Doctor Detroit
Encyclopedia
Doctor Detroit is a 1983 comedy film
, written by Bruce Jay Friedman
, Robert Boris
and Carl Gottlieb
. The film stars Dan Aykroyd
, Howard Hesseman
, Lynn Whitfield
, Fran Drescher
, and Donna Dixon
, with a special appearance by James Brown
. The film was directed by Michael Pressman
.
James Brown performed the theme song Get Up Offa That Thing
/Dr. Detroit". Devo
performed the "Theme From Doctor Detroit" and had another track in the film, "Luv-Luv". There was an EP with the "Theme from Doctor Detroit", "Luv-Luv", and a remix of the theme released, as well as a music video incorporating footage from the film.
) is a professor of comparative literature
at the financially strapped (fictional) Monroe College in Chicago
. A chance encounter with four beautiful high class prostitutes at a restaurant changes his life forever. Smooth Walker (Howard Hesseman
), their pimp, is in danger due to his enormous debt to the gruff "Mom" (Kate Murtagh), a Chicago mob boss. Smooth invents a fictitious business partner, the flamboyant "Doctor Detroit", in an attempt to save himself from Mom's wrath.
Through a series of comical misunderstandings, Cliff is conned into becoming Smooth Walker's patsy. He transforms himself into Doctor Detroit, embarking on a dangerous mission to protect the girls from Mom. He also must keep this secret from his straight-laced parents while simultaneously attempting to secure a large endowment for the struggling university. Cliff becomes a hero to the four women, but puts his life at grave risk.
. The track listing is as follows.
, Enter Whining, Fran Drescher comments that this film was expected to be a major hit, but that it fell short of that expectation; by the time the film ended its run in theatres, it had only managed to make US$10.8 million, on a budget of US$8 million.
Comedy film
Comedy film is a genre of film in which the main emphasis is on humour. They are designed to elicit laughter from the audience. Comedies are mostly light-hearted dramas and are made to amuse and entertain the audiences...
, written by Bruce Jay Friedman
Bruce Jay Friedman
Bruce Jay Friedman is an American novelist, screenwriter, playwright, and actor.Raised in the Bronx by Irving and Mollie Friedman, Bruce Jay Friedman graduated from DeWitt Clinton High School. He then attended the University of Missouri as a journalism major, then served as a First Lieutenant in...
, Robert Boris
Robert Boris
Robert Boris is an award-winning American screenwriter, film producer and film director.Boris was nicknamed Double B by film producer Elliott Kastner.-Awards:...
and Carl Gottlieb
Carl Gottlieb
Carl Gottlieb is an American screenwriter, actor, comedian and executive. He is probably best known for co-writing the screenplay for Jaws, as well as directing the 1981 low-budget cult film Caveman.-Early life:...
. The film stars Dan Aykroyd
Dan Aykroyd
Daniel Edward "Dan" Aykroyd, CM is a Canadian comedian, actor, screenwriter, musician, winemaker and ufologist. He was an original cast member of Saturday Night Live, an originator of The Blues Brothers and Ghostbusters and has had a long career as a film actor and screenwriter.-Early...
, Howard Hesseman
Howard Hesseman
Howard Hesseman is an American actor best known for playing disc jockey Johnny Fever on WKRP in Cincinnati and schoolteacher Charlie Moore on Head of the Class.-Early life:...
, Lynn Whitfield
Lynn Whitfield
Lynn Whitfield is an American actress.Whitfield began her acting career in television and theatre, before progressing to supporting roles in film. She won an Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Miniseries or a Special and a NAACP Image Award for her performance as Josephine Baker in the...
, Fran Drescher
Fran Drescher
Francine Joy "Fran" Drescher is an American film and television actress, comedian, screenwriter, director, producer, author, singer, talk show host, political lobbyist and health activist...
, and Donna Dixon
Donna Dixon
Donna Dixon is an American actress.Donna Dixon was born in Alexandria, Virginia; her father, Earl Dixon, owned a club on U.S. 1, called "Hillbilly Heaven." She is a 1975 graduate of Groveton High School and attended The George Washington University...
, with a special appearance by James Brown
James Brown
James Joseph Brown was an American singer, songwriter, musician, and recording artist. He is the originator of Funk and is recognized as a major figure in the 20th century popular music for both his vocals and dancing. He has been referred to as "The Godfather of Soul," "Mr...
. The film was directed by Michael Pressman
Michael Pressman
Michael Pressman is an American director and producer of film and television.Some of the films he has directed are The Great Texas Dynamite Chase , Doctor Detroit , Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze , To Gillian on Her 37th Birthday .For television, he has directed episodes of...
.
