''Dirty Tricks'' is a 1981 American

comedy film A comedy film is a category of film which emphasizes humor. These films are designed to make the audience laugh through amusement. Films in this style traditionally have a happy ending (black comedy being an exception). Comedy is one of the ol ...

directed by

Alvin Rakoff Alvin Rakoff (born Abraham Rakoff; February 6, 1927) is a Canadian director of film, television and theatre productions. He has worked with actors including Laurence Olivier, Peter Sellers, Sean Connery, Judi Dench, Rex Harrison, Rod Steiger, Hen ...

and written by William W. Norton, Eleanor E. Norton,

Thomas Gifford Thomas Eugene Gifford (May 16, 1937 – October 31, 2000) was a best-selling American author of thriller novels. He was a graduate of Harvard University. He gained international fame with the crime novel '' The Glendower Legacy'' and later w ...

and Camille Gifford. The film stars

Elliott Gould Elliott Gould (; né Goldstein; born August 29, 1938) is an American actor. He began acting in Hollywood films during the 1960s. Elliott's breakthrough role was in the ''Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice'' (1969), for which he received a nomination f ...

Kate Jackson Lucy Kate Jackson (born October 29, 1948) is an American actress and television producer, known for her television roles as Sabrina Duncan in the series '' Charlie's Angels'' (1976–1979) and Amanda King in the series ''Scarecrow and Mrs. Kin ...

Rich Little Richard Caruthers Little (born November 26, 1938) is a Canadian-American Impressionist (entertainment), impressionist and voice actor. Sometimes known as the "Man of a Thousand Voices", Little has recorded nine comedy albums and made numerous tel ...

, Arthur Hill,

John Juliani John Juliani (March 24, 1940, Montreal – August 21, 2003, Vancouver) was a Canadian actor, writer, producer, director and educator. His career spanned four decades in a number of different media, including radio and film. In addition to his ar ...

and

Alberta Watson Faith Susan Alberta Watson (March 6, 1955 – March 21, 2015), better known as Alberta Watson, was a Canadian film and television actress. Early life Watson was born in Toronto, Ontario, in 1955.Rita Zekas"Alberta's Feeling At Home On Deranged", ...

Plot

A Harvard University student, (

Nicholas Campbell Nicholas Campbell (born 24 March 1952) is a Canadian film, television and voice actor and filmmaker, who won three Gemini Awards for acting. He is known for such films as ''Naked Lunch'', ''Prozac Nation'', ''New Waterford Girl'' and the telev ...

) attempts to contact Prof. Chandler, (

) to authenticate a mysterious letter supposedly signed by George Washington. The student is murdered and the letter vanishes. Professor Chandler finds himself being hunted by a mafia killer and intrepid TV reporter Karen Polly Bishop (

Cast

as Professor Chandler *

as Karen Polly Bishop *

as Robert Brennan * Arthur Hill as Professor Prosser *

as Roselli *

as Tony *

Mavor Moore James Mavor Moore (March 8, 1919 – December 18, 2006) was a Canadian writer, producer, actor, public servant, critic, and educator. He notably appeared as Nero Wolfe in the CBC radio production in 1982. Life and work Moore was born in Tor ...

as Mr. Underhill *

as Bill Darcy *Michael McNamara as Thorn *Martin McNamara as Ozzie *Cindy Girling as Emily *Michael Kirby as FBI Agent Wicklow *

Angus MacInnes Angus MacInnes (born 27 October 1947) is a Canadian actor. He is most famous for his role as Jon "Dutch" Vander in ''Star Wars (film), Star Wars'', and as former hockey great Jean "Rosey" LaRose in the comedy ''Strange Brew''. He also appeared ...

as FBI Agent Jones * Hugh Webster as Mr. Darcy *Irene Kessler as Mrs. Cohen *Earl Pennington as Taxi driver *Joyce Campion as Mrs. Greenshields *Ken Umland as Cameraman *

Neil Affleck Neil Affleck is a Canadian animator, director, and actor. He has worked as an animator on ''The Simpsons'' and ''Family Guy''. As an actor, he appeared in the 1981 film ''Scanners'' and had a leading role in the 1981 film '' My Bloody Valentine' ...

