Scavenger Hunt (1979)

To inherit a fortune, various addressees of a will must compete in a wild scavenger hunt to collect selected items, but cannot be simply bought.

Director:

Michael Schultz

Writers:

Steven Vail (story) (as Steven A. Vail), John Thomson (adaptation) (as John Thompson)

Stars:

Richard Benjamin, James Coco, Scatman Crothers

1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Richard Benjamin	...	Stuart Selsome
James Coco	...	Henri
Scatman Crothers	...	Sam
Ruth Gordon	...	Arvilla Droll
Cloris Leachman	...	Mildred Carruthers
Cleavon Little	...	Jackson
Roddy McDowall	...	Jenkins
Robert Morley	...	Bernstein
Richard Mulligan	...	Marvin Dummitz
Tony Randall	...	Henry Motley
Dirk Benedict	...	Jeff Stevens
Willie Aames	...	Kenny Stevens
Stephanie Faracy	...	Babbette
Stephen Furst	...	Merle
Richard Masur	...	Georgie Carruthers

Storyline

Milton Parker has made millions inventing and selling games. Upon his death, his relatives and domestic staff gather for the reading of the will. However, Old Mr. Parker is a game player to the last, and his will stipulates that a Scavenger Hunt will be held to determine the beneficiaries of his sizeable estate. The winning team gets all the money, the rest get nothing.

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Plot Keywords:

pantyhose | black pantyhose | female stockinged legs | game | scavenger hunt | 

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Taglines:

Winner takes all!

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Genres:

Comedy

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Certificate:

PG

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

21 December 1979 (USA)

Also Known As:

Scavenger Hunt

Filming Locations:

Centre City Building, 233 "A" Street, San Diego, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$7,000,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Melvin Simon Productions, SA Vail Productions, Twentieth Century Fox

Technical Specs

Runtime:

116 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Glen Glenn Sound)

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

One of three hit films that Twentieth Century-Fox released for Melvin Simon Productions which also included the Oscar nominated, The Stunt Man starring Peter O'Toole and My Bodyguard starring Chris Makepeace and Matt Dillon which were released in 1980.

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Goofs

Just before Jeff, Kenny & Lisa head back to the house to drop the first load of stuff in their van following the laughing gas scene, Lisa is still wearing the outfit (minus one or two items) she was in when the will was read. When they return to unload what they collected she is wearing a checkered shirt & jeans, yet had no change of clothes.

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Quotes

Mildred Cruthers: Why that worm! What's he trying to prove? Georgie and I are his legitimate heirs. Why should we have to play some dumb game just to get what's rightfully ours? I'm going to contest this will!
Charles Bernstein: That's the point, Mrs. Cruthers. This will is a contest.

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Alternate Versions

CBS edited 20 minutes from this film for its 1982 network television premiere.

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Connections

Referenced in Pee-wee's Big Adventure (1985)

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Soundtracks

Play to Win
Music by Billy Goldenberg
Lyrics by Carol Connors

User Reviews

It's not high art, but I love it.

This is what I call one of my "guilty pleasure" movies. It's not a particularly well-made movie, and it is, admittedly, somewhat dated, but for some reason I never tire of watching it, and it still makes me laugh every time. I'm sure this makes me a geek (and some, I'm sure, will argue a geek with a poor sense of humor), but I think this film is hilarious. I've easily seen it 300+ times and have the whole thing memorized, and I still laugh at it. I love sophisticated comedy, old classics, art-house films, epics, and blockbusters as much as the next guy; but when I just need pure mindless entertainment or a good laugh, I pull out this film, and it always does the trick. Scavenger Hunt has a talented cast of famous names from the seventies, including Richard Benjamin, Richard Mulligan, Cloris Leachman, Tony Randall, Roddy McDowall, James Coco, Cleavon Little, Willie Aames, and Dirk Benedict plus cameos from such names as Vincent Price, Avery Schreiber, Scatman Crothers, Ruth Gordon, Liz Torres, Meat Loaf, and Arnold Schwartzenegger. Richard Mulligan, Avery Schreiber, and Stephanie Faracy play my favorite characters (actually I enjoy the whole servant team, which includes Faracy, McDowall, Little, and Coco). I remember seeing this movie as a kid, and I thought it was so funny (and maybe that's why I like it so much, because it reminds me of my innocent days of youth). I realize this flick isn't for everyone, but I find it humorous and entertaining, and it's clean. Some of the characters are overly broad, some of the humor is stupid, and some situations are simply unbelievable, but if you just go into this movie knowing that it's far-fetched comedy for comedy's sake and understand that it isn't taking itself seriously, you can still have a good time. I know I have.