James Brown performed the theme song Get Up Offa That Thing
Get Up Offa That Thing
"Get Up Offa That Thing", sometimes subtitled "'", is a song performed by James Brown. It was released as a two-part single in 1976 and also appeared on an album of the same name...
/Dr. Detroit". Devo
Devo
Devo is an American band formed in 1973 consisting of members from Kent and Akron, Ohio. The classic line-up of the band includes two sets of brothers, the Mothersbaughs and the Casales . The band had a #14 Billboard chart hit in 1980 with the single "Whip It", and has maintained a cult...
performed the "Theme From Doctor Detroit" and had another track in the film, "Luv-Luv". There was an EP with the "Theme from Doctor Detroit", "Luv-Luv", and a remix of the theme released, as well as a music video incorporating footage from the film.
Plot
A shy, gentle man named Clifford Skridlow (Dan AykroydDan Aykroyd
Daniel Edward "Dan" Aykroyd, CM is a Canadian comedian, actor, screenwriter, musician, winemaker and ufologist. He was an original cast member of Saturday Night Live, an originator of The Blues Brothers and Ghostbusters and has had a long career as a film actor and screenwriter.-Early...
) is a professor of comparative literature
Comparative literature
Comparative literature is an academic field dealing with the literature of two or more different linguistic, cultural or national groups...
at the financially strapped (fictional) Monroe College in Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
. A chance encounter with four beautiful high class prostitutes at a restaurant changes his life forever. Smooth Walker (Howard Hesseman
Howard Hesseman
Howard Hesseman is an American actor best known for playing disc jockey Johnny Fever on WKRP in Cincinnati and schoolteacher Charlie Moore on Head of the Class.-Early life:...
), their pimp, is in danger due to his enormous debt to the gruff "Mom" (Kate Murtagh), a Chicago mob boss. Smooth invents a fictitious business partner, the flamboyant "Doctor Detroit", in an attempt to save himself from Mom's wrath.
Through a series of comical misunderstandings, Cliff is conned into becoming Smooth Walker's patsy. He transforms himself into Doctor Detroit, embarking on a dangerous mission to protect the girls from Mom. He also must keep this secret from his straight-laced parents while simultaneously attempting to secure a large endowment for the struggling university. Cliff becomes a hero to the four women, but puts his life at grave risk.
Cast
- Dan AykroydDan AykroydDaniel Edward "Dan" Aykroyd, CM is a Canadian comedian, actor, screenwriter, musician, winemaker and ufologist. He was an original cast member of Saturday Night Live, an originator of The Blues Brothers and Ghostbusters and has had a long career as a film actor and screenwriter.-Early...
— Clifford Skridlow/Doctor Detroit - Howard HessemanHoward HessemanHoward Hesseman is an American actor best known for playing disc jockey Johnny Fever on WKRP in Cincinnati and schoolteacher Charlie Moore on Head of the Class.-Early life:...
— Smooth Walker - Fran DrescherFran DrescherFrancine Joy "Fran" Drescher is an American film and television actress, comedian, screenwriter, director, producer, author, singer, talk show host, political lobbyist and health activist...
— Karen Blittstein - Donna DixonDonna DixonDonna Dixon is an American actress.Donna Dixon was born in Alexandria, Virginia; her father, Earl Dixon, owned a club on U.S. 1, called "Hillbilly Heaven." She is a 1975 graduate of Groveton High School and attended The George Washington University...
— Monica McNeil - Lydia Lei — Jasmine Wu
- T. K. CarterT. K. CarterThomas Kent Carter better known as T. K. Carter, is an American comedian and actor. He is best known for playing Michael "Mike" Fulton, an elementary school teacher, on the NBC series Punky Brewster and Mylo Williams on the Disney Channel series Good Morning, Miss Bliss as a supervisor, whose...
— Diavolo Washington - Lynn WhitfieldLynn WhitfieldLynn Whitfield is an American actress.Whitfield began her acting career in television and theatre, before progressing to supporting roles in film. She won an Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Miniseries or a Special and a NAACP Image Award for her performance as Josephine Baker in the...
— Thelma Cleland - Kate MurtaghKate MurtaghKate Murtagh is an American actress who has acted in such films as The Night Strangler, Farewell, My Lovely, The Car, Doctor Detroit.- External links :...
— Mom - George FurthGeorge FurthGeorge Furth was an American librettist, playwright, and actor.-Biography:Furth was born George Schweinfurth in Chicago, Illinois, the son of Evelyn and George Schweinfurth...
— Arthur Skridlow - Nan MartinNan MartinNan Martin was an American actress who starred in movies and on television.Born in Decatur, Illinois and raised in Santa Monica, California, her first film role was The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit...
