Tin Men (1987)

A minor car accident drives two rival aluminum-siding salesmen to the ridiculous extremes of man versus man in 1963 Baltimore.

Director:

Barry Levinson

Writer:

Barry Levinson

Stars:

Richard Dreyfuss, Danny DeVito, Barbara Hershey

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Richard Dreyfuss	...	Bill 'BB' Babowsky
Danny DeVito	...	Ernest Tilley
Barbara Hershey	...	Nora Tilley
John Mahoney	...	Moe Adams
Jackie Gayle	...	Sam
Stanley Brock	...	Gil
Seymour Cassel	...	Cheese
Bruno Kirby	...	Mouse
J.T. Walsh	...	Wing
Richard Portnow	...	Carly
Matt Craven	...	Looney
Alan Blumenfeld	...	Stanley
Brad Sullivan	...	Masters
Michael Tucker	...	Bagel
Deirdre O'Connell	...	Nellie

Storyline

One step short of larceny, the aluminum siding salesmen in this movie sell their wares, compete with each other, and engage in a lot of great dialog. Tin Men focuses on the rivalry between BB Babowsky and Ernest Tilley. At the same time, the end of small world of which they are kings looms near as a government probe investigates their industry.

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Plot Keywords:

car accident | 1960s | aluminium siding | competing businesses | government hearing | 

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Taglines:

The Year - 1963. Selling the American Dream is a risky, funny business - you could wind up paying with your wife!

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

13 March 1987 (USA)

Also Known As:

La guerra de los vendedores

Filming Locations:

Baltimore, Maryland, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$11,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$187,381, 8 March 1987, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$25,411,386

Company Credits

Production Co:

Bandai Films, Silver Screen Partners III, Touchstone Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

112 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The second film in writer-director Barry Levinson's series of four "Baltimore Films" . The others are Diner (1982), Avalon (1990) and Liberty Heights (1999). However, Allmovie states that Tin Men (1987) is "the second [film] of director Barry Levinson's Baltimore Trilogy (the first was Diner (1982), the third Avalon (1990)".

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Goofs

Although the movie takes place in the 1960's, in the car accident scene, two male onlookers are wearing late 1980's style eyeglass frames.

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Quotes

Ernest Tilley: There is no sympathy for the working man in this country.

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Connections

Referenced in At the Movies: Avalon/Listen Up: The Lives of Quincy Jones/Henry & June/Desperate Hours (1990)

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Soundtracks

You Belong to Me
Written by Pee Wee King, Redd Stewart and Chilton Price
Performed by Jo Stafford
with The Paul Weston Orchestra (uncredited)
Courtesy of Capitol Records

User Reviews

...if they only had a heart

Barry Levinson's attractively lopsided comedy marked his tentative return to Earth (to be more specific, the city of Baltimore circa 1963) after serving time on the Steven Spielberg assembly line (in 'Young Sherlock Holmes'). The idea of a film depicting the cutthroat antagonism between two aluminum siding salesmen must have been alarming to the people at Touchstone Pictures, who no doubt insisted on certain commercial concessions, including a strictly gratuitous appearance by the pop group Fine Young Cannibals (out of place in the early '60s setting), and the casting of two high-profile names in the title roles (an allusion to the heartless hero of Oz). Danny DeVito and Richard Dreyfuss portray the disreputable rival salesmen who become mortal enemies after a minor fender bender dings their new Cadillacs. Both are reliable comic talents, but the highlights of the film are the lengthy digressions from the plot, with a (largely unknown) cast of supporting actors improvising loopy, crisscrossing conversation over coffee and donuts. Despite the effort Levinson may have put into his screenplay it's the unscripted banter that leaves the best impression, winning points for unpredictability in an original but otherwise uneven comedy.