The In-Laws (1979)

On the eve of their children's marriage, NYC in-laws Sheldon Kornpett and Vince Ricardo embark on a series of misadventures involving the CIA, the Treasury Department and Central American dictators.

Director:

Arthur Hiller

Writer:

Andrew Bergman

Stars:

Peter Falk, Alan Arkin, Richard Libertini

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Peter Falk	...	Vince Ricardo
Alan Arkin	...	Sheldon Kornpett
Richard Libertini	...	Gen. Garcia
Nancy Dussault	...	Carol Kornpett
Penny Peyser	...	Barbara Kornpett
Arlene Golonka	...	Jean Ricardo
Michael Lembeck	...	Tommy Ricardo
Paul L. Smith	...	Mo (as Paul Lawrence Smith)
Carmine Caridi	...	Angie
Ed Begley Jr.	...	Barry Lutz
Sammy Smith	...	Mr. Hirschorn
James Hong	...	Bing Wong
Barbara Dana	...	Bank Teller
Rozsika Halmos	...	Mrs. Adelman
Álvaro Carcaño	...	Edgardo (as Alvaro Carcano)

Storyline

In preparation for his daughter's wedding, dentist Sheldon Kornpett meets Vince Ricardo, the groom's father. Vince, a manic fellow who claims to be a government agent, then proceeds to drag Sheldon into a series of chases and misadventures from New York to Central America.

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Plot Keywords:

neo screwball comedy | dentist | central america | wedding | chase | 

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Taglines:

While the Father of the Bride was extracting a molar from Mrs. Cohen, the Father of the Groom was extracting $20 Million from the U.S. Mint. And this was only the beginning.

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Genres:

Adventure | Comedy | Crime | Thriller | Action

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Certificate:

PG

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English Spanish Mandarin

Release Date:

12 September 1979 (France)

Also Known As:

Zwei in Teufels Küche

Filming Locations:

Pasadena, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$9,000,000 (estimated)

Gross USA:

$38,200,000

Company Credits

Production Co:

Warner Bros.

Technical Specs

Runtime:

103 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Alan Arkin came up with the idea for the firing squad to sing "Trees."

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Goofs

When the car chase first leaves the Kornpett's driveway the first Government vehicle loses the hubcap from the front wheel on the driver's side as it makes the right turn onto the cross street. All of the following scenes that show the Government vehicles show them with both hubcaps on the driver's side.

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Quotes

Vince Ricardo: What do you think will happen when they run off this dough... and there's trillions of extra dollars, francs, and marks floating around? You've got a collapse of confidence in the currency. People are gonna panic. There's gonna be gold riots, atonal music... political chaos, mass suicide. Right? It's Germany before Hitler. You can see that. Jesus, I don't know what people are gonna do... when a six-pack of Budweisers costs $1,200. That'll be awful.

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Connections

Referenced in The Real O'Neals: The Real Halloween (2016)

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Soundtracks

Trees
(uncredited)
Lyrics by Joyce Kilmer
Music by Oscar Rasbach

User Reviews

One of the funniest films ever made.

This movie is absolutely hysterical. And I do not mean very funny. I mean it is hysterical.

The plot is that a CIA operative and a dentist, played superbly and respectively by Peter Falk and Alan Arkin, are about to become in-laws because their two children are to be married. But Falk, about to retire from his clandestine duties, needs Arkin's help to pull off one final mission. From beginning to end the antics of these two will leave you in side-splitting humor. And the performance by Richard Libertini as a South American dictator is equal to Falk and Arkin's contribution to this classic comedy.

If you want to see an intelligent and realistic film that is extremely funny from start to finish then this is it. Don't miss it!