- The Hollywood Knights
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The Hollywood Knights 
Hollywood Knights promotional posterDirected by Floyd Mutrux Produced by William Tennant
Richard LedererWritten by Floyd Mutrux
Richard Lederer
William TennantStarring Robert Wuhl
Tony Danza
Fran Drescher
Michelle Pfeiffer
Stuart PankinCinematography William A. Fraker Editing by Stanford C. Allen
Scott ConradDistributed by Columbia Pictures Release date(s) 
May 16, 1980 (limited)
May 30, 1980 (wide)Running time 91 min. Country U.S.A. Language English Budget $2.5 million (estimated) Box office $10,000,000 (domestic) The Hollywood Knights (1980) is an American motion picture comedy written and directed by Floyd Mutrux depicting the crass and mischievous antics and practical jokes of the remaining members of a 1950s-era car club turned social fraternity in and around Beverly Hills and Hollywood in 1965. The cast, led by Robert Wuhl as the fraternity's charismatic leader Newbomb Turk, features Tony Danza and a young Michelle Pfeiffer as high school sweethearts as well as Fran Drescher and Stuart Pankin in supporting roles.
Contents
Plot
On Halloween night in 1965, a group of high school pranksters (the eponymous 'Hollywood Knights'), who are enraged by the Beverly Hills Residents' Association's success in arranging for the shutdown and demolition of their favorite hangout "Tubby's Drive-In" diner and replacing of it with an office building, launch a sustained and comically vengeful campaign against the principals of the uptight association and two bumbling local police officers charged with the responsibility of keeping the "The Knights" in check during their last night in Beverly Hills. The ensuing antics include, among other things, a sexual encounter involving premature ejaculation, a punch bowl being "spiked" with urine, an initiation ceremony involving four pledges who are left in Watts wearing nothing but the car tires they are left to carry, a cheerleader who forgets to don her briefs before performing at a pep rally, several impromptu drag races, and the lead character of Newbomb Turk (Robert Wuhl) singing a version of 'Volare' and punctuating the end of each musical phrase with a burst of flatulence. "Mooning" also plays a prominent role in the film. In fact, one of the advertising slogans attempted to exploit the Apollo space program of then-recent memory by touting that The Hollywood Knights was the first movie "to moon a man on the land."
Cast
- Robert Wuhl as Newbomb Turk
- Tony Danza as Duke
- Fran Drescher as Sally
- Leigh French as Jacqueline Freedman
- Randy Gornel as Wheatly
- Gary Graham as Jimmy Shine
- Sandy Helberg as Officer Clark
- James Jeter as Smitty
- Stuart Pankin as Dudley Laywicker
- P.R. Paul as Simpson
- Michelle Pfeiffer as Suzie Q
- Gailard Sartain as Bimbeau
- Julius Averitt as Earle
- Richard Schaal as Nevans
- Steve Ballard as Mechanic
- Debra Feuer as Cheetah
Production notes
The filming location for 'Tubby's Drive-In' was an old A&W Root Beer that had closed down at 7310 N. Van Nuys Blvd, in Los Angeles, California.[1]
Robert Wuhl, Tony Danza and Stuart Pankin all played teenage characters, although Wuhl and Danza were both in their late twenties, and Pankin was 33 years old.[2]
Director Floyd Mutrux revealed on the audio commentary of the Columbia DVD release that he was at one point going to direct Urban Cowboy (1980), and that he would have been likely to cast Michelle Pfeiffer in the role of Sissy.[3] The producer of that film, Robert Evans, also preferred Pfeiffer, but the eventual director, James Bridges, refused to cast anyone but Debra Winger in the part.[4]
Legacy
Widely considered to be an inferior rip-off of American Graffiti,[5] today the film is primarily notable for the début performances of many well-known actors.
Tony Danza was famous for having played dimwitted boxer Tony Banta on the television sitcom Taxi since 1978, but he had not appeared in a feature film prior to this production.
The lead role of Newbomb Turk was former stand-up comic Robert Wuhl's first film performance, and he would later win two Emmy Awards in the category of 'Outstanding Writing in a Variety, Music or Comedy Program' for his collaboration with Billy Crystal on the script of the 63rd and 64th Academy Awards ceremonies.
Fran Drescher had appeared in a small role in Saturday Night Fever (1977) and American Hot Wax (1978) prior to this film, but she would not establish herself fully until her successful television sitcom The Nanny (1993) aired on CBS. She was nominated for two Golden Globes and two Emmys for Best Actress in a Comedy Series.[6]
The only actor in The Hollywood Knights who went on to a long and successful career in cinema was Michelle Pfeiffer, who went on to earn three Academy Award nominations and a host of other acting awards for her roles in Dangerous Liaisons (1988), The Fabulous Baker Boys (1989) and Love Field (1992).[7]
The movie built a cult-like following during the 1980s due to repeated late-night airings on HBO.
Columbus, Ohio band New Bomb Turks took their name from the film's protagonist.
References
External links
- The Hollywood Knights at the Internet Movie Database
- The Hollywood Knights at AllRovi
Categories:- 1980 films
- Teen comedy films
- English-language films
- Columbia Pictures films
- Films set in 1965
- Films set within one day
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