Set up and wrongfully accused, two best friends are sent to prison for a crime they didn't commit. However, no prison cell can keep them locked in a cage.Set up and wrongfully accused, two best friends are sent to prison for a crime they didn't commit. However, no prison cell can keep them locked in a cage.Set up and wrongfully accused, two best friends are sent to prison for a crime they didn't commit. However, no prison cell can keep them locked in a cage.
- Awards
- 1 nomination
Miguel Ángel Suárez
- Jesus Ramirez
- (as Miguelangel Suarez)
Erland van Lidth
- Grossberger
- (as Erland Van Lidth De Jeude)
- Director
- Writers
- Bruce Jay Friedman
- Charles Blackwell(uncredited)
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaPrior to filming, Arizona State Prison Warden Robert Raines had tried to organize a rodeo for 2 years. The biggest obstacle was the cost of constructing an arena, complete with grandstand, stables, and livestock chutes. When Columbia Pictures inquired about renting the prison for a film shoot, he saw a way to realize his dream. If security could be maintained, the prison was available for a fee which matched the budget for the new rodeo grounds. Raines said, "There was a fringe benefit we didn't anticipate. Morale in the prison was never higher. Some 350 inmates signed on as extras, playing themselves, and the rest, even the most notorious troublemakers, stayed on their best behavior. There were simply no incidents."
- GoofsOne of the two robbers who impersonate Skip and Harry in the bird costumes is clearly played by a black actor, although the robbers are supposed to be two white guys. He's the one who punches a lady. Half of his face is visible under the mask, and his hand as well. (Possibly these two actors could be Richard Pryor and Gene Wilder themselves, since the bird costumes were custom-made for their size. Rather than pay for extras that are the right size to fit them, or pay for new costumes, the filmmakers could have used their two lead actors for the scene, which is very short anyway)
- Quotes
Skip Donahue: What are you doing?
Harry Monroe: I'm gettin bad. You better get bad, Jack, 'cause if you ain't bad, you're gonna get fucked.
- Alternate versionsThe original 1999 DVD and the current Blu-Ray by Image Entertainment restores bits of footage absent from previous video versions.(the VHS copies were transferred from a slightly damaged 35mm print of the film and the print damage caused this), during the transition from the prison cafeteria to the activity yard in which after Harry is told by Rory that he killed his stepfather by slapping his hand in which Harry takes his hand and pats it lightly a few times and then a shot of the prison yard before cutting to the various outside activities with the inmates.
- ConnectionsEdited into Richard Pryor: I Ain't Dead Yet, #*%$#@!! (2003)
- SoundtracksCrazy
Sung by Gene Wilder
Composed by Michael Masser (uncredited) and Randy Goodrum (uncredited)
Produced by Michael Masser (uncredited)
Featured review
a very funny film
"Thats right,thats right we baaaad.....". That line was probably the most famous that Richard Pryor ever uttered on screen. He and Gene Wilder made a great "buddy" team just like Newman and Redford...only they are a helluva lot funnier! This was one film that critics hated but audiences loved. Wilder's "nice guy" is a perfect match for Pryor's wisecracking. This film has a fine supporting cast as well, George Stanford Brown (although his portrayal of a gay inmate may not seem "politically correct" today, he is hilariously "swishy" though!) Jobeth Williams, Barry Corbin (as the corrupt warden)and Craig T. Nelson (before he became a "Coach"). Sidney Poitier does a wonderful job of directing these two comedy legends I might add. The prison escape in the end kept me on the edge of my seat. I liked Skip and Harry so much that I was just rooting for them all the way! Pryor was burned shortly after this film was completed.
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Details
Box office
- Budget
- $10,000,000 (estimated)
- Gross US & Canada
- $101,300,000
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $8,691,886
- Dec 14, 1980
- Gross worldwide
- $101,300,000
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