''Whiffs'' is a 1975

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

Ted Post Theodore I. Post (March 31, 1918 – August 20, 2013) was an American director of film and television. Highly prolific, Post directed numerous episodes of well-known television series including '' Rawhide'', ''Gunsmoke'', and ''The Twilight Zone'' ...

and starring

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 ...

Eddie Albert Edward Albert Heimberger (April 22, 1906 – May 26, 2005) was an American actor and activist. He was twice nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor; the first nomination came in 1954 for his performance in ''Roman Holiday'', ...

Harry Guardino Harry Guardino (December 23, 1925 – July 17, 1995) was an American actor whose career spanned from the early 1950s to the early 1990s. Biography Guardino was born to an Italian family on the Lower East Side of Manhattan and raised in Bro ...

Godfrey Cambridge Godfrey MacArthur Cambridge (February 26, 1933 – November 29, 1976) was an American stand-up comic and actor. Alongside Bill Cosby, Dick Gregory, and Nipsey Russell, he was acclaimed by ''Time'' in 1965 as "one of the country's foremost celeb ...

, and

Jennifer O'Neill Jennifer O'Neill (born February 20, 1948) is a Brazilian-born American actress, model, author, and activist. She is known for her modeling and spokesperson work for CoverGirl cosmetics starting in 1963, and her starring role in the Oscar-winnin ...

. It was produced by

Brut Productions Brut Productions was a film production company that was an offshoot of Fabergé cosmetics under George Barrie. History Barrie began thinking about becoming involved in movie production when producer Mike Frankovich asked Fabergé to make a mock ad ...

and released theatrically in the U.S. by

20th Century Fox 20th Century Studios, Inc. (previously known as 20th Century Fox) is an American film production company headquartered at the Fox Studio Lot in the Century City area of Los Angeles. As of 2019, it serves as a film production arm of Walt Dis ...

. The film was released in the UK as ''C.A.S.H.''

Plot

A group of gullible military private volunteers to be the subject of numerous military biological and chemical weaponry experiments, and later robs banks as a result.

Cast

as Dudley Frapper *

as Colonel Lockyer *

as Chops Mulligan *

as Dusty *

as Lt. Scottie Hallam *

Don "Red" Barry Donald Barry de Acosta (January 11, 1912 – July 17, 1980), also known as Red Barry and Milton Poimboeuf, was an American film and television actor. He was nicknamed "Red" after appearing as the first Red Ryder in the highly successful 19 ...

as Sgt. Post *

James Brown James Joseph Brown (May 3, 1933 – December 25, 2006) was an American singer, dancer, musician, record producer and bandleader. The central progenitor of funk music and a major figure of 20th century music, he is often referred to by the honor ...

as State Trooper *

Richard Masur Richard Masur is an American character actor who has appeared in more than 80 films. From 1995 to 1999, he served two terms as president of the Screen Actors Guild (SAG). He is best known for Nick Lobo on ''Rhoda'' (1974-1977), Stanley Uris in th ...

as Lockyer's Aide *

Howard Hesseman Howard Hesseman (February 27, 1940 – January 29, 2022) was an American actor known for his television roles as burned-out disc jockey Dr. Johnny Fever on ''WKRP in Cincinnati'', and the lead role of history teacher Charlie Moore on ''Head of ...

as Dr. Gopian * Jack Colley performing the stunt piloting maneuvers

Production

Development

The film was made by

, a short lived film production company that was an off-shoot of Faberge Cosmetics under

George Barrie George Barrie (9 February 1912 – 16 November 2002) was the owner and CEO of Fabergé Inc. from 1964 to 1984. He was nominated for two Oscars for Best Original Song and created the cologne Brut. Though not one of the first to use celebr ...

. Their early films included '' Night Watch'', ''

Welcome to Arrow Beach ''Welcome to Arrow Beach'' is a 1974 American horror film directed by and starring Laurence Harvey. Following its limited theatrical release, an edited version of the film was reissued in 1976 under the title ''Tender Flesh''. Plot Robbin Stanle ...

