Stir Crazy (1980)

Set up and wrongfully accused, two best friends will be sent to prison for a crime they didn't commit. However, no prison cell could keep them locked in.

Director:

Sidney Poitier

Writer:

Bruce Jay Friedman

Stars:

Gene Wilder, Richard Pryor, Georg Stanford Brown

1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Gene Wilder	...	Skip Donahue
Richard Pryor	...	Harry Monroe
Georg Stanford Brown	...	Rory Schultebrand
JoBeth Williams	...	Meredith
Miguel Ángel Suárez	...	Jesus Ramirez (as Miguelangel Suarez)
Craig T. Nelson	...	Deputy Ward Wilson
Barry Corbin	...	Warden Walter Beatty
Charles Weldon	...	Blade
Nicolas Coster	...	Warden Henry Sampson
Joel Brooks	...	Len Garber
Jonathan Banks	...	Jack Graham
Erland van Lidth	...	Grossberger (as Erland Van Lidth De Jeude)
Lewis Van Bergen	...	Guard #1
Karmin Murcelo	...	Teresa Ramirez
Franklyn Ajaye	...	Young Man in Hospital

Storyline

Skip and Harry are framed for a bank robbery and end up in a western prison. The two eastern boys are having difficulty adjusting to the new life until the warden finds that Skip has a natural talent for riding broncos with the inter-prison rodeo coming up.

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Plot Keywords:

prison | man disguised as a woman | rodeo clown | tattoo on hand | solitary confinement | 

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Taglines:

Only these two pigeons could dress up as woodpeckers...

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Genres:

Comedy | Crime

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Certificate:

R

Did You Know?

Trivia

Gene Wilder said of this movie: "It's a very funny concept. But what makes it work is a hard edge of reality, a sense of the frustration and the potential for violence, which exists in prison. It sets off the craziness Richard and I indulge in. The credit for that goes to Sidney Poitier, who knows actors, loves actors, and cast the characters in this film as ingeniously as any director I've ever worked with."

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Goofs

When Skip is thrown from the bronco the first time, he is wearing gloves. As he rolls over on the ground, he is not wearing gloves. When Grossberger picks him up, he is wearing gloves again.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Skip Donahue: Who needs Hollywood? I hear they're really nuts out there.
[singing]
Skip Donahue: Give me a town like old New York, With lots of trees and clean fresh air, I need a place where love is everywhere, They say I'm Crazy, just a little bit out of whack...

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Alternate Versions

The original 1999 DVD and the current Blu-Ray by Image Entertainment restores bits of footage absent from previous video versions.(the VHS copies were transferred from a slightly damaged 35mm print of the film and the print damage caused this), during the transition from the prison cafeteria to the activity yard in which after Harry is told by Rory that he killed his stepfather by slapping his hand in which Harry takes his hand and pats it lightly a few times and then a shot of the prison yard before cutting to the various outside activities with the inmates.

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Connections

Featured in The EE British Academy Film Awards (2016)

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Soundtracks

Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now
(uncredited)
Composed by Michael Masser and Randy Goodrum
Produced by Michael Masser
Sung by Kiki Dee
Courtesy of Ariola Records, Ltd.

User Reviews

a very funny film

"Thats right,thats right we baaaad.....". That line was probably the most famous that Richard Pryor ever uttered on screen. He and Gene Wilder made a great "buddy" team just like Newman and Redford...only they are a helluva lot funnier! This was one film that critics hated but audiences loved. Wilder's "nice guy" is a perfect match for Pryor's wisecracking. This film has a fine supporting cast as well, George Stanford Brown (although his portrayal of a gay inmate may not seem "politically correct" today, he is hilariously "swishy" though!) Jobeth Williams, Barry Corbin (as the corrupt warden)and Craig T. Nelson (before he became a "Coach"). Sidney Poitier does a wonderful job of directing these two comedy legends I might add. The prison escape in the end kept me on the edge of my seat. I liked Skip and Harry so much that I was just rooting for them all the way! Pryor was burned shortly after this film was completed.

Details

Official Sites:

Sony Movie Channel [United States]

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

12 December 1980 (USA)

Also Known As:

Prison Rodeo

Filming Locations:

Downtown, Tucson, Arizona, USA

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$8,691,886, 14 December 1980

Gross USA:

$101,300,000

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$101,300,000

Company Credits

Production Co:

Columbia Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

111 min 104 min (theatrical cut)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1