Hanky Panky (1982)

Completely innocent man, Michael Jordon, is drawn into a web of government secrets when a girl carrying a mysterious package gets into a taxi with him. When she's later murdered, Michael becomes the chief suspect and goes on the run.

Director:

Sidney Poitier

Writers:

Henry Rosenbaum, David Taylor

Stars:

Gene Wilder, Gilda Radner, Kathleen Quinlan

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Gene Wilder	...	Michael Jordon
Gilda Radner	...	Kate Hellman
Kathleen Quinlan	...	Janet Dunn
Richard Widmark	...	Ransom
Robert Prosky	...	Hiram Calder
Josef Sommer	...	Adrian Pruitt
Johnny Sekka	...	Lacey
Jay O. Sanders	...	Katz
Sam Gray	...	Dr. John Wolff
Larry Bryggman	...	Stacy
Pat Corley	...	Pilot
Johnny Brown	...	Bus Driver
Bill Beutel	...	Anchorman
Nat Habib	...	Cab Driver
James Tolkan	...	Conferee

Storyline

Architect Michael Jordan, a Chicago Architect, is New York on business. A beautiful stranger identifying herself as Janet Dunn, runs into the taxi cab he's using. He volunteers to put a package into the mailbox for her after she hastily addresses the envelope. Infatuated with her goes to see her at her hotel. She brushes him off and closes the door in his face. He is about to leave when he hears a shot. Janet opens the door and falls into his arms dead. Now everyone believes that he's the killer. A mysterious group that's after the package is now after him. His only ally is Kate Hellman, who has secrets of her own. To clear his name they have to find out what was in the package, who wants it and why.

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Plot Keywords:

hotel | on the run | injection | helicopter | rhyme in title | 

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Taglines:

Meet Michael Jordan. And his mistake.

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Genres:

Action | Comedy | Crime | Mystery | Thriller

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Certificate:

PG

Details

Official Sites:

Sony Movie Channel [United States]

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

4 June 1982 (USA)

Also Known As:

Traces

Filming Locations:

Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$3,597,244, 6 June 1982, Wide Release

Gross USA:

$9,823,934

Company Credits

Production Co:

Columbia Pictures Corporation

Technical Specs

Runtime:

110 min 107 min (Ontario)

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Color (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The December 16, 1980 edition of "The Hollywood Reporter" announced that this movie would reunite Gene Wilder and Producer Martin Ransohoff, who had collaborated on Silver Streak (1976).

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Goofs

The chase through Madison Square Garden is supposed to happen in the summer of 1981, but the circus poster says the circus shows started Wednesday the 1st and ended Sunday the 31st. The only 1981 dates that correspond are April 1st to May 31st, which dates are all in the Spring. Also, the newspaper Pruitt was reading in the club was dated in August 1981.

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Quotes

Ransom: What's your connection with Janet Dunn?
Michael Jordon: [nonchalantly] She's my brother.

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Crazy Credits

The main cast is identified at the end with a brief scene in which they were involved that freezes as the actor and character name is shown, except for Richard Widmark, who is credited over the scene of the exploding helicopter.

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Alternate Versions

In a deleted scene, while trying to get out of New York, Kate has Michael dressed up & disguised as an old woman when they are stopped by a cop on the street. The cop asks Kate if the red car parked next to the sidewalk is her car. He looks at Michael, who dressed as the old woman & says to him "Well, why aren't you saying anything?". Kate tells the cop "Oh, my aunt here is a deaf mute". Michael mistakenly keeps noting his head. The cop asks "How come she can hear what I'm saying?". Kate quickly replies "She can't but she can read lips", Michael nods his head again. Some parts of this deleted scene were shown in the trailer to the movie.

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Connections

Featured in Sneak Previews: Hanky Panky/Annie/Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan/Grease 2 (1982)

User Reviews

Comedy at its best!

Hanky Panky is our first look at Gene Wilder and Gilda Radner on the big screen together. The story goes as such: Michael Jordan (Wilder) is new in town, meets a woman with whom he tries to get a date. Nothing wrong with that right? Well he is chased by bad guys for having any contact with this woman and when she ends up dead he is sought for her murder. In comes Kate (Radner) who tries to help Michael find out why these guys are after him. Well he gets the girl in the end and everything turns out for the best, with a few laughs along the way. The pairing of these two comedians shows us why they have been loved by many for so many years. If you like romantic comedies then you will enjoy Hanky Panky.