Noises Off... (1992)

A travelling theater group find so much action going on behind-the-scenes, they almost ruin the performances.

Director:

Peter Bogdanovich

Writers:

Michael Frayn (play), Marty Kaplan (screenplay)

Stars:

Michael Caine, Carol Burnett, Denholm Elliott

1 win.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Carol Burnett	...	Dotty Otley / Mrs. Clackett
Michael Caine	...	Lloyd Fellowes
Denholm Elliott	...	Selsdon Mowbray / The Burglar
Julie Hagerty	...	Poppy Taylor
Marilu Henner	...	Belinda Blair / Flavia Brent
Mark Linn-Baker	...	Tim Allgood
Christopher Reeve	...	Frederick Dallas / Philip Brent
John Ritter	...	Garry Lejeune / Roger Tramplemain
Nicollette Sheridan	...	Brooke Ashton / Vicki
Katie Rich	...	Des Moines Stagehand
Zoe R. Cassavetes	...	Miami Stagehand
Kim Sebastian	...	Cleveland Stagehand
Louise Stratten	...	Broadway Stagehand (as L.B. Straten)
J. Christopher Sullivan	...	Miami Backstage Guard
Kimberly Neville	...	Miami Usher

Storyline

Lloyd Fellowes is the director of a theatre company. He's desperately trying to get his production together, despite the best efforts of the cast, the crew, and Lady Luck. We follow the production from final rehersals, through opening night, and onto the tour: as with any group of actors forced to work closely together for any great length of time, romances and arguments are bound to break out. Quite often, what's happening on stage is nothing compared to what's happening backstage....

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Plot Keywords:

argument | actor | backstage | theatre | reference to william shakespeare | 

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Taglines:

The comedy where everyone gets caught in the act!

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Genres:

Comedy

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Certificate:

PG-13

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

20 March 1992 (USA)

Also Known As:

Noises Off!

Filming Locations:

Pasadena Playhouse, 39 S El Molino Ave, Pasadena, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$12,000,000 (estimated)

Gross USA:

$2,280,148

Company Credits

Production Co:

Touchstone Pictures, Amblin Entertainment, Touchwood Pacific Partners 1

Technical Specs

Runtime:

101 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Denholm Elliott's last film.

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Goofs

In the Miami matinee, after Freddie's quick change, he trips and falls and both his headband and glasses fall off before he knocks on the door and falls through. In the next shot, his headband and glasses are back in place.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Usher: Curtains going up! Curtains going... up! Curtains going up!
Lloyd: [voiceover] A big Broadway opening. Everybody who's anybody in New York is inside this theater tonight. Everybody but one man. This man - ME!

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Connections

References Annie Get Your Gun (1950)

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Soundtracks

There's No Business Like Show Business
(End title)
Written by Irving Berlin
Performed by Niki Harris

User Reviews

Crazy movie

"Noises Off..." is one crazy movie. Based on Michael Frynn's play, it's about an inept travelling theater group doing stage productions of a British sex farce. The problem with this play is that as each month passes by while stopping from city to city, the actors start getting at each others throats. Michael Caine is hilariously funny as the frustrated director who gets to the point where he can't bear to deal with his clumsy actors because of the tumult backstage. "Noises Off..." is filmed in three different parts. First there's the rehearsal just before opening night in Des Moines, Iowa. Next there's a stop in Miami Beach where we see almost all the action taking place backstage. Finally there's the stop in Cleveland where the show practically falls flat on its face. This final part of the movie felt like torture to me. Nevertheless, "Noises Off..." is very funny most of the time and I did laugh alot. Besides Caine, the great cast also features Carol Burnett, John Ritter, Christopher Reeve, Julie Hagerty, Marilu Henner, Denholm Elliott, Mark Linn-Baker, and Nicollette Sheridan. All give funny performances and that helps to make "Noises Off..." a very good comedy.

*** (out of four)