Harry and the Hendersons (1987)

The Henderson family adopt a friendly Sasquatch but have a hard time trying to keep the legend of 'Bigfoot' a secret.

Director:

William Dear

Writers:

William Dear, Bill Martin (as William E. Martin)

Stars:

John Lithgow, Melinda Dillon, Margaret Langrick

Won 1 Oscar. Another 1 win & 7 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
John Lithgow	...	George Henderson
Melinda Dillon	...	Nancy Henderson
Margaret Langrick	...	Sarah Henderson
Joshua Rudoy	...	Ernie Henderson
Kevin Peter Hall	...	Harry
David Suchet	...	Jacques Lafleur
Lainie Kazan	...	Irene Moffitt
Don Ameche	...	Dr. Wallace Wrightwood
M. Emmet Walsh	...	George Henderson Sr.
William Ontiveros	...	Sgt. Mancini (as Bill Ontiverous)
David Richardt	...	Dirty Harry Officer
Jacqueline Moscou	...	DMV Clerk
Laura Kenny	...	'Mouse' Woman
Richard Arnold	...	'Mouse' Spouse (as Richard E. Arnold)
Sean Morgan	...	Jerry Seville

Storyline

Returning from a hunting trip in the forest, the Henderson family's car hits an animal in the road. At first they fear it was a man, but when they examine the "body" they find it's a "bigfoot". They think it's dead so they decide to take it home (there could be some money in this..). As you guessed, "it" isn't dead. Far from being the ferocious monster they fear "Harry" to be, he's a friendly giant. In their attempts to keep Harry a secret, the Henderson's have to hide him from the authorities and a man, who has made it his goal in life, to catch a "bigfoot".

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Plot Keywords:

bigfoot | hit by a car | license plate | hunter | obsession | 

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Taglines:

When You Can't Believe Your Eyes, Trust Your Heart.

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Genres:

Comedy | Family | Fantasy

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Certificate:

PG

Did You Know?

Trivia

The scene when George (John Lithgow) sees Harry approach the deer head on the wall, and exclaims "oh dear!" had multiple meanings; one being that the director of the movie is named William Dear.

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Goofs

Harry copies the police car's siren on the freeway to get traffic to move out of their way so they can escape LaFleur. When George realizes what he's doing and sticks his head out of the window along with Harry to check where LaFleur is, the cars behind him are all stopped a long way behind him neatly and not surrounding their van as shown in all other shots of the traffic jam.

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Quotes

Bicycle Man: I didn't really mace him, I was about to be eaten!
George Henderson: Eaten? BY A VEGETARIAN?

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Crazy Credits

In the the thank you section of the credits, there is a thank you to Bigfoot.

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Connections

References The Legend of Boggy Creek (1972)

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Soundtracks

I'm Just Wild About Harry
Written by Eubie Blake and Noble Sissle

User Reviews

My favorite movie as a kid!

I've been looking for this movie forever on DVD, my copy on tape is long gone and I hate watching the cut version when it is shown on TV. I was so addicted to this movie as a kid, when our TV broke, I plugged headphones into the VCR so I could hear it. Whats sad is I watched it so many times that I didn't mind that there was no picture, I still knew what was happening because I watched it a least 60 times beforehand. I'm so happy its finally coming out on DVD because I have a kiddo on the way and I can't wait till they are old enough to watch it with me. If you have kids and want to watch a movie everyone will like this is a definite buy. It will be watched over and over and your kids will never get tired of it, which could possibly be a bad thing. I hope this was helpful, I tried not to mention anything about the plot because it best to watch it and form your own opinion.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

5 June 1987 (USA)

Also Known As:

Harry and the Hendersons

Filming Locations:

USA

Box Office

Budget:

$10,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$4,154,740, 7 June 1987

Gross USA:

$29,760,613

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$49,998,613

Company Credits

Production Co:

Amblin Entertainment, Universal Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

110 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1