Tin Men (1987)

User Rating:

6.4/10   

Director:

Barry Levinson

Writer:

Barry Levinson (written by)

Release Date:

6 March 1987 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama

Tagline:

The Year - 1963. Selling the American Dream is a risky, funny business - you could wind up paying with your wife!

Plot:

A minor car accident drives two rival aluminum-siding salesmen to the ridiculous extremes of man versus man in 1963 Baltimore.

Plot Keywords:

1960s | Car Accident | Competing Businesses | Volkswagen Beetle | Seduction

Cast

Richard Dreyfuss	...	Bill 'BB' Babowsky
Danny DeVito	...	Ernest Tilley
Barbara Hershey	...	Nora Tilley
John Mahoney	...	Moe Adams
Jackie Gayle	...	Sam
Stanley Brock	...	Gil
Seymour Cassel	...	Cheese
Bruno Kirby	...	Mouse
J.T. Walsh	...	Wing
Richard Portnow	...	Carly
Matt Craven	...	Looney
Alan Blumenfeld	...	Stanley
Brad Sullivan	...	Masters
Michael Tucker	...	Bagel
Deirdre O'Connell	...	Nellie
Sheila McCauley	...	Ada
Michael Willis	...	Mr. Shubner (as Michael S. Willis)
Penny Nichols	...	Mrs. Shubner
Susan Duvall	...	Suburban Housewife
David DeBoy	...	Suburban Husband
Florence Moody	...	Diner Waitress
Myron Citronbaum	...	Salesman #1 at Hearing
Ralph Tabakin	...	Mr. Hudson
Norma Posner	...	Mrs. Hudson
Walt MacPherson	...	Cadillac Salesman
William C. Godsey	...	Belvedere Hotel Barman
Roland Gift	...	Band Member
David Steele	...	Band Member
Andy Cox	...	Band Member
Sharon Ziman	...	Mason Dixon Operator #1
Lois Raymond Munchel	...	Mason Dixon Operator #2
Kathy Jones	...	Mason Dixon Operator #3
Cindy Geppi	...	Social Security Girl #1
Ellen Sills	...	Social Security Girl #2
Mary Morgan	...	Social Security Girl #3
Marcia Herr	...	Social Security Girl #4
Karen Barth	...	Gibraltar Operator #1
Sharon Crofoot	...	Gibraltar Operator #2
Geri Lynn Kelbaugh	...	Gibraltar Operator #3
Lisa Ford	...	Gibraltar Operator #4
Becky Weidner	...	Gibraltar Operator #5 (as Rebecca Lucia Weidner)
Patricia Pohlman	...	Gibraltar Operator #6
Shirley Ann Wilson	...	Gibraltar Operator #7
Joshua Billings	...	Man #1 at Crash
Jeffrey Moser	...	Man #2 at Crash
Freddie Stevens	...	Piano Bar Crooner
Bill Danoff	...	Police Officer
Katherine Ellis	...	Ruthie, Woman Asking BB to Dance
Eva Jean Berg	...	Woman at Smorgasboard
Todd Jackson	...	Young Boy
Barbara Rappaport	...	Coffee Shop Waitress
Theodore Goldman	...	Pool Hall Worker
Kathleen Goldpaugh	...	Arguing Wife
Brian Costantini	...	Arguing Husband
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Herb Levinson	...	Metal Sideing Customer (uncredited)

Directed by
Barry Levinson

Writing credits
Barry Levinson		(written by)

Produced by
Mark Johnson	....	producer
Kim Kurumada	....	associate producer

Cinematography by
Peter Sova		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
Stu Linder

Casting by
Lisa Clarkson
Louis DiGiaimo

Production Design by
Peter Jamison

Set Decoration by
Phil Abramson		(as Philip Abramson)

Costume Design by
Gloria Gresham

Makeup Department
Irving Buchman	....	makeup artist
Romaine Greene	....	hair stylist (as Romaine Green)

Production Management
Daniel J. Heffner	....	executive in charge of production
Kim Kurumada	....	unit production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Robert Roda	....	second assistant director
Albert M. Shapiro	....	first assistant director (as Albert Shapiro)

Art Department
Francis N. 'Lucky' Costello	....	painter (as Frank X. Costello)
Russell Goble	....	property master
Jim Husbands	....	leadman
Robert Krume	....	construction coordinator
Pamela Marcotte	....	assistant: Mr. Jamison (as Pam Marcotte)
Andrew Probert	....	production illustrator (as Andrew G. Probert)

