Body Double (1984)

A young actor's obsession with spying on a beautiful woman who lives nearby leads to a baffling series of events with drastic consequences.

Director:

Brian De Palma

Writers:

Robert J. Avrech (screenplay), Brian De Palma (screenplay)

Stars:

Craig Wasson, Melanie Griffith, Gregg Henry

Nominated for 1 Golden Globe. Another 1 win & 3 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Craig Wasson	...	Jake Scully
Gregg Henry	...	Sam Bouchard
Melanie Griffith	...	Holly Body
Deborah Shelton	...	Gloria Revelle
Guy Boyd	...	Det. Jim McLean
Dennis Franz	...	Rubin the Director
David Haskell	...	Will the Drama Teacher
Rebecca Stanley	...	Kimberly Hess
Al Israel	...	Corso the Director
Douglas Warhit	...	Video Salesman
B.J. Jones	...	Douglas
Russ Marin	...	Frank
Lane Davies	...	Billy
Barbara Crampton	...	Carol
Larry Flash Jenkins	...	Assistant Director (as Larry 'Flash' Jenkins)

Storyline

Jake Scully comes home to find his girlfriend with another man and has to find a new place. In between his acting workshops and his job in a vampire B-movie, he scans the paper looking for anything. He happens to meet Sam Bouchard, a fellow actor who needs a house sitter. Both are pleased with the arrangement that will have Jake staying in the house and for a sweetener, Sam shows him his favorite neighbor, a well-built woman who strips with her window open each night. Jake becomes obsessed with meeting her and is able to help recover her purse from a thief, but shows his own phobia, he is incapacitated by claustrophobia when the thief runs through a tunnel. When Jake witnesses a murder, he finds out that the police love to pin crimes on peeping Toms. Jake discovers that here are just too many coincidences but must hunt them down himself without the police.

---

Plot Keywords:

lesbian sex | peeping tom | porn star | pervert | porn actress | 

---

Taglines:

Brian De Palma the modern master of suspense invites you witness - A seduction. A mystery. A murder.

---

Genres:

Mystery | Thriller

---

Certificate:

R

Details

Official Sites:

Sony Movie Channel [United States]

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

26 October 1984 (USA)

Also Known As:

Doble de cuerpo

Filming Locations:

1700 E. Ocean Blvd, Long Beach, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$10,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$2,837,978, 28 October 1984, Wide Release

Gross USA:

$8,801,940

Company Credits

Production Co:

Columbia Pictures Corporation, Delphi II Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

114 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Stereo

Color:

Color (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

At the start of the "Frankie Goes To Hollywood" sequence, as the singing night doorman (played by Holly Johnson) escorts Jake down the stairway, an actress dressed like Gloria Swanson as Norma Desmond in "Sunset Boulevard" descends the stairs just in front of them, gesticulating like Norma did in the final scene of that film, which was also about Hollywood and the movie industry.

---

Goofs

The Indian had used an auger bit to open the victim's safe, and eventually to kill her. An auger bit was used because of their aggressive look, but would have no affect on a steel safe. They are for wood.

---

Quotes

Sam Bouchard: Kicked the bitch out, I hope.
Jake Scully: Nah, I didn't.
Sam Bouchard: Why not?
Jake Scully: It was her place.

---

Alternate Versions

UK video versions were cut by 5 secs to remove Holly's refusal to 'shave my pussy', 'fist fucking' and 'coming in my face', and to fade out the final shot of a woman's bloodstained breasts. The cuts were fully waived in 2000.

---

Connections

Referenced in Riverdale: Chapter Three: Body Double (2017)

---

Soundtracks

Main Theme
Written by Pino Donaggio

User Reviews

A great movie! Tremendously underrated and overlooked

This is a terrific murder mystery / comedy / erotic thriller, and Brian De Palma's next flick after Scarface. Let yourself go along with it for a really fun ride. The style is tongue in cheek, masterful film-making including the usual ballet camera work and wonderfully interesting imaginative staging. It looks like everyone had a lot of fun making this overlooked gem! The star, a young Craig Wasson gives an Oscar caliber performance overlooked by all the critics. What gives with this? Scorsese never won an Oscar for best director either, so the fix must be in. He carries the entire movie and is in practically every scene. An unbelievably great performance! This actor never made it big to the big time, but if you want to see a terrific real actor providing a stunning display of his chops, you must check this flick. Truly one of the great murder mysteries of all time. A real find.