The Naked Gun 2½: The Smell of Fear

The Naked Gun 2½: The Smell of Fear
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	David Zucker
Produced by	Robert K. Weiss Jerry Zucker Jim Abrahams Gil Netter
Written by	David Zucker Pat Proft
Based on	TV series Police Squad! by Jim Abrahams David Zucker Jerry Zucker
Starring	Leslie Nielsen Priscilla Presley George Kennedy O.J. Simpson
Music by	Ira Newborn
Cinematography	Robert M. Stevens
Editing by	Christopher Greenbury James R. Symons
Distributed by	Paramount Pictures
Release date(s)	June 28, 1991 (1991-06-28)
Running time	81 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$23 million
Box office	$86,930,411

The Naked Gun 2½: The Smell of Fear is a 1991 comedy film starring Leslie Nielsen as the comically bumbling Police Lt. Frank Drebin of Police Squad!. Priscilla Presley plays the role of Jane, with O.J. Simpson as Nordberg and George Kennedy as police captain Ed Hocken. The film also features Robert Goulet (who previously made a "special guest star" appearance on Police Squad!) as the villanous Quentin Hapsburg and Richard Griffiths as renewable fuel advocate Dr Albert S. Meinheimer (as well as as his evil double, Earl Hacker). Zsa Zsa Gabor, Mel Tormé and members of the Chicago Bears have cameo roles.

David Zucker returns from the first entry as director and screenwriter of the film. Jim Abrahams and Jerry Zucker serve as executive producers for the film and receive writing credit due to their contributions to the first entry of the series and the Police Squad television series. However, neither contributed to the screenplay for the film.

It is the first sequel to The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad!, and was followed by Naked Gun 33⅓: The Final Insult. The film is marketed with the tagline "Frank Drebin is back. Just accept it."

Plot

Frank Drebin (Leslie Nielsen) is honored at the White House, where President George H. W. Bush (John Roarke) announces that he will base his recommendation for the country's energy program on Dr. Albert Meinheimer's (Richard Griffiths) advice at the National Press Club dinner the following week. The heads of the coal and oil (fossil fuel) and nuclear industries are apparently distressed by this fact. Jane Spencer (Priscilla Presley), now working for Dr. Meinheimer, is working late at his research institute, crying about Frank. She spots a man in a red van. A maintenance worker, emptying out garbage cans, discovers a clock with dynamite attached and takes it to the security guards, accidentally triggering it. The next morning, Frank reacquaints himself with Jane as he interviews her about the explosion. He is shown around the institute and meets Jane's boyfriend, Hexagon Oil executive Quentin Hapsburg, of whom he becomes exceedingly jealous. Frank's boss Ed Hocken (George Kennedy) finds him at a lonely blues bar. Meanwhile, at a meeting of the "energy" industry leaders, Hapsburg reveals that he has kidnapped Dr. Meinheimer and found an exact double for him, Earl Hacker, who will give their recommendation to the President endorsing fossil and nuclear fuels.

Police Squad determines the driver of the van, Hector Savage, to be connected to a sex toy shop. Frank spots the red van, assigning Nordberg the task of bugging it. Savage holes up in a home surrounded by police. Frank commandeers a tank, which he drives into the house, allowing Savage to escape. Drebin arrives at a party. After a disastrous attempt to "wheel" the Meinheimer double to the stage for a raffle drawing, Frank goes to Jane's apartment. Savage arrives with orders to kill Jane. He comes across Jane in the shower and she screams, alerting Frank to his presence. Frank sticks a fire hose in Savage's mouth and turns on the water, which continues to run until Savage apparently bursts his body from all the water pressure. Frank follows the trail to the dock of Hapsburg's oil company. Jane realizes Hapsburg's plan and asks Frank to stop him. They rediscover their love for each other. Hapsburg and the energy representatives meet in a warehouse. Frank falls through the roof while being chased by a guard dog. They tie up Frank with the real Dr. Meinheimer. Police Squad frees them. They go to the hotel where Dr. Meinheimer is to make his recommendation to the President. Frank, Nordberg, Ed and the real Meinheimer get into the building by appropriating a costume and instruments from a Mariachi band due to perform at the hotel.

Drebin encounters Hacker, who attacks him. Football players from the Chicago Bears appear and, believing Frank to be attacking a defenseless man, proceed to wheel away Hacker while attacking Frank. Ed and Meinheimer arrive to disable Hacker, who is arrested. During the confusion, Drebin mistakes Meinheimer for the fake, permitting Hapsburg to escape with Jane. Hapsburg plans to set off a small nuclear device which will kill everyone, so it won't matter what Meinheimer says in his speech. Frank disarms him and Ed throws Hapsburg out from the window. Hapsburg manages to survive the fall thanks to an awning, only to be attacked by a lion. Frank frees Jane and they attempt to disarm the bomb while Ed and Nordberg evacuate the hotel. After several failed attempts, Frank finally manages to disarm the bomb at the last second by tripping over the power cord, unplugging it. Drebin is commended by the President, who offers him a special post as head of the Federal Bureau of Police Squad. He declines, instead asking Jane to marry him, which she accepts. They go out to a balcony, where they accept commendations from the crowd. Frank spins around and accidentally knocking Barbara Bush (Margery Ross) off the balcony. She manages to hold on, although in an attempt to help her, Frank pulls off her dress.

