dietrich song "Jonny" and Danny Elfman does a great version of "St. James Infirmary" a la Cab Calloway (see the Betty Boop cartoon "Snow White" to hear the original - it's dynamite). Michael is entranced, Louis is restless and bored.

    At the bar they run into likable expatriate Bronx-ite Tony (Victor Argo) and his best friend, a viciously drunk "little person" named Alberict (Herve Villechaise) who is a complaisant husband considerately staying out (and getting drunk) while his wife entertains her lover at home. After hanging out with them, and after Louis is unsuccessful in picking up a shy young woman, they head out for some food but get sidetracked by the mortuary ad Michael hears on the radio and pay a visit to it for coffee (and a chance for Michael to further explore his curiosity about death).

    They return to the Paradise just before it closes; Tony and a passed-out Alberict are still there. Louis finally confronts Michael about his obsession, they have an argument, and Louis decides to leave on his own, offering to drop the sleeping Alberict home on his way. I can't speak to what then ensues without spoiling it, but the ending is bizarre, touching and audacious (especially given the production budget).

    As a plot, it's not much, but it allows for a multitude of great moments and great performances, some stunning visuals and an oddly satisfying experience that has remained a pleasure throughout repeated viewings.

    A sidenote: "Alberich" is the evil dwarf in Wagner's Ring Trilogy, although the Villechaise role is listed as "Alberict" in the IMDb database...
    helpful•8
    0
    • plum-blossom
    • Jul 29, 2005

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • April 1, 1977 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Language
      • English
    • Filming locations
      • Los Angeles, California, USA
    • Production company
      • American Film Institute (AFI)
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Budget
      • $33,000 (estimated)
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      1 hour 13 minutes
    • Color
      • Black and White
    • Sound mix
      • Mono

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    By what name was Hot Tomorrows (1977) officially released in Canada in English?
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