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

Michael Jordon, 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:

Something funny's going on here.

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Genres:

Action | Comedy | Crime | Mystery | Thriller

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Certificate:

PG

Did You Know?

Trivia

The "f" word is used at least once in this film, which was significant at the time, as the movie was rated PG in some territories such as the U.S. and Australia, and a 12 rating in West Germany, and something which was starting to set a precedent around this time. Territories which censorship classified the movie with a "14", "15", or "16" rating included Canada, Sweden, Norway, Finland, and the United Kingdom, where this film received an "AA" (or "15") rating. The picture was originally rated R by the MPAA (the Motion Picture Association of America) in the U.S. but upon appeal to the Classification and Rating Appeals Board by Columbia Pictures, the movie was re-rated and re-classified "PG".

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Goofs

When Michael uses the Sony remote to change the channel on the Sony TV in Nathan's bedroom, the channel number doesn't change. In 1981, there could have been a cable box, but none was visible and Michael was holding the TV remote, not a cable remote.

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Quotes

[Michael and Kate are left in control of a small plane with a pilot who has had an apparent heart attack after a bout of burping and belching. A voice on the radio told them they're entering prohibited government airspace and, in grabbing the radio and handing it to Kate to talk, Michael broke the cabling to the transmitter]
Michael Jordon: I knew this would happen! I dreamt about this all my life!
Kate Hellman: Get ahold of yourself.
Michael Jordon: Since I was a little boy, I dreamt this was gonna happen to me!
Kate Hellman: Just get ahold of...
Michael Jordon: Wait a ...
[...]

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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 Role Model: Gene Wilder (2008)

User Reviews

A wonderful movie

This is one of the funniest movies I have ever seen. Gene Wilder and Gilda Radner are unique. I really enjoyed the movie and recommend it to everyone. If, after watching Hanky Panky, you think it was worth it, please don't forget to watch See No Evil Hear No Evil and Silver Streak, which are two other wonderful movies with Gene Wilder.

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

Gross USA:

$9,823,934

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$9,823,934

Company Credits

Production Co:

Columbia Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

110 min 107 min (Ontario)

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Color (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1