Night Patrol (1984)

A hapless police officer is transferred to the night shift even as he clandestinely pursues a career as a stand up comedian.

Director:

Jackie Kong

Writers:

Murray Langston (original screenplay), William A. Levey (original screenplay) (as Bill Levey)

Stars:

Linda Blair, Pat Paulsen, Jaye P. Morgan

1 win.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Linda Blair	...	Officer Sue Perman
Pat Paulsen	...	Officer Kent Lane
Jaye P. Morgan	...	Kate Parker
Jack Riley	...	Doctor Ziegler
Billy Barty	...	Captain Lewis
Murray Langston	...	Officer Melvin White / The Unknown Comic
Pat Morita	...	Rape Victim
Sydney Lassick	...	Peeping Tom (as Sidney Lassick)
Kent Perkins	...	Tex
Roxanne Osco	...	Kicking Girl (as Roxanne Cybelle)
Joe Battaglia	...	Bum
Lori Sutton	...	Edith Hutton
Mik One	...	Press Agent
Alex Folks	...	Leroy's Bartender
Patrie Allen	...	Officer Judy

Storyline

Melvin is a pathetic loser of a motorcycle cop who gets demoted to working the night shift as a punishment for his constant screw-ups. During his off-duty time, however, Melvin turns to his secret obsession: comedy. He puts a paper bag over his head and performs in front of audiences as "The Unknown Comic". Unable to balance his two lives, he seeks psychiatric help to try and resolve who he really wants to be.

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Plot Keywords:

female nudity | psychotronic film | payphone | pay phone | stand up comedian | 

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Taglines:

The streets are crawling with weirdos, hookers, perverts and peeping toms. And this time, they're wearing badges.

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Genres:

Comedy

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

French English

Release Date:

16 November 1984 (USA)

Also Known As:

Night Patrol

Filming Locations:

Rae's Restaurant, 2901 Pico Boulevard, Santa Monica, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$4,500,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

RSL, Vis Arts Consultants

Technical Specs

Runtime:

87 min (video)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Jackie Kong performed a number of roles on this movie. Kong was director, editor, a co-writer and a co-producer.

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Goofs

When Kent helps Melvin up to the hand dryer in the men's room to dry his pants they turn the dryer on. A man walks in the men's room, the scene cuts back to Kent and Melvin the dryer is off.

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Quotes

Officer Kent Lane: Rough part of town.
Officer Melvin White: Yeah. Oh, you're not kidding look at that over there! We'd better pull over.
Officer Kent Lane: What for?
Officer Melvin White: What for? That guy's parked in front of a fire hydrant!

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Crazy Credits

All the credits are in French.

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Alternate Versions

The Anchor Bay DVD is slightly edited and runs 85 minutes, while the original New World Video release runs approximately 87 minutes. Obviously, the latter is the complete version.

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Connections

Referenced in Zizek! (2005)

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Soundtracks

Everybody Needs a Chance
Written by Phil Booth
Performed by Phil Booth

User Reviews

Absolutely RIDICULOUS!!

"Ridiculous" is a word I use very often. It can mean very good or very bad. In Night Patrol's case, it means both. Night Patrol is RIDICULOUS!! If you are wondering exactly how ridiculous it is, just look at the cast listing- Pat Morita as the rape victim(!) If you are a fan of trashy,low-budget, absolute dreck, this film is a must-see! 10stars/10stars!!

Interesting facts about Night Patrol:

1. Murray Langston's Unknown Comic act IS A REAL ACT in Las Vegas!!

2. On the Linda Blair episode of E!'s True Hollywood Stories, the narrator says, "...And then, in 1984, Linda Blair hit her career all-time-low." They show a scene from Night Patrol!!

3. Sydney Lassick- Cheswick from One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, makes a cameo appearance as a peeping Tom!

4. Bill Kirchenbauer- Coach from Just the Ten of Us, makes a cameo appearance as the "fed up Japanese guy."

5. Pat Paulsen (Kent Lane) ran for President of the U.S.!!