''Crackers'' is a 1984 American

comedy Comedy is a genre of fiction that consists of discourses or works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. The term o ...

crime film Crime films, in the broadest sense, is a film genre inspired by and analogous to the crime fiction literary genre. Films of this genre generally involve various aspects of crime and its detection. Stylistically, the genre may overlap and combine ...

directed by

Louis Malle Louis Marie Malle (; 30 October 1932 – 23 November 1995) was a French film director, screenwriter, and producer who worked in both Cinema of France, French cinema and Cinema of the United States, Hollywood. Described as "eclectic" and "a fi ...

. It was entered into the

34th Berlin International Film Festival The 34th annual Berlin International Film Festival was held from 17–28 February 1984. The festival opened with ''The Noah's Ark Principle'' by Roland Emmerich. The Golden Bear was awarded to the American film '' Love Streams'' directed by John ...

. Written by Jeffrey Fiskin, the film is about a group of small-time out-of-luck thieves, led by the unemployed Weslake (

Donald Sutherland Donald McNichol Sutherland (born 17 July 1935) is a Canadian actor whose film career spans over six decades. He has been nominated for nine Golden Globe Awards, winning two for his performances in the television films ''Citizen X'' (1995) an ...

), who attempt to rob the neighborhood

pawn shop A pawnbroker is an individual or business (pawnshop or pawn shop) that offers secured loans to people, with items of personal property used as collateral. The items having been ''pawned'' to the broker are themselves called ''pledges'' or ...

owned by the greedy Garvey (

Jack Warden Jack Warden (born John Warden Lebzelter Jr.; September 18, 1920July 19, 2006) was an American character actor of film and television. He was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for ''Shampoo'' (1975) and '' Heaven Can Wait ...

). It is a

remake A remake is a film, television series, video game, song or similar form of entertainment that is based upon and retells the story of an earlier production in the same medium—e.g., a "new version of an existing film". A remake tells the same ...

of the

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

film ''

Big Deal on Madonna Street ''Big Deal on Madonna Street'' ( it, I soliti ignoti; released in the UK as ''Persons Unknown'') is a 1958 Italian comedy caper film directed by Mario Monicelli and considered to be among the masterpieces of Italian cinema. Its original Italian t ...

'' (1958) directed by

Mario Monicelli Mario Alberto Ettore Monicelli (; 16 May 1915 – 29 November 2010) was an Italian film director and screenwriter and one of the masters of the ''Commedia all'Italiana'' (Comedy Italian style). He was nominated six times for an Oscar, and was awa ...

Plot

In 1980s

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

, Weslake, who was laid off from his job, is working in a low-paying position at Garvey's pawn shop. Weslake has one friend nicknamed "Turtle" who is homeless and is seen throughout the whole film searching for something to eat. One day, Dillard, who is an amateur musician, and Ramon, an

illegal immigrant Illegal immigration is the migration of people into a country in violation of the immigration laws of that country or the continued residence without the legal right to live in that country. Illegal immigration tends to be financially upwar ...

from

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

who lives with his sister Maria, come to Garvey's shop. The purpose of their visit is to buy off a guitar pawned earlier by Dillard; because both have little money they're offering the pawn shop owner a stolen car radio, but it is not enough for Garvey. Instead, he offers Dillard a deal: he wants Dillard to install an alarm system in his shop (as Dillard is an electrician). Dillard is not thrilled by the deal but Ramon convinces him, arguing that when the alarm system is installed, Garvey may have enough confidence to leave the shop (he normally stays in it, since he lives there) and they may then get an opportunity to break in and get the guitar back. Their conversation is heard by "Boardwalk", a

pimp Procuring or pandering is the facilitation or provision of a prostitute or other sex worker in the arrangement of a sex act with a customer. A procurer, colloquially called a pimp (if male) or a madam (if female, though the term pimp has still ...

who was just left by his girlfriend with his small child. He tells Weslake that he should report the plans of Dillard and Ramon to Garvey, but Weslake realizes that when the new alarm system is installed, Garvey may no longer find it necessary to employ him, and he will be broke again. Because of this Weslake does not inform his employer of the planned robbery, and instead joins Dillard, Ramon Boardwalk and Turtle in their attempted robbery. He becomes the brain of the whole operation, designing a plan for breaking into the large safe in the pawn shop. The opportunity comes very soon, as Garvey announces that he's leaving the shop because of a planned visit to his old mother. The group then puts their plan into action (albeit with many troubles along the way), eventually finding out that the big

vault Vault may refer to: * Jumping, the act of propelling oneself upwards Architecture * Vault (architecture), an arched form above an enclosed space * Bank vault, a reinforced room or compartment where valuables are stored * Burial vault (enclosure ...

which is supposed to be full of goods is empty, because Garvey was not keeping anything inside it for years. The whole story has a good ending, however. As Garvey is coming back

drunk Alcohol intoxication, also known as alcohol poisoning, commonly described as drunkenness or inebriation, is the negative behavior and physical effects caused by a recent consumption of alcohol. In addition to the toxicity of ethanol, the main ps ...

in the middle of the night (since his mother died when he went to see her), he meets the would-be robbers inside his store. Surprisingly, he does not realize that they intended to rob him, and instead is happy that in this sad time he is surrounded by "friends".

Cast

as Weslake *

as Garvey *

Sean Penn Sean Justin Penn (born August 17, 1960) is an American actor and film director. He has won two Academy Awards, for his roles in the mystery drama ''Mystic River'' (2003) and the biopic ''Milk'' (2008). Penn began his acting career in televisi ...

as Dillard *

Wallace Shawn Wallace Michael Shawn (born November 12, 1943) is an American actor, playwright, and essayist. His film roles include Wally Shawn (a fictionalized version of himself) in '' My Dinner with Andre'' (1981), Vizzini in ''The Princess Bride'' (1987), ...

as Turtle * Larry Riley as Boardwalk *

Trinidad Silva Trinidad Silva, Jr. (January 30, 1950 – July 31, 1988) was an American comedian and character actor who played small supporting roles in a number of films of the 1980s. He is best known for the roles of Jesus Martinez, a gang leader in the TV s ...

as Ramon *

Christine Baranski Christine Jane Baranski (born May 2, 1952) is an American actress. She is a 15-time Primetime Emmy Award nominee, winning once in 1995 for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series for her role as Maryann Thorpe in the sitcom ''Cybill'' ...

as Maxine *

Tasia Valenza Tasia Valenza (born April 5, 1967) is an American actress. Personal life Tasia Valenza is the daughter of former actor and restaurant consultant Frank Valenza and Gloria Valenza. Her twin brother is a former television writer and now solar mark ...

as Maria * Edouard DeSoto as Fernando

Reception

Vincent Canby of ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' wrote, In a career retrospective on Malle,

Roger Ebert Roger Joseph Ebert (; June 18, 1942 – April 4, 2013) was an American film critic, film historian, journalist, screenwriter, and author. He was a film critic for the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' from 1967 until his death in 2013. In 1975, Ebert beca ...

said the film 'was a comedy that didn't work.'

References

External links

* * * * * {{Louis Malle 1984 films 1980s crime comedy films American crime comedy films American heist films American remakes of Italian films Films directed by Louis Malle Films set in San Francisco Universal Pictures films Films scored by Paul Chihara 1984 comedy films 1980s English-language films 1980s American films