Doctor Detroit (1983)

A timid college professor, conned into posing as a flamboyant pimp, finds himself enjoying his new occupation on the streets.

Director:

Michael Pressman

Writers:

Bruce Jay Friedman (story), Carl Gottlieb

Stars:

Dan Aykroyd, Howard Hesseman, Donna Dixon

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Dan Aykroyd	...	Clifford Skridlow / Doctor Detroit
Howard Hesseman	...	Smooth Walker
Donna Dixon	...	Monica McNeil
Lydia Lei	...	Jasmine Wu
T.K. Carter	...	Diavolo Washington
Lynn Whitfield	...	Thelma Cleland
Fran Drescher	...	Karen Blittstein
John A. Maloney	...	Commodore
Pershing P. Anderson	...	Stretch
William Munchow	...	Professor Artel
Ed Meekin	...	Professor Durant (as Edward Meekin)
Hank Salas	...	Johnny
Rudolph Kovar	...	Carson (as Rudolf Kovar)
Kate Murtagh	...	Mom
Peter Elbling	...	Guptor

Storyline

Clifford Skridlow teaches at a small Chicago college run by his father. Conned into managing four prostitutes by their pimp, who skips town to escape the mob boss known as Mom, Clifford draws on his course in medieval literature in his quest to save the women from Mom.

---

Plot Keywords:

pimp | lingerie | college professor | voyeurism | voyeur | 

---

Taglines:

He's making the world safe for insanity.

---

Genres:

Comedy

---

Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

6 May 1983 (USA)

Also Known As:

Dr. Detroit

Filming Locations:

Biltmore Hotel - 506 S. Grand Avenue, Downtown, Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Gross USA:

$10,375,893

Company Credits

Production Co:

Black Rhino Productions,Brillstein Company,Universal Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

89 min

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

One of the few Hollywood films featuring the popular yet short-lived 1980s movie formula of "straight-guy-becomes-pimp." Other films that followed a similar setup included Night Shift (1982) and Risky Business (1983).

---

Goofs

The windshield glass Doctor Detroit breaks is shown inconsistently between shots. Sometimes the glass is very dirty, almost opaque, in other shots it is very clear.

---

Quotes

Clifford Skridlow: [waking from a nightmare where his mother becomes a prostitute] NO! No, I will not sell my own mother!
Margaret Skridlow: [walking in on him] Of course you wouldn't, dear. But it's a sweet thought.

---

Crazy Credits

At the end of the credits, we see "Coming soon: Doctor Detroit II, the Wrath of Mom."

---

Connections

Referenced in We're All Devo (1983)

---

Soundtracks

Get It On And Have A Party
Performed by Pattie Brooks
Courtesy of Backstreet Records
Pattie Brooks appears courtesy of Mirage Records

User Reviews

Silly comedy

Dan Ackroyd in his prime essays the role of DOCTOR DETROIT, a comic superpimp. In his regular life, Doctor Detroit is a meek college professor right out of a Golden Era slapstick comedy like Cary Grant in "Bringing Up Baby" or Gary Cooper in "Ball of Fire" or even Danny Kaye in the remake, "A Song Is Born." Why and how the professor turns into this larger-than-life, scratchy-voiced pimp is what the movie is all about. And in the end, the Doctor must face down Mom, a notorious gangster. Problem with the movie is Ackroyd was not scheduled to play the role. If memory serves, it was John Belushi, who had died rather suddenly. So Ackroyd steps in to save the day, except he simply isn't funny as the Doctor. He is fine as the professor, however. Ackroyd's soon-to-be, real-life wife Donna Dixon is his love interest.