Sound Department
Don Coufal	....	production sound
David W. Gray	....	stereo sound consultant: Dolby
Pieter Hubbard	....	sound editor (as Pieter S. Hubbard)
David J. Hudson	....	sound re-recording mixer
Mel Metcalfe	....	sound re-recording mixer
Bill Phillips	....	supervising sound editor
Terry Porter	....	sound re-recording mixer
Hal Sanders	....	sound editor
Norman B. Schwartz	....	post-production dialogue
Jim Stuebe	....	production sound (as James Stuebe)
Mike Warner	....	sound editor
Jeff Wexler	....	production sound

Stunts
Steve Kelso	....	stunt coordinator

Camera and Electrical Department
George Berrios	....	assistant camera
Don Biller	....	assistant camera
Jeff Case	....	best boy grip
Bruce Chimerofsky	....	dolly grip
Jim Duggan	....	key grip (as James M. Duggan)
John M. Gilgar	....	gaffer (as John Gilgar)
James McGrath	....	consulting grip (as Jim McGrath)
Lorey Sebastian	....	still photographer
Donald Sweeney	....	camera operator (as Don Sweeney)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
James M. George	....	costumer
Oda Groeschel	....	costumer
Anthony J. Scarano	....	costume supervisor (as Tony Scarano)

Editorial Department
Neil Kirk	....	apprentice film editor
John Phillips	....	assistant film editor

Music Department
James Flamberg	....	music editor
Tony Meilandt	....	music coordinator
G. Marq Roswell	....	music coordinator (as G. Mark Roswell)

Transportation Department
Sara Gardner	....	picture car coordinator
Michael McDuffee	....	transportation coordinator

Other crew
Jolie Ancel	....	production assistant
Albert Cho	....	production assistant
Richard Falk	....	electrical consultant
Nancy Hackerman	....	location manager
Barbara Hogan	....	script supervisor
Jeannie Jeha	....	production office coordinator
Amy Lippens	....	production assistant
Susan Moore	....	assistant to producer
Artist W. Robinson	....	production assistant (as Artist Robinson)
Marie Rowe	....	assistant: Mr. Levinson
Howard Silverman	....	researcher
Mark Snovell	....	production assistant
Allen E. Taylor	....	production accountant
Nicholas Moenssens	....	location projectionist (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Bandai Films
• Silver Screen Partners III
• Touchstone Pictures

Distributors

• Buena Vista Pictures (1987) (USA) (theatrical)
• Svensk Filmindustri (SF) (1987) (Sweden) (theatrical)
• Abril Vídeo (Brazil) (video)
• National Broadcasting Company (NBC) (1990) (USA) (TV) (broadcast premiere)

Other Companies

• Central Casting  extras casting
• Peggy Siegal Company  publicity
• Saxon/Ross Film Design  main title sequence
• Taylor Royall Casting  extras casting (as Taylor Royall Casting Inc.)

Runtime:

112 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Australia:M | Finland:S | Sweden:Btl | UK:15 | USA:R | West Germany:12

Filming Locations:

Baltimore, Maryland, USA

Company:

Bandai Films

Trivia:

The exterior for the Life Magazine scam scene was writer-director Barry Levinson's childhood home in Baltimore.

Goofs:

Continuity: Two of the "tin men" are waiting at a traffic light in a '59 Cadillac Eldorado convertible. However, when we switch to a view of the two guys through the windshield, the vehicle becomes a hardtop. Switching back to a longer shot, the car is again a ragtop.

Quotes:

Sam: You notice Little Joe never says "Hey Pa, I'm gonna go into town to get a piece of ass"?

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Jeopardy!: Million Dollar Celebrity Invitational Quarterfinal 2 (#26.24)" (2009)

Soundtrack:

Social Security

I know these guys

I grew up with characters like Dreyfus and DeVito, hustlers out there selling anything. Somewhere between 1963 and the time the film came out, they disappeared from our streets, only to move into six story office buildings that dot the suburbs of Northeastern cities. Now they spend their time on the phone, trying to interest prospects that new windows will surely cut their fuel bills.

I came to realize this great truth one day in 1988 when I went to rent a car and was told to come to Executive Plaza 5, Suite 414. As I walked the halls, all I could see in open offices were the Tin Men of 1963 at it again.

The movie crackles and sets off sparks. You don't know who to root for, and for good reason. This is not a buddy movie, but I suspect a remembrance by Levinson of people he knew growing up.