Cast

• Leslie Nielsen as Lieutenant Frank Drebin
• Priscilla Presley as Jane Spencer
• George Kennedy as Captain Ed Hocken
• O.J. Simpson as Nordberg
• Robert Goulet as Quentin Hapsburg
• Richard Griffiths as Dr. Albert S. Meinheimer/Earl Hacker
• Jacqueline Brookes as Commissioner Anabell Brumford
• Anthony James as Hector Savage
• Lloyd Bochner as Terence Baggett
• Tim O'Connor as Donald Fenswick
• Peter Mark Richman as Arthur Dunwell
• Ed Williams as Ted Olsen
• John Roarke as President George Bush
• Margery Ross as First Lady Barbara Bush
• Peter Van Norden as Chief of Staff John Sununu
• Gail Neely as Winnie Mandela
• Colleen Fitzpatrick as Blues Singer at Blue Note Club
• Sally Rosenblatt as Mrs. Redmond
• Alexander Folk as Crackhouse cop
• "Weird Al" Yankovic as Police Station Thug

Music

As with the first Naked Gun film, the original music for the second installment was composed and orchestrated by veteran soundtrack composer Ira Newborn, including the familiar big-band/blues theme for the Naked Gun/Police Squad! franchise. Several of the orchestral movements revolve around two other Newborn pieces: "Drebin - Hero!" (used at the top of the pre-credit sequence, from the Paramount-logo animation onward) and the romantic "Thinking of Him" (right after the credits).

Singer Colleen Fitzpatrick (known to modern-rock fans as Vitamin C) appeared on camera as a saloon singer at a sad-sack restaurant called the Blue Note, to which a depressed Detective Lieutenant Drebin repairs after seeing former girlfriend Jane Spencer being wooed by villain Quentin Hapsburg. Fitzpatrick, then in her 20s, was made up to look like an aging, world-weary, chanteuse.

Other non-Newborn pieces make cameos in this Naked Gun installment. They include the standards "Tangerine" and "Satin Doll" and the Righteous Brothers' recordings of "Unchained Melody" (featured in Jerry Zucker's drama "Ghost") and "Ebb Tide." Nielsen himself voices the Latin-flavored pop standard "Besame Mucho" at the Press Club dinner.

Soundtrack

The Naked Gun 2½: The Smell of Fear (Original Soundtrack)
Soundtrack album by Ira Newborn
Released	1991
Recorded	1991
Genre	Big Band
Length	35:46
Label	Varèse Sarabande
Producer	Ira Newborn Robert Townson (Executive Producer)

In conjunction with the second Naked Gun film, Varèse Sarabande released a soundtrack combining the best Newborn compositions from the first two films.

Track listing

#	Title	Time	Original Film
1	Beirut Vacation	0:56	The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad!
2	Drebin-Hero!	1:03	The Naked Gun 2½: The Smell of Fear'
3	Main Title	2:00	The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad!
4	Meat Miss Spencer	5:28	The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad!
5	There's Been a Bombing	0:47	The Naked Gun 2½: The Smell of Fear
6	The Exciting Chase	2:44	The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad!
7	Bad Boys & Meinheimers	2:44	The Naked Gun 2½: The Smell of Fear
8	Miss Spencer	1:00	The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad!
9	Hey Look at These	0:44	The Naked Gun 2½: The Smell of Fear
10	On the Ledge	1:36	The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad!
11	Thinking of... Him!	2:33	The Naked Gun 2½: The Smell of Fear
12	The Date	0:56	The Naked Gun 2½: The Smell of Fear
13	Roof, Roof!!	4:14	The Naked Gun 2½: The Smell of Fear
14	I Must Kill Frank	3:10	The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad!
15	I Want a World	1:47	The Naked Gun 2½: The Smell of Fear
16	End Credits	4:32	The Naked Gun 2½: The Smell of Fear

Reception

The Naked Gun 2½: The Smell of Fear was met with mixed reviews from critics.^[1][2][3]

Box office

The Naked Gun 2½: The Smell of Fear knocked Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves from the top spot at the box office.^[4]

References

1. ^ "The Naked Gun 2½: The Smell of Fear". Enetertainment Weekly. http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,314827,00.html. Retrieved 2010-10-10. 
2. ^ "This `Naked Gun' Misfires As It Runs Out Of Ammunition". Enetertainment Weekly. http://articles.chicagotribune.com/1994-03-18/entertainment/9403180278_1_frank-drebin-david-zucker-academy-awards-show. Retrieved 2010-10-10. 
3. ^ "MOVIE REVIEW : 'Naked Gun 2¹⁄₂' Fires Blanks : The main characters, cast and creators of the off-the-wall original are back, but they forget one thing--the laughs.". The Los Angeles Times. http://articles.latimes.com/1991-06-28/entertainment/ca-1212_1_naked-gun. Retrieved 2010-11-18. 
4. ^ "Naked Gun 2¹⁄₂` 2nd To None In Its Debut Weekend". Chicago Tribune. http://articles.chicagotribune.com/1991-07-05/entertainment/9103170078_1_debut-weekend-movie-box-offices-debut-business. Retrieved 2010-10-10. 

External links

• The Naked Gun 2½: The Smell of Fear at the Internet Movie Database
• The Naked Gun 2½: The Smell of Fear at AllRovi
• The Naked Gun 2½: The Smell of Fear at Box Office Mojo
• The Naked Gun 2½: The Smell of Fear at Rotten Tomatoes