Tuesday, October 17, 2023

Classic Movie Flashback 1988 'The Naked Gun: From the Files of the Police Squad'

"The Naked Gun: From the Files of the Police Squad" distributed by Paramount Pictures (1988). The comedy starred Leslie Neilson. The production budget climbed to $12 million and grossed $152 million at the worldwide box office. It also grabbed a whole new audience on VHS Home Video Rentals. 

It's based on the ABC-TV comedy "The Police Squad" (1982) that also starred Neilson. It ran only 6 episodes after being cancelled. 

The film parody of current pop culture was a box office hit with "Airplane" (1980). That also starred Neilson. The trend continued with "Naked Gun" and countless other parody movies throughout the 1990's and 2000's.

Frank Drebin is on vacation from his police department. His partner is in the hospital. Frank gets involved with many ridiculous scenarios. One involves a drug king who tries to assassinate Queen Elizabeth II. Frank investigates and the hilarity begins. It is a laugh riot.

"Naked Gun" was an instant box office hit with repeat viewings. Film audiences counted all of the sight-gags in each scene. (My brother rented the home video just to count all those gags). 

It spawned 2 movie sequels that were just as popular. Leslie Neilson returned for both. 
  • "The Naked Gun 2-1/2: The Smell of Fear" (1991). $192 million at the worldwide box office. 
  • "The Naked Gun 33-1/3: The Final Insult" (1994). $132 million at the worldwide box office.

via GIPHY

via GIPHY

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