— Margaret Skridlow - Peter AykroydPeter AykroydPeter Hugh Aykroyd was born to Lorraine and Peter Aykroyd in Canada. He is the younger brother of comedian Dan Aykroyd. Along with his older brother he was in the Second City comedy troupe in Toronto, Ontario. The two were also on the popular NBC sketch show Saturday Night Live. Peter was a cast...
— Mr. Frankman - Glenne HeadlyGlenne HeadlyGlenne Aimee Headly is an American actress of film, stage and television.-Early life:Glenne Headly was born in New London, Connecticut and her first years were spent living under the care of her mother in San Francisco and her maternal grandmother in Pennsylvania...
— Miss Debbylike - Robert CornthwaiteRobert O. CornthwaiteRobert O. Cornthwaite was an American film and television character actor who began his acting career in 1937, appearing in a college production of Twelfth Night, while attending Reed College in Portland, Oregon....
— Professor Blount - Parley BaerParley BaerParley Edward Baer was an American actor in film, television, and radio.-Radio:Born in Salt Lake City, Utah, Baer had a circus background, but began his radio career at Utah station KSL...
— Judge Robert E. Lee Davis-Jackson - John KapelosJohn KapelosJohn Kapelos is a Canadian actor from London, Ontario. He is best known for his portrayals of janitor Carl Reed in The Breakfast Club and Detective Donald Schanke in Forever Knight....
— Rush Street Dude - James BrownJames BrownJames Joseph Brown was an American singer, songwriter, musician, and recording artist. He is the originator of Funk and is recognized as a major figure in the 20th century popular music for both his vocals and dancing. He has been referred to as "The Godfather of Soul," "Mr...
— Bandleader (himself) - Steven WilliamsSteven WilliamsSteven Williams is an American actor of films and television.Williams was born in Memphis, Tennessee and raised in Chicago. He is known for his role as Captain Adam Fuller on the Fox Network's hit TV series 21 Jump Street from 1987-91.He played Lt. Burnett on the CBS drama series The Equalizer in...
— Junior Sweet - Andrew DugganAndrew Duggan-Career:During World War II, Duggan was in the 40th Special Services Company, led by actor Melvyn Douglas in the China Burma India Theater of World War II. His contact with Douglas later led to his performing with Lucille Ball in the play Dreamgirl. He developed a friendship with Broadway...
— Harmon Rausehorn
Soundtrack
A soundtrack album for the film was released on Backstreet RecordsBackstreet Records
Backstreet Records was an MCA Records subsidiary label founded in 1979 by Danny Bramson, who at the time was executive director of MCA's Universal Amphitheatre. The name was derived from the Bruce Springsteen song "Backstreets". The label's first release was the self-titled debut album by Tears...
. The track listing is as follows.
- "Theme from Doctor Detroit" - DevoDevoDevo is an American band formed in 1973 consisting of members from Kent and Akron, Ohio. The classic line-up of the band includes two sets of brothers, the Mothersbaughs and the Casales . The band had a #14 Billboard chart hit in 1980 with the single "Whip It", and has maintained a cult...
3:10 - "Hold Him" - Pattie BrooksPattie BrooksPattie Brooks is an American singer most frequently associated with the disco era. She was born in Fort Riley, Kansas to a military family. Her first break came in 1968 when she auditioned for the chorus on The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour". In the next decade she became a sought-after backing...
, Dan AykroydDan AykroydDaniel Edward "Dan" Aykroyd, CM is a Canadian comedian, actor, screenwriter, musician, winemaker and ufologist. He was an original cast member of Saturday Night Live, an originator of The Blues Brothers and Ghostbusters and has had a long career as a film actor and screenwriter.-Early...
3:22 - "King of Soul" - James BrownJames BrownJames Joseph Brown was an American singer, songwriter, musician, and recording artist. He is the originator of Funk and is recognized as a major figure in the 20th century popular music for both his vocals and dancing. He has been referred to as "The Godfather of Soul," "Mr...
2:40 - "Yo Skridlow" - T. K. Carter, Dan Aykroyd 4:40
- "Working Girls" - Pattie Brooks, Dan Aykroyd 4:48
- "Get Up Offa That Thing/Doctor Detroit" - James Brown 3:23
- "Luv-Luv" - Devo 3:36
- "You Are the One" - Pattie Brooks 4:05
- "Get It on and Have a Party" - Pattie Brooks 6:09
Reaction and sequel
In her autobiographyAutobiography
An autobiography is a book about the life of a person, written by that person.-Origin of the term:...
, Enter Whining, Fran Drescher comments that this film was expected to be a major hit, but that it fell short of that expectation; by the time the film ended its run in theatres, it had only managed to make US$10.8 million, on a budget of US$8 million.