as Student #1 * Murray Cruchley as Anchorman *George E. Zeeman as Fire Captain *Lily Godfrey as Nurse *Michael Harrouch as Patient *Robert D. Koby as Doctor *

Anthony Sherwood Anthony Sherwood is a Canadian actor, producer, director and writer. Biography Sherwood was born in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Sherwood's grandmother, Alice Kane (née Alice White), was a musician and music teacher, his mother was an amateur singer ...

as Soundman *Lewis Pugh as Elderly Man *Griffith Brewer as The Veteran *Jeannette Tucker as Secretary *Isabelle Hunting as Elderly Lady *Lisa Bodie as Nurse *

Kate Trotter Kate Trotter (born February 5, 1953) is a Canadian film, television and stage actress. Career Her television roles have included appearances in '' Wild Roses'', ''Covert Affairs'', ''Lost Girl'', '' The Newsroom'', ''Paradise Falls'', '' Earth: F ...

as Sally

Production

Principal photography began on August 13, 1979 in

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...

and lasted about nine weeks; additional location shooting was done in

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

where the film was set. The film was made with the participation of the

Canadian Film Development Corporation Telefilm Canada is a Crown corporation reporting to Canada's federal government through the Minister of Canadian Heritage. Headquartered in Montreal, Telefilm provides services to the Canadian audiovisual industry with four regional offices in ...

.Macfarlane, David (May 25, 1981). "And the winner is the dog". ''

Maclean's ''Maclean's'', founded in 1905, is a Canadian news magazine reporting on Canadian issues such as politics, pop culture, and current events. Its founder, publisher John Bayne Maclean, established the magazine to provide a uniquely Canadian perspe ...

''. p. 49.

Release

Distributed by

AVCO Embassy Pictures Embassy Pictures Corporation (also and later known as Avco Embassy Pictures as well as Embassy Films Associates) was an American independent film Production company, production and Film distributor, distribution studio responsible for such fil ...

, the film began an initial test run in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

on March 20, 1981, followed by a wider release on May 1 of that year.

Home media

The film was released on VHS in the United States by Embassy Home Entertainment.

Reception

Larry Kart of the ''

Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is a daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States, owned by Tribune Publishing. Founded in 1847, and formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" (a slogan for which WGN radio and television ar ...

'' gave the film zero stars out of four and wrote that "the shoddiness of the product is beyond belief. Lines are blown left and right, cuts within scenes don't match, and the performances would be unacceptable in a home movie ... If you've ever wondered what it's like at the bottom of the barrel, this film will take you on a guided tour." ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'' wrote, "Despite the efforts of a willing and able cast, 'Dirty Tricks' flounders as a would-be chase comedy, done in by lame writing and misjudged direction." Kevin Thomas of the ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...

'' stated, "Elliott Gould is such fun and so full of sweet mischief in 'Dirty Tricks' (selected theaters) it's a shame that it wastes both him and an amusing premise ... There are lot of car chases ending in routinely spectacular crashes, lots of trite spoofing of the Mafia and the FBI and lots of bloody violence, all of which is scarcely amusing." Gary Arnold of ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...

'' called the film "so shabby that it almost makes ' Foul Play' look classy."Arnold, Gary (November 20, 1981). "Reaching for Laughs in the Halls of Academe". ''

''. C3.

David Macfarlane David Macfarlane (born 1952 in Hamilton, Ontario) is a Canadian journalist, playwright and novelist. His debut novel, 1999's '' Summer Gone'', was shortlisted for the Giller Prize and was a winner of the Books in Canada First Novel Award. His New ...

of ''

'' wrote, "''Dirty Tricks'' is crass, witless and boring. Its humor is invariably sexist, its violence gratuitous. The acting is abysmal, the screenplay atrocious, and the direction beyond the pale. Any film that is little more than a vehicle for Gould's just-got-out-of-bed-where's-the-coffee style is obviously in very big trouble."

References

External links

* {{IMDb title, 0080630, Dirty Tricks 1981 films Films set in Boston American comedy films 1981 comedy films Films directed by Alvin Rakoff Embassy Pictures films 1980s English-language films 1980s American films