Not for Publication
Encyclopedia
Not for Publication is an American screwball comedy film directed by Paul Bartel
and starring Nancy Allen
. It premiered at the 1985 Sundance Film Festival
before being acquired for distribution by Thorn EMI.
David Naughton
, Laurence Luckinbill
, Alan Rosenberg
, and Alice Ghostley
also appear.
prize-winning journalist, writes a scandal column for a New York city tabloid. She gets a chance to upgrade her career when she uncovers a conspiracy reaching into city government at the same time she is being romanced by the city's Mayor. Lois and her quirky sidekicks pit naivete against evil and go undercover. Unfortunately, what they discover is not for publication...
If the Perils of Pauline were set in a campy New York City with a dash of trash added in, Not for Publication would result, though the awful jokes and kinky characters are not going to be entertaining to everyone. Lois (Nancy Allen
) is a reporter at a sleazoid newspaper, a paragon of yellow journalism
that she is determined to turn back to its first incarnation as The New York Enforcer, a better paper. The not-so-good Mayor Franklyn (Laurence Luckinbill) adopts Lois as his personal assistant when she bursts into his office one day and strongly advises him to cut the pressure to shut down porn shops or he will lose the vote of New York's youth. She hires a photographer (David Naughton
) to work in the mayor's office, planning to use his skills for her tabloid paper -- but then a quirky menage à trois
arises between the mayor, the photographer, and Lois. After some undercover sleuthing in Long Island -- and help from a host of unsavory characters like Senor Wopperico (Barry Dennen
) and Troppogrosso (Richard Paul
) -- Lois connects the mayor to various robberies that have occurred in the city and thinks of a way to return the New York Enforcer to its heyday and handle the mayor at the same time.
offered even wider praise saying "The story is wildly improbable and sometimes hilariously funny. The dialog is inventive and the characters bizarre, and it all smacks of those cult movies that will have a long life in the Saturday night midnight shows around the country."
Paul Bartel
Paul Bartel was an American actor, writer and director. Bartel was perhaps most known for his 1982 hit black comedy Eating Raoul, which he wrote, starred in and directed.-Life and career:...
and starring Nancy Allen
Nancy Allen (actress)
Nancy Anne Allen is a Golden Globe nominated American actress and cancer activist.Allen began an acting and modelling career as a child, and from the mid-1970s appeared in small film roles, most notably the anchor of Robert Zemeckis's ensemble comedy I Wanna Hold Your Hand...
. It premiered at the 1985 Sundance Film Festival
Sundance Film Festival
The Sundance Film Festival is a film festival that takes place annually in Utah, in the United States. It is the largest independent cinema festival in the United States. Held in January in Park City, Salt Lake City, and Ogden, as well as at the Sundance Resort, the festival is a showcase for new...
before being acquired for distribution by Thorn EMI.
David Naughton
David Naughton (actor)
David Walsh Naughton is an American actor and singer best known for his starring roles in the 1981 horror film An American Werewolf in London, the 1980 Walt Disney comedy, Midnight Madness, the 1984 comedies Hot Dog.....
, Laurence Luckinbill
Laurence Luckinbill
Laurence George Luckinbill is an American actor.-Life and career:Luckinbill was born in Fort Smith, Arkansas, the son of Agnes and Laurence Benedict Luckinbill. He graduated from the University of Arkansas in 1956 and The Catholic University of America in 1958.He starred in the 1976 Broadway play...
, Alan Rosenberg
Alan Rosenberg
Alan Rosenberg is an American actor of both stage and screen. From 2005 to 2009, he was president of the Screen Actors Guild, the principal motion picture industry on-screen performers' union.-Early life:...
, and Alice Ghostley
Alice Ghostley
Alice Margaret Ghostley was an American actress. She was best known for her roles as housekeeper Esmeralda on Bewitched, as Cousin Alice on Mayberry R.F.D., and as Bernice Clifton on Designing Women, for which she received an Emmy Nomination for Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series in 1992...
also appear.
Synopsis
Lois Thornedyke, the daughter of a PulitzerPulitzer Prize
The Pulitzer Prize is a U.S. award for achievements in newspaper and online journalism, literature and musical composition. It was established by American publisher Joseph Pulitzer and is administered by Columbia University in New York City...
prize-winning journalist, writes a scandal column for a New York city tabloid. She gets a chance to upgrade her career when she uncovers a conspiracy reaching into city government at the same time she is being romanced by the city's Mayor. Lois and her quirky sidekicks pit naivete against evil and go undercover. Unfortunately, what they discover is not for publication...
If the Perils of Pauline were set in a campy New York City with a dash of trash added in, Not for Publication would result, though the awful jokes and kinky characters are not going to be entertaining to everyone. Lois (Nancy Allen
Nancy Allen (actress)
Nancy Anne Allen is a Golden Globe nominated American actress and cancer activist.Allen began an acting and modelling career as a child, and from the mid-1970s appeared in small film roles, most notably the anchor of Robert Zemeckis's ensemble comedy I Wanna Hold Your Hand...
) is a reporter at a sleazoid newspaper, a paragon of yellow journalism
Yellow journalism
Yellow journalism or the yellow press is a type of journalism that presents little or no legitimate well-researched news and instead uses eye-catching headlines to sell more newspapers. Techniques may include exaggerations of news events, scandal-mongering, or sensationalism...
that she is determined to turn back to its first incarnation as The New York Enforcer, a better paper. The not-so-good Mayor Franklyn (Laurence Luckinbill) adopts Lois as his personal assistant when she bursts into his office one day and strongly advises him to cut the pressure to shut down porn shops or he will lose the vote of New York's youth. She hires a photographer (David Naughton
David Naughton (actor)
David Walsh Naughton is an American actor and singer best known for his starring roles in the 1981 horror film An American Werewolf in London, the 1980 Walt Disney comedy, Midnight Madness, the 1984 comedies Hot Dog.....
) to work in the mayor's office, planning to use his skills for her tabloid paper -- but then a quirky menage à trois
Ménage à trois
Ménage à trois is a French term which originally described a domestic arrangement in which three people having sexual relations occupy the same household – the phrase literally translates as "household of three"...
arises between the mayor, the photographer, and Lois. After some undercover sleuthing in Long Island -- and help from a host of unsavory characters like Senor Wopperico (Barry Dennen
Barry Dennen
Barry Dennen is an American actor, singer, and writer.Dennen was born in Chicago, Illinois. In New York City from 1960 to 1963, he had a relationship with Barbra Streisand, including living together for a year, during which time he helped her develop the nightclub act that began her successful...
) and Troppogrosso (Richard Paul
Richard Paul
Richard Paul was an American actor.He was born in Los Angeles, California. He was able to imitate most American and many foreign dialects. He had a tenor voice and trained with Lee Sweetland....
) -- Lois connects the mayor to various robberies that have occurred in the city and thinks of a way to return the New York Enforcer to its heyday and handle the mayor at the same time.
Critical Response
Rex Reed called Not for Publication "a delictable treat." While TV GuideTV Guide
TV Guide is a weekly American magazine with listings of TV shows.In addition to TV listings, the publication features television-related news, celebrity interviews, gossip and film reviews and crossword puzzles...
offered even wider praise saying "The story is wildly improbable and sometimes hilariously funny. The dialog is inventive and the characters bizarre, and it all smacks of those cult movies that will have a long life in the Saturday night midnight shows around the country."