Down and Out in Beverly Hills
Encyclopedia
Down and Out in Beverly Hills is a 1986 American comedy film based on the French
play
Boudu sauvé des eaux
, which had previously been adapted on film in 1932 by Jean Renoir
. Down and Out in Beverly Hills was directed by Paul Mazursky
, and starred Nick Nolte
, Bette Midler
and Richard Dreyfuss
. The film is about a rich but dysfunctional couple who save the life of a suicidal bum. Flamboyant musician Little Richard
also makes an appearance, and contributed the song "Great Gosh a'Mighty" to the soundtrack. The song's success led to a revitalization of his career.
Released by Touchstone Pictures
, a subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company
, Down and Out in Beverly Hills has the distinction of being the first R-rated
film ever released by Disney. The R rating is due to profanity
as well as a brief scene showing a maid in bed having sex on top, another first for Disney. However, countless R-rated films have since received distribution by Disney, under subsidiaries such as Touchstone, Miramax Films
and Hollywood Pictures
. Walt Disney Pictures
, the flagship family-oriented brand, has yet to release a film with a rating stronger than PG-13.
network, airing from July 25 to September 12. It has the distinction of being the first ever show to be cancelled by Fox; only 13 episodes were produced.
The cast included Hector Elizondo
as Dave Whiteman, Anita Morris
as Barbara Whiteman, Eileen Seeley as Jenny Whiteman
and Tim Thomerson
as Jerry Baskin. Evan Richards and Elizabeth Pena
were the only two cast members of the film to reprise their roles for TV.
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
play
Play (theatre)
A play is a form of literature written by a playwright, usually consisting of scripted dialogue between characters, intended for theatrical performance rather than just reading. There are rare dramatists, notably George Bernard Shaw, who have had little preference whether their plays were performed...
Boudu sauvé des eaux
Boudu Saved from Drowning
Boudu Saved from Drowning is a 1932 French film directed by Jean Renoir. Renoir wrote the film's screenplay, from the play by René Fauchois...
, which had previously been adapted on film in 1932 by Jean Renoir
Jean Renoir
Jean Renoir was a French film director, screenwriter, actor, producer and author. As a film director and actor, he made more than forty films from the silent era to the end of the 1960s...
. Down and Out in Beverly Hills was directed by Paul Mazursky
Paul Mazursky
Paul Mazursky is an American film director, screenwriter and actor.-Personal life:He was born Irwin Mazursky in Brooklyn, New York, the son of Jean , a piano player for dance classes, and David Mazursky, a laborer. Mazursky was born to a Jewish family; his grandfather was an immigrant from...
, and starred Nick Nolte
Nick Nolte
Nicholas King "Nick" Nolte is an American actor whose career has spanned over five decades, peaking in the 1990s when his commercial success made him one of the most popular celebrities of that decade.-Early life:...
, Bette Midler
Bette Midler
Bette Midler is an American singer, actress, and comedian, also known by her informal stage name, The Divine Miss M. She became famous as a cabaret and concert headliner, and went on to star in successful and acclaimed films such as The Rose, Ruthless People, Beaches, and For The Boys...
and Richard Dreyfuss
Richard Dreyfuss
Richard Stephen Dreyfuss is an American actor best known for starring in a number of film, television, and theater roles since the late 1960s, including the films American Graffiti, Jaws, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, The Goodbye Girl, Whose Life Is It Anyway?, Stakeout, Always, What About...
. The film is about a rich but dysfunctional couple who save the life of a suicidal bum. Flamboyant musician Little Richard
Little Richard
Richard Wayne Penniman , known by the stage name Little Richard, is an American singer, songwriter, musician, recording artist, and actor, considered key in the transition from rhythm and blues to rock and roll in the 1950s. He was also the first artist to put the funk in the rock and roll beat and...
also makes an appearance, and contributed the song "Great Gosh a'Mighty" to the soundtrack. The song's success led to a revitalization of his career.
Released by Touchstone Pictures
Touchstone Pictures
Touchstone Pictures is an American film production label and is one of several film labels of the Walt Disney Motion Pictures Group. Established in 1984, its releases typically feature more mature themes and darker tones than those that are released under the Walt Disney Pictures banner.Touchstone...
, a subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company
The Walt Disney Company
The Walt Disney Company is the largest media conglomerate in the world in terms of revenue. Founded on October 16, 1923, by Walt and Roy Disney as the Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio, Walt Disney Productions established itself as a leader in the American animation industry before diversifying into...
