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

Director:

David Zucker

Writers (WGA):

Jim Abrahams (television series Police Squad) &
David Zucker (television series "Police Squad") ...

Release Date:

2 December 1988 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Comedy | Crime | Romance

Tagline:

The Villain. Even Mother Teresa wanted him dead.

Plot:

Incompetent cop Frank Drebbin has to foil an attempt to assasinate Queen Elizabeth II.

Plot Keywords:

Police | Queen | Baseball | Mind Control | Scheme

Cast

Leslie Nielsen	...	Lt. Frank Drebin
Priscilla Presley	...	Jane Spencer
Ricardo Montalban	...	Vincent Ludwig
George Kennedy	...	Capt. Ed Hocken
O.J. Simpson	...	Det. Nordberg
Susan Beaubian	...	Wilma Nordberg
Nancy Marchand	...	Mayor Barkley
Raye Birk	...	Papshmir
Jeannette Charles	...	Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II
Ed Williams	...	Ted Olsen
Tiny Ron	...	Al, Tall Lab Tech
'Weird Al' Yankovic	...	Weird Al Yankovic
Leslie Maier	...	Herself
Winifred Freedman	...	Stephanie
Joe Grifasi	...	Pier 32 Dockman

Also Known As:

The Naked Gun
¿Y dónde está el policía? (Chile) (Venezuela) [es]
Çiplak silah (Turkey: Turkish title) [tr]
Agárralo como puedas (Spain) [es]
Aonde É Que Pára a Polícia (Portugal) [pt]
Beint á ská (Iceland) [is]
Bláznivá strela (Czechoslovakia) [cs]
Corra Que a Polícia Vem Aí! (Brazil) [pt]
Csupasz pisztoly (Hungary) [hu]
Den nakna pistolen (Sweden) [sv]
Die nackte Kanone (West Germany) [de]
Høj pistolføring (Denmark) [da]
L'agent fait la farce (Canada: French title) [fr]
La pistola desnuda (Argentina) [es]
Mies ja alaston ase (Finland) [fi]
Naga bron (Poland) [pl]
Trelles sfaires (Greece) [el]
Una pallottola spuntata (Italy) [it]
Y a-t-il un flic pour sauver la reine? (France) [fr]

Runtime:

85 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

South Korea:15 | Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Canada:G (Quebec) | Chile:14 | Denmark:11 | Finland:K-12/9 | Iceland:L | Ireland:15 | Netherlands:AL | Peru:PT | Singapore:PG | Sweden:15 | UK:15 | USA:PG-13 | West Germany:12 | Canada:PG (Manitoba/Ontario) | Spain:T | Canada:A (Nova Scotia)

Filming Locations:

University of San Diego, San Diego, California, USA

Company:

Paramount Pictures

Trivia:

According to David Zucker in the DVD commentary, the studio insisted on the casting of an Oscar winner in one of the major roles. This led to the casting of George Kennedy, who had been actively campaigning for the role of Ed Hocken for months, saying that he was furious at having missed his chance to spoof himself in the movie Airplane! (1980).

Goofs:

Errors in geography: The opening panoramic shot of the city labeled as "Beirut" is actually Cairo, Egypt, as seen from the Citadel of Saladdin.

Quotes:

Frank: Interesting... almost as interesting as the photographs I saw today.
Jane: I was young! I needed the work!

Movie Connections:

References Platoon (1986)

Soundtrack:

Trumpet Fanfare

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.