The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad! (1988)

Incompetent police Detective Frank Drebin must foil an attempt to assassinate Queen Elizabeth II.

Director:

David Zucker

Writers:

Jerry Zucker, Jim Abrahams

Stars:

Leslie Nielsen, Priscilla Presley, O.J. Simpson

1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Leslie Nielsen	...	Frank Drebin
Priscilla Presley	...	Jane Spencer
Ricardo Montalban	...	Vincent Ludwig
George Kennedy	...	Ed Hocken
O.J. Simpson	...	Nordberg
Susan Beaubian	...	Mrs. Nordberg
Nancy Marchand	...	Mayor
Raye Birk	...	Pahpshmir
Jeannette Charles	...	Queen Elizabeth II
Ed Williams	...	Ted Olsen
Tiny Ron	...	Al
'Weird Al' Yankovic	...	'Weird Al'
Leslie Maier	...	'Weird Leslie'
Winifred Freedman	...	Stephie
Joe Grifasi	...	Foreman

Storyline

A rerun of many of the gags from the television series Police Squad! (1982). An Airplane! (1980)-type spoof, this time with the an incompetent Lieutenant Frank Drebin, who always "gets his man". Visual gags come thick and fast, and it's impossible to catch them all with one viewing. The plot: Queen Elizabeth II of England is coming to town, and Vincent Ludwig has plans to assassinate her using a brainwashed baseball player.

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Plot Keywords:

spoof | slapstick comedy | parody | assassin | terrorist | 

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Taglines:

The Villain. Even Mother Teresa wanted him dead.

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Genres:

Comedy | Crime

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Certificate:

PG-13

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

2 December 1988 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Naked Gun

Filming Locations:

Brand Library - 1601 West moutain Street, Glendale, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$12,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$9,300,000, 4 December 1988

Gross USA:

$78,041,829

Company Credits

Production Co:

Paramount Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

85 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

"Cowboy" Joe West, a veteran MLB Umpire and country singer has a cameo as an umpire at the baseball game. He even wears his real number on his sleeve: #22.

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Goofs

The Angels play in Anaheim, not Los Angeles. While the game scenes were filmed at Dodger Stadium, it was identified in dialogue as Anaheim Stadium. While Anaheim is considered to be part of the Greater Los Angeles area, it is located outside the municipality and county of Los Angeles, and would be outside police and governmental jurisdiction of Los Angeles.

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Quotes

Vincent Ludwig: Tell me, Mr. Papshmir, in all the world, who is the most effective assassin?
Papshmir: Well, I would think ANYONE who manages to conceal his identity as an assassin.
Vincent Ludwig: Yes, but there is even a more ideal assassin - one who doesn't KNOW he's an assassin.

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Crazy Credits

"Mr. Weiss' Wardrobe........................... ANDREA THAU" (However, this may be a legitimate credit, since Mr. Weiss, the producer, has a small uncredited part and needed a costume.)

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Alternate Versions

Drebin's walking monologue (ending with "And where the Hell was I?") has many new scenes, such as Drebin going into a public shower, and extra dialogue to fill the time.

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Connections

Remade as The Naked Gun

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Soundtracks

God Save the King!
(1744) (uncredited)
Music attributed to Henry Carey
Played at the ballgame in honor of the Queen

User Reviews

In praise of Leslie Nielsen....

The movie itself is funny. "The Naked Gun" is without a doubt the best skewering of all cop movie cliches available in this day and age. It works on every conceivable level and a few that haven't been conceived yet.

But what puts it over the top is Leslie Nielsen.

It's amazing: he was great in "Airplane!", another classic from the ZAZ team (Zucker, Abrahams, Zucker), and in the lamentably short TV series "Police Squad!". But here, he spreads his wings and flies to new heights of insanity and delerium. With jaw set square and tongue firmly in cheek, Neilsen makes the role of Lt. Frank Drebin all his own and the movie-going public's collective life is all the more enriched because of it.

He's aided and abetted by greats like Kennedy, Presley and Montalban (who knew?) and the movie even finds good moments for John Houseman and Reggie Jackson.

As I said, the movie takes off and finds great things to do with police cars with a mind all their own and goes on from there to take on such cliches as car chases, illegal searches, the cleaning out of the desk, the trip to the police lab, shoot-outs, the lax housework of a single police detective, etc., etc., etc.....

And what other cop movie in the history of the world has a music video in the middle, courtesy of Herman's Hermits?

Just one.

Ten stars and a Dugout Dog for "The Naked Gun", the film that answers once and for all - can Leslie Nielsen do comedy?

I think you know the answer.