Into the Night (1985)

Over the course of one night, a beaten down L.A. engineer accidentally meets, falls for and tries to help a beautiful jewel thief on the run from some extremely dangerous people.

Director:

John Landis

Writer:

Ron Koslow

Stars:

Jeff Goldblum, Michelle Pfeiffer, Stacey Pickren

1 win.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Jeff Goldblum	...	Ed Okin
Michelle Pfeiffer	...	Diana
Stacey Pickren	...	Ellen Okin (as Stacy Pickren)
Carmen Argenziano	...	Stan
Andrew Marton	...	Freeway Driver
Sue Dugan	...	Freeway Driver
Elizabeth Solorzano	...	Freeway Driver
Dan Aykroyd	...	Herb
Robert Paynter	...	Security Guard
David Cronenberg	...	Group Supervisor
Robert Moberly	...	Aerospace Engineer
John Hostetter	...	Aerospace Engineer
Dick Balduzzi	...	Aerospace Engineer
Richard Franklin	...	Aerospace Engineer
Cal Worthington	...	Himself

Storyline

Ed Okin's life is somewhat out of control. He can't sleep, his wife betrays him, and his job is dull. One night, he starts to drive through Los Angeles, and he finally ends in the parking garage of Los Angeles International Airport. Moments later, a beautiful young lady jumps onto his bonnet and he finds himself being chased by four Iranians. What follows is a wild chase through the streets of Los Angeles, and a very funny one too.

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Plot Keywords:

airport | chase | cameo appearance | beach | adulterous wife | 

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Taglines:

A dangerous romance

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama | Thriller

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English Persian French Spanish

Release Date:

22 February 1985 (USA)

Also Known As:

Fuga al amanecer

Filming Locations:

2250 Montecito Drive, San Marino, California, USA

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$86,923, 24 February 1985, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$7,562,164

Company Credits

Production Co:

Universal Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

115 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Jake Steinfeld: Larry the bodyguard.

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Goofs

Their room number at the Ramada Inn is 714, so one would assume they are on the 7th floor. However, when the drapes are opened, they are clearly on the street level, and not the 7th floor.

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Quotes

Colin Morris: [Ed is waiting outside the Tiffany store for Diana] You're very good. You're really very good. I'm amazed we've not met before.
Ed: I beg your pardon?
Colin Morris: I've been watching you ever since you left Caper's yacht. Very impressive.
Ed: Oh yeah?
Colin Morris: You can stop performing now, Ed. If that's your name.
Ed: Heh, I don't know, what are you talking about?
Colin Morris: OK. I represent Monsieur Melville, and I can assure you that he will be far more reasonable than the SAVAK.
Ed: The SAVAK?
Colin Morris: The Shah's secret police. Death squad. Iranian ...
[...]

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Crazy Credits

Nearly everything is credited in this film. Even the Used-Cars-Salesmen shown in commercials (Cal Worthington, Pete Ellis) and the cast of a b/w-movie (Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein) in Hamid's Apartment are credited

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Connections

Featured in Edición Especial Coleccionista: Especial redoblajes (2011)

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Soundtracks

IN THE MIDNIGHT HOUR
Written by Steve Cropper and Wilson Pickett
Published by COTILLION MUSIC, INC. and IRVING MUSIC, INC.
Performed by B.B. King

User Reviews

excellent film with a casting twist

A man's depression and insomnia drive him "Into the Night" and a lot of trouble in this enjoyable 1985 film. Goldblum is Ed Okin, an LA aerospace engineer whose sleep problems are causing him difficulty on his demanding job. His friend (Dan Ackroyd) suggests that the next time he has insomnia, he head for Las Vegas where no one sleeps. After he sees his wife cheating on him, that's just what he does. Then Diana (Michelle Pfeiffer) jumps into his car and his night turns into a dangerous adventure. Pfeiffer has smuggled perfect emeralds into the country for a promised fee, except that everybody is now after her and willing to kill to get them.

There are some great, quirky moments in this film, and one of my favorites occurs when Ed and Diana walk into the apartment of her brother (Bruce McGill) which is wall to wall Elvis. Then her brother walks in - he's an Elvis impersonator. Priceless. Diana and Ed take his car which has the words THE KING LIVES painted across it. One faction looking for the emeralds come off like the Middle Eastern version of the Stooges, particularly in a beach house scene where, trying to get out of a door, one of them keeps hitting himself in the face with it.

The unique thing is that director John Landis has cast many of his fellow directors: Lawrence Kasdan, Jonathan Demme, Paul Mazurski, Amy Heckerling, David Cronenberg, Roger Vadim, Jonathan Lynn, Jack Arnold, Don Siegel, Andrew Marton, Richard Franklin, Colin Higgins, Jonathan Kaufer and Carl Gottlieb - that's a partial list. They're all good, too.

The always terrific Jeff Goldblum gives us a shell-shocked Ed who seems to take each moment as it comes with what is either calm or numbness - it's unclear which, but it works in the role. Pfeiffer is a young beauty in this - she has a very brief, distant nude scene - and is certainly the type of gal a man would go out of his way to help. She's very appealing. Old-timer Clu Gulager also makes an appearance toward the end, and David Bowie has a menacing role as one of the people after the emeralds. There are some fun shots of Los Angeles like Hollywood Boulevard in front of Frederick's of Hollywood that are a real kick.

"Into the Night" is offbeat and fun with enough violence to make it somewhat edgy. A real find.