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	...	BB
Danny DeVito	...	Tilley
Barbara Hershey	...	Nora
John Mahoney	...	Moe
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:

aluminum siding | car | car accident | 1960s | competing businesses | 

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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

Did You Know?

Trivia

Bruno Kirby, J.T. Walsh, Richard Portnow and Ralph Tabakin all appeared in Good Morning, Vietnam (1987), also directed by Barry Levinson.

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Goofs

The bottles of Budweiser and Miller beer are the more modern (1987) style and not the correct bottles of the time.

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Quotes

Sam: [Sam and Tilley go out to bar to celebrate a sale that Tilley has made to break a long dry spell] You know, Tilley, I'm beginning to believe in God.
Ernest Tilley: Yeah me too!
Sam: No, you don't know what I mean. I'm beginning to think about God more.
Ernest Tilley: What, you were never one of those atheists, were you?
Sam: No, I'm not sayin' that. It's just that I'm beginning to give God more thought.
Ernest Tilley: What, did you have some kind of religious experience or something.
Sam: Well, yeah, the other day I took the wife to lunch, we went and has some...
[...]

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Connections

Referenced in Saturday Night Live: Willie Nelson (1987)

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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

A Levinson Winner

Chronicles the adventures of Frazier Crane's father, Mo, before he retired to Seattle on a bum leg.

While very few Barry L movies ever make it past contrived unfunny nonsense, Tin Men is a definite winner. Barry takes us back to his revered 1960s Baltimore and the ensemble cast has graduated from Diners drifter 20 somethings, to of all things, aluminum siding peddlers on the threshold of middle age. For some inexplicable reason, its not as dumb as it sounds. The performances are, to a man (and woman in Hersheys lone case) first rate. The script witty and touching. Above all however, is Tin Men's ability to get a laugh. From the Bonanza discussions that Tarentino would later graft onto his own Reservoir Dogs, to the 'tit for tat' revenge storyline, its all very very good. Even old Richard Dreyfuss who is probably the most all round unlikeable dude to ever carry the title of 'leading man', gives an uncharacteristically suitable performance. The mincing, whining, face-making exaggerated body language, in this film all works to perfection. DeVito with his extremely limited range, again lands himself in a movie that totally welcomes his character.

You would like to have seen just how Fraziers dad (Mahoney) injured his leg, but for some reason it is not detailed here. Levinson cant help being Levinson and strangely inserts the music of the Fine Young Cannibals into a film supposedly set 25 years earlier. Go figure.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

13 March 1987 (USA)

Also Known As:

Tin Men

Filming Locations:

Baltimore, Maryland, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$11,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$187,381, 8 March 1987

Gross USA:

$25,411,386

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$25,411,386

Company Credits

Production Co:

Touchstone Pictures, Silver Screen Partners II, Bandai Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

112 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1