'', '' A Touch of Class'' and '' Count Your Bullets''. In June 1974 Barrie announced he would turn producer with ''Whiffs'' based on an original story and script by Malcolm Mamorstein, with Ted Post to direct. "It's a comedy-satire about a young man, an expert on testing gases, who winds up using all that knowledge for other purposes," said Barrie.

Casting

Mamorstein later recalled, "George Barrie knew that I had done ''

S*P*Y*S ''S*P*Y*S'' is a 1974 American spy comedy film directed by Irvin Kershner and starring Elliott Gould, Donald Sutherland and Zouzou. The film was screened at the 1974 Cannes Film Festival, but it was not entered into the main competition. Plo ...

'' and was looking for someone with a comedic touch, so he suggested Elliott Gould." Elliott Gould insisted his then-girlfriend Jennifer O'Neill play the female lead. “We really didn't want to hire her,” said Mamorstein, “because we thought, what if their romance breaks up in the middle of the film?... We had good choices or her part Everybody wanted to play it, but Gould wanted her.”” "I thought I was gonna marry Jennifer,” Gould said later. “Since I couldn’t, I thought that she’d be perfect to be my nurse n “Whiffs.”

Teri Garr Teri Ann Garr (born December 11, 1944) is an American former actress, dancer, and comedian. She frequently appeared in comedic roles throughout her career, which spans four decades and includes over 140 credits in film and television. Her accola ...

was up for the part. I needed a funny girl. But I wanted to be loyal to the beautiful, amazing person that Jennifer is...” She signed in August 1974.

Filming

Parts of the film were shot in Dugway, Stockton and

Tooele, Utah Tooele ( ) is a city in Tooele County in the U.S. state of Utah. The population was 35,742 at the 2020 census. It is the county seat of Tooele County. Located approximately 30 minutes southwest of Salt Lake City, Tooele is known for Tooele Army ...

. Gould and O'Neill broke up during filming. “I physically got in between them, stuff like that,” said Marmorstein. Jennifer O’Neill was not much of an actress at the time, and it was tough." Mamorstein said "

was a very amiable guy. Except he had no idea how to shoot comedy. Also, he was too in love with zoom lenses, which is fine for TV. I conspired with the director of photography to switch to a prime lens each time Ted was ready for a new setup. For his first shot, he chose a huge, complex, all-encompassing shot that put us days behind schedule.” The film was going to be made for

Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California, and a subsidiary of Warner Bros. D ...

but ended up being released by 20th Century Fox. However, film ownership eventually went to Warner Bros. through

Turner Entertainment Co. Turner Entertainment Company is an American multimedia company founded by Ted Turner in 1986. Purchased by Time Warner in 1996 as part of its acquisition of Turner Broadcasting System (TBS), the company was largely responsible for overseeing th ...

Warner Home Video Warner Bros. Home Entertainment Inc. (formerly known as Warner Home Video and WCI Home Video and sometimes credited as Warner Home Entertainment) is the home video distribution division of Warner Bros. It was founded in 1978 as WCI Home Video ...

released the film on 2013 through the

Warner Archive Collection The Warner Archive Collection is a home video division for releasing classic and cult films from Warner Bros.' library. It started as a manufactured-on-demand (MOD) DVD series by Warner Bros. Home Entertainment on March 23, 2009, with the inte ...

Reception

TV Guide TV Guide is an American digital media company that provides television program Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or t ...

'' wrote, in reference to the story line of Elliott Gould's character behaving like a chimpanzee because he breathed in an experimental chemical, "The scriptwriter must have taken a good whiff of the gas himself each time he sat down at his typewriter." The ''Los Angeles Times'' called it "as funny as a fire at an old folk's home." "That picture didn't work," said Gould. "They went with the obvious comedy." In 1976 he said the film featured his least favourite performance.'I just wanted people to listen to me ...': Positive talkathon Different directors By David Sterritt. The Christian Science Monitor 24 June 1976: 30.

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* * {{Ted Post 1975 films 1970s crime comedy films 1970s heist films 1970s satirical films 20th Century Fox films American crime comedy films American heist films American satirical films Films about bank robbery Films directed by Ted Post Films scored by John Cameron Films shot in Utah Films with screenplays by Malcolm Marmorstein Military humor in film 1975 comedy films 1970s English-language films 1970s American films