Main Cast: Richard Pryor, Gene Wilder, Joan Severance, Kevin Spacey, Kirsten Childs, Anthony Zerbe
Release Year: 1989
Country: US
Run Time: 103 minutes
MPAA Rating: R
Plot
The third pairing of comic actors Richard Pryor and Gene Wilder was much less successful than their previous team-ups, Silver Streak(1976) and Stir Crazy (1980). Wilder plays Dave, the deaf proprietor of a newsstand and employer of blind gambler Wally (Pryor). When Wally's bookie is shot and killed at the stand, Dave and Wally are arrested for the crime. Since the deaf Dave had his back turned and didn't see the crime, while the blind Wally only heard it, the clues they have to offer the police are slim: Dave's glimpse of a shapely leg and Wally's whiff of a perfume called Shalimar. It turns out the dead man was in possession of a coin that he dropped into Dave's tip box, which Wally is now carrying. The coin contains a valuable microchip sought by crime baron Sutherland (Anthony Zerbe), for whom hired killer Eve (Joan Severance) and her British partner Kirgo (Kevin Spacey) are working. Posing as lawyers, Eve and Kirgo spring Dave and Wally from jail, leading to a series of misadventures as the coin changes hands and the two sensory-challenged pals attempt to learn who has framed them and why. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide
Alan North - Braddock; Mary Kay Adams - Dr. Bennett; George Bartenieff - Huddelston; John Capodice - Scotto; Jane Connell - Woman; Jamie de Roy - Female Doctor; Rico Elias - Policeman; Louis Giambalvo - Gatlin; Zach Grenier - Jerk; Shiek Mahmud-Bey - Walkie-Talkie Cop; Bernie McInerney - Dr. Cornfield; Audrie Neenan - Marilyn/Policewoman; Tonya Pinkins - Leslie; Alan Pottinger - Parking Attendant; Hardy Rawls - Beefy Tourist; John Ring - Teller; Manuel Santiago - Raoul; Alice Spivak - Dispatcher; Joel Sweto - Cabbie; Lauren Tom - Mitzie; Joe Viviani - Fingerprint Cop; Doug Yasuda - Prof. Kasuda; George "Buck" Flower - Security Guard; George Harris - Bartender; Harry Madsen - Cop with Bullhorn; Bill Luhrs - Herman; Thom Curley - Laundry Van Driver; Phil Goodbody - Blind Man; Tom Kubiak - Plainclothes Cop; Keith Langsdale - Male Doctor; Lisby Larson - Reporter; Cynthia Lopez - Puerto Rican Woman; Pirie MacDonald - Lodge Tourist; Michael John McGann - Salesman; Alexandra Neil - Sally; James Pyduck - Businessman; Mark Smaltz - Policeman; Edward James Hyland - Cabbie
Credit
James T. Singelis - Art Director, Lynn Stalmaster - Casting, Ruth Morley - Costume Designer, Arthur Hiller - Director, Robert Jones - Editor, Burtt Harris - Executive Producer, Earl Barret - Executive Producer, Arne Sultan - Executive Producer, Stewart Copeland - Composer (Music Score), Tony Lloyd - Makeup, Toy Russell-Van Lierop - Makeup, Monty Westmore - Makeup, Robert Gundlach - Production Designer, Victor J. Kemper - Cinematographer, Marvin Worth - Producer, Connie Brink - Special Effects, Albert Griswold - Special Effects, William Traynor - Special Effects, Conrad Palmisano - Stunts, Earl Barret - Screenwriter, Andrew Kurtzman - Screenwriter, Arne Sultan - Screenwriter, Eliot Wald - Screenwriter, Gene Wilder - Screenwriter, Marvin Worth - Screenwriter, George De Titta, Jr. - Set Decorator
Richard Pryor plays a blind man named Wally Karue and Gene Wilder plays a deaf man named Dave Lyons. They meet in Dave's shop, where Wally wants to get a job. After a few complications, Dave hires him. As Wally goes outside to get the newspapers for Dave, a man (Wally's bookie) comes in and asks Dave for some antacid (Dave reads lips). Playing for some time to hide a valuable gold coin, the man asks Dave to read the back of the packet to him. As Dave is reading it, the man slips the coin in a cigar box (for tips), hoping that nobody would find it. After he does it, a tall lady dressed in red comes looking for the coin. While Dave is reading, she shoots the bookie when he fails to give it to her. She slips away and disappears out of sight. Dave didn't hear the gunshot and Wally didn't see anybody but he heard the gunshot. Soon after finding that there is a dead man on the floor and with Dave holding the murder weapon, the two of them are put into jail for questioning. Wally and Dave become the prime suspects and the police refuse to believe them. The two then cunningly escape from the police station. On the run from the law, they are also tracked by the real killers, played by Joan Severance and Kevin Spacey, and their boss, played by Anthony Zerbe, who want the gold coin in their possession. Dave and Wally must be each other's eyes and ears to stop the criminals and clear their names.
TriStar Pictures was looking to produce another film starring Wilder and Pryor, and Wilder agreed to do See No Evil, Hear No Evil only if he was allowed to re-write the script. The studio agreed and See No Evil, Hear No Evil premiered on May 1989 to mostly negative reviews. Many critics praised Wilder and Pryor, and even Kevin Spacey's performances but they mostly all agreed that the script was terrible. Roger Ebert called it "a real dud",[1] the Deseret Morning News described the film as "stupid", with an "idiotic script" that had a "contrived story" and too many "juvenile gags",[2] while Vincent Canby called it "by far the most successful co-starring vehicle for Mr. Pryor and Mr. Wilder", also acknowledging that "this is not elegant movie making, and not all of the gags are equally clever."[3] The film has also gained a cult following in the past decade.
Despite the negative reviews, the film was a box office success, able to stay as # 1 for two weeks.
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