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Trading Places (1983)

R | | Comedy | 8 June 1983 (USA)
Trading Places Poster
A snobbish investor and a wily street con artist find their positions reversed as part of a bet by two callous millionaires.

Director:

John Landis

Writers:

Timothy Harris, Herschel Weingrod

Stars:

Eddie Murphy, Dan Aykroyd, Ralph Bellamy | See full cast & crew »
69
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Popularity
1,802 ( 426)

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Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 3 wins & 4 nominations. See more awards »

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Photos

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Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Denholm Elliott ... Coleman
Dan Aykroyd ... Louis Winthorpe III
Maurice Woods Maurice Woods ... Duke & Duke Employee
Richard D. Fisher Jr. Richard D. Fisher Jr. ... Duke & Duke Employee
Jim Gallagher Jim Gallagher ... Duke & Duke Employee
Anthony DiSabatino Anthony DiSabatino ... Duke & Duke Employee
Bonnie Behrend Bonnie Behrend ... Duke & Duke Employee
Sunnie Merrill Sunnie Merrill ... Duke & Duke Employee
James Newell James Newell ... Duke & Duke Employee (as Jim Newell)
Mary St. John Mary St. John ... Duke & Duke Employee
Bonnie Tremena Bonnie Tremena ... Duke & Duke Employee
David Schwartz David Schwartz ... Duke & Duke Employee
Ralph Bellamy ... Randolph Duke
Don Ameche ... Mortimer Duke
Tom Degidon Tom Degidon ... Duke Domestic
See full cast »
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Storyline

Louis Winthorpe is a businessman who works for commodities brokerage firm of Duke and Duke owned by the brothers Mortimer and Randolph Duke. Now they bicker over the most trivial of matters and what they are bickering about is whether it's a person's environment or heredity that determines how well they will do in life. When Winthorpe bumps into Billy Ray Valentine, a street hustler and assumes he is trying to rob him, he has him arrested. Upon seeing how different the two men are, the brothers decide to make a wager as to what would happen if Winthorpe loses his job, his home and is shunned by everyone he knows and if Valentine was given Winthorpe's job. So they proceed to have Winthorpe arrested and to be placed in a compromising position in front of his girlfriend. So all he has to rely on is the hooker who was hired to ruin him. Written by rcs0411@yahoo.com

Plot Summary | Plot Synopsis

Plot Keywords:

role reversal | stock market | santa claus costume | scam | santa claus suit | See All (165) »

Taglines:

Some very funny business. See more »

Genres:

Comedy

Certificate:

R | See all certifications »

Parents Guide:

View content advisory »
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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

8 June 1983 (USA) See more »

Also Known As:

Black or White See more »

Filming Locations:

The New York Chamber of Commerce Building - The Great Hall, 65 Liberty Street, New York City, New York, USA See more »
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Box Office

Budget:

$15,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$7,348,200, 12 June 1983

Gross USA:

$90,404,800
See more on IMDbPro »

Company Credits

Production Co:

Cinema Group Ventures,Paramount Pictures See more »
Show more on IMDbPro »

Technical Specs

Runtime:

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1
See full technical specs »
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Did You Know?

Trivia

While she was making this movie, Jamie Lee Curtis stayed in Marlene Dietrich's apartment (12E) at 993 Park Avenue in Manhattan. She'd been engaged to Dietrich's grandson, Production Designer J. Michael Riva. See more »

Goofs

When handing the paychecks to be signed, Winthorp places his briefcase on the table. Upon leaving the table later, he picks it up from the floor under the table. See more »

Quotes

[first lines]
Coleman: [holding a breakfast tray while Louis is still asleep] Your breakfast, sir.
See more »

Crazy Credits

Ron Taylor is credited as 'Big Black Guy' and James D. Turner as ' Even Bigger Black Guy' See more »

Connections

Referenced in Adventures of the Gummi Bears: Trading Faces (1991) See more »

Soundtracks

ORALEE COOKIES
by Nicholas Guest & Robert Curtis Brown
Performed by "The Hot Toddies"
See more »

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: How was the Duke brother's plan to corner the orange juice market supposed to work?
Q: How much did Billy Ray and Louis make in their scheme?
See more »

User Reviews

 
Murphy and Aykroyd are Perfect!
31 January 2002 | by caspian1978 – See all my reviews

When it comes to great comic films, nobody recalls the magic between Murphy and Aykroyd in Trading Places. In the early 80's Eddie Murphy was considered the funniest black comedian next to Richard Pryor. Dan Aykroyd was one of the all time great cast members of Saturday Night Live. Both actors started on SNL and were ready to make their career in films. Trading Places is an example of a perfect comedy. It is funny yes, but there is so much more. With its story, the acting, and the political, racial, and economical plots in the film add to its greatness. One of the best comedies to come out of the 1980's, it stands as one of Eddie Murphy's best earlier films as well as Aykroyd's performances as a character actor. A wonderful and somewhat good family film. If you're that kind of family that is.
46 of 51 people found this review helpful.  Was this review helpful to you? | Report this
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