, Down and Out in Beverly Hills has the distinction of being the first R-rated
MPAA film rating system
The Motion Picture Association of America's film-rating system is used in the U.S. and its territories to rate a film's thematic and content suitability for certain audiences. The MPAA system applies only to motion pictures that are submitted for rating. Other media may be rated by other entities...
film ever released by Disney. The R rating is due to profanity
Profanity
Profanity is a show of disrespect, or a desecration or debasement of someone or something. Profanity can take the form of words, expressions, gestures, or other social behaviors that are socially constructed or interpreted as insulting, rude, vulgar, obscene, desecrating, or other forms.The...
as well as a brief scene showing a maid in bed having sex on top, another first for Disney. However, countless R-rated films have since received distribution by Disney, under subsidiaries such as Touchstone, Miramax Films
Miramax Films
Miramax Films is an American entertainment company known for distributing independent and foreign films. For its first 14 years the company was privately owned by its founders, Bob and Harvey Weinstein...
and Hollywood Pictures
Hollywood Pictures
Hollywood Pictures is one of The Walt Disney Company's several alternate movie divisions. Like Disney's Touchstone Pictures brand, it produces films for a more mature adult audience than Walt Disney Pictures.-History:...
. Walt Disney Pictures
Walt Disney Pictures
Walt Disney Pictures is an American film studio owned by The Walt Disney Company. Walt Disney Pictures and Television, a subsidiary of the Walt Disney Studios and the main production company for live-action feature films within the Walt Disney Motion Pictures Group, based at the Walt Disney...
, the flagship family-oriented brand, has yet to release a film with a rating stronger than PG-13.
Cast
- Nick NolteNick NolteNicholas King "Nick" Nolte is an American actor whose career has spanned over five decades, peaking in the 1990s when his commercial success made him one of the most popular celebrities of that decade.-Early life:...
– Jerry Baskin - Bette MidlerBette MidlerBette Midler is an American singer, actress, and comedian, also known by her informal stage name, The Divine Miss M. She became famous as a cabaret and concert headliner, and went on to star in successful and acclaimed films such as The Rose, Ruthless People, Beaches, and For The Boys...
– Barbara Whiteman - Richard DreyfussRichard DreyfussRichard Stephen Dreyfuss is an American actor best known for starring in a number of film, television, and theater roles since the late 1960s, including the films American Graffiti, Jaws, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, The Goodbye Girl, Whose Life Is It Anyway?, Stakeout, Always, What About...
– David 'Dave' Whiteman - Elizabeth PeñaElizabeth PeñaElizabeth Peña is an American actress and the daughter of a theater-company co-founder, who has also compiled experience as a television director in her own right.-Early life:...
– Carmen the Maid - Little RichardLittle RichardRichard Wayne Penniman , known by the stage name Little Richard, is an American singer, songwriter, musician, recording artist, and actor, considered key in the transition from rhythm and blues to rock and roll in the 1950s. He was also the first artist to put the funk in the rock and roll beat and...
– Orvis Goodnight - Evan Richards – Max Whiteman
- Tracy NelsonTracy Nelson (actress)Tracy Kristine Nelson is an American actress.-Early life:Tracy Nelson is a third generation performer; her parents were Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee Ricky Nelson and actress/artist Kristin Nelson . She has three younger siblings: Matthew Nelson, Gunnar Nelson of the '90s rock group Nelson,...
– Jenny Whiteman
Box office
The movie was a financial success, on a budget of $14,000,000, the film grossed $92,000,000 in the US alone. The critical response for the film was mostly positive as it currently holds an 84% rating on review aggragator Rotten Tomatoes based on 25 reviews.Location of Whiteman House
The house used as the Whiteman's house is in the real Beverly Hills and is at 802 N. Bedford Drive off Sunset Boulevard. However, the alley in the back of the house was filmed at 722 N. Rexford Drive, one block north of director Paul Mazursky's house on Alpine Drive.Television series
In 1987, Down and Out in Beverly Hills was remade as a 30 minute television series for the fledging FoxFox Broadcasting Company
Fox Broadcasting Company, commonly referred to as Fox Network or simply Fox , is an American commercial broadcasting television network owned by Fox Entertainment Group, part of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation. Launched on October 9, 1986, Fox was the highest-rated broadcast network in the...
network, airing from July 25 to September 12. It has the distinction of being the first ever show to be cancelled by Fox; only 13 episodes were produced.
The cast included Hector Elizondo
Hector Elizondo
Héctor Elizondo is an American actor. Elizondo's first major role was that of "God" in the play Steambath, for which he won an Obie Award...
as Dave Whiteman, Anita Morris
Anita Morris
-Career:Among many roles, Morris's most prominent film role was as Carol Dodsworth, the mistress to Danny DeVito, in Ruthless People and for her sensual performance as Carla in the musical Nine opposite Raul Julia. While nominated for a Best Featured Actress Tony Award as Carla, she lost to Liliane...
as Barbara Whiteman, Eileen Seeley as Jenny Whiteman
and Tim Thomerson
Tim Thomerson
Joseph Timothy “Tim” Thomerson is an American actor and comedian.Thomerson is most famous for his role as Jack Deth in the Trancers film series and is renowned for his work in numerous low-budget movies and his comedic television roles.-Early life:Tim Thomerson was born in Coronado, California. He...
as Jerry Baskin. Evan Richards and Elizabeth Pena
Elizabeth Peña
Elizabeth Peña is an American actress and the daughter of a theater-company co-founder, who has also compiled experience as a television director in her own right.-Early life:...
were the only two cast members of the film to reprise their roles for TV.