Gremlins (1984)

A young man inadvertently breaks three important rules concerning his new pet and unleashes a horde of malevolently mischievous monsters on a small town.

Director:

Joe Dante

Writer:

Chris Columbus

Stars:

Zach Galligan, Phoebe Cates, Hoyt Axton

8 wins & 6 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Hoyt Axton	...	Randall Peltzer
John Louie	...	Chinese Boy
Keye Luke	...	Grandfather (Mr. Wing)
Don Steele	...	Rockin' Ricky Rialto (voice)
Susan Burgess	...	Little Girl
Scott Brady	...	Sheriff Frank
Arnie Moore	...	Alex
Corey Feldman	...	Pete Fountaine
Harry Carey Jr.	...	Mr. Anderson
Zach Galligan	...	Billy Peltzer
Dick Miller	...	Murray Futterman
Phoebe Cates	...	Kate Beringer
Polly Holliday	...	Ruby Deagle
Donald Elson	...	Man on Street (as Don Elson)
Belinda Balaski	...	Mrs. Joe Harris

Storyline

Minature green monsters tear through the small town of Kingston Falls. Hijinks ensue as a mild-mannered bank teller releases these hideous loonies after gaining a new pet and violating two of three simple rules: No water (violated), no food after midnight (violated), and no bright light. Hilarious mayhem and destruction in a town straight out of Norman Rockwell. So, when your washing machine blows up or your TV goes on the fritz, before you call the repair man, turn on all the lights and look under all the beds. 'Cause you never can tell, there just might be a gremlin in your house.

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Plot Keywords:

chinatown | 1980s | christmas | monster | gift | 

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Taglines:

Steven Spielberg presents

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Genres:

Comedy | Fantasy | Horror

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Certificate:

PG

Did You Know?

Trivia

Hoyt Axton was always the first choice for Randall Peltzer. Pat Harrington, Jr. was also considered. Pat Hingle was said to have delivered the best screentest, but was passed on, because it was feared Randall would take over the movie as a result of Hingle's excellent performance.

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Goofs

In the department store, Stripe attacks Billy with a chainsaw. Billy uses a wooden baseball bat to try and fend him off. The chainsaw would have cut through the bat in no time, but is shown chipping away at the bat for some time.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Randall Peltzer: Friends, let me introduce myself. Peltzer's the name, Rand Peltzer. That's me on the corner. I'm an inventor. I have a story to tell. Yeah, I know. Who hasn't got a story? Well nobody's got a story like this one. Nobody. It all started here in Chinatown. I was hitting the shops, trying to move a little merchandise, maybe even find a present for my kid. I tried this one place.

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Crazy Credits

The film title logo when end credits are finished

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Alternate Versions

The HBO Family version deletes 3 scenes involving Gremlins dying.

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Connections

Referenced in Kickin' It Old Skool (2007)

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Soundtracks

Do You Hear What I Hear?
Written by Noel Regney (uncredited) and Gloria Shayne (uncredited)
Performed by Johnny Mathis
Provided courtesy of CBS Records
Written by Noel Regney (uncredited)

User Reviews

Large numbers of confused parents!!!

When this movie first came out, a lot of parents made the fatal mistake of thinking it was a cute, children's movie. In fact, it was this movie and "Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom" that prompted the film industry to create the PG-13 rating. This one only got a PG.

My mother was one of the parents who confused the movie as one suitable for children.

Needless to say I was horrified by this movie as I was only 4 years old. This movie caused me to be severely afraid of the dark for many years. Yet, strangely enough, I wanted to watch it every year at my grandmother's house at Christmas time. It was tradition.

I think that if parents knew what they were getting into, this wouldn't have been as big a movie as it was, and would probably have been lost among rummage sales, and good will donations as a movie nobody wanted.

I love this movie, and it takes me back to when I was a frightened little boy, who was too scared to check under the bed when he heard those strange noises in the middle of the night. Almost 20 years later, those old scars still haven't healed completely, and sometimes just seeing "Stripe" on the cover will send chills down my spine and prompt me to move to a room with better lighting.

That's damn good film-making. Freddy Krueger didn't even do that to me.

I do get a kick out of the fact that every once in a while, the Disney channel will play this movie around the holidays.

Hoyt Axton's monologue at the begining trys to bring us into the movie by being the "story-teller" but during the movie, we trick ourselves with "it's only a movie." Ending it with Axton's end monologue drags us back into the movie, leaving us with the though... "There just might be a Gremlin in your house."

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook

Country:

USA

Language:

English Spanish

Release Date:

8 June 1984 (USA)

Also Known As:

Gremlins

Filming Locations:

Colonial Street, Backlot, Universal Studios - 100 Universal City Plaza, Universal City, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$11,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$12,511,634, 10 June 1984

Gross USA:

$153,378,102

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$153,633,143

Company Credits

Production Co:

Warner Bros., Amblin Entertainment

Technical Specs

Runtime:

106 min

Sound Mix:

70 mm 6-Track (70 mm prints) Dolby Stereo (35 mm prints)

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1