Brewster McCloud

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Brewster McCloud
Directed by Robert Altman
Produced by Lou Adler
Written by Doran William Cannon
Starring Bud Cort
Sally Kellerman
Michael Murphy
William Windom
Shelley Duvall
Release date(s) December 5, 1970
Running time 105 minutes
Language English
IMDb profile

Brewster McCloud is a 1970 movie directed by Robert Altman; it centers on a young recluse who lives in a fallout shelter of the Houston Astrodome building a pair of wings so he'll be able to fly.

This was an early film to be shot on location in Houston, Texas. During the opening credits, shots of the downtown Houston skyline (with the One Shell Plaza building under construction) zoom toward the Houston Astrodome and Astrohall, with the emerging Texas Medical Center in the background.

It was the first film to be filmed inside the Houston Astrodome.

[edit] Cast

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

[edit] Trivia

  • A homage to The Wizard of Oz (1939) is noted in the film - Margaret Hamilton, who was the Wicked Witch of the West, is the music conductor seen during the opening credits. In the film, she is sighted wearing the red slippers. Her demise in this film in the first few minutes befits a Wicked Witch. The character is also racist in nature - she yells "Get out, you n*gger bird" when a raven lands on a bird cage.
  • Robert Altman hated the original script; much of the scenes were improvised and filmed.
  • This film marks the debut of actress Shelley Duvall; she was a former cosmetics saleswoman who worked at a Foley's located at Northwest Mall.
  • The film occasionally cuts to Rene Auberjonois, sitting in an office, undergoing a peculiar transformation as he provides instruction about birds in the style of 1950s industrial films. Director Robert Altman began his career by making industrial films.
  • Sally Kellerman plays a mysterious woman in a white coat who lurks around, watching people. She is one of several characters in the film who are associated with flying in one way or another. Virginia Madsen plays a similar character in Altman's A Prairie Home Companion.
  • The hotel Frank Shaft checks into was part of the Astroworld complex; it has gone through several changes right after Time Warner took possession of the Astroworld theme park, now known as Six Flags Houston. The Park as of October 30, 2005 has been closed. For more info visit Old Astroworld.com
  • Some of the car chase scenes were filmed around the Astrodome - most of the landscape surrounding the Dome was undeveloped - including the undeveloped State Highway 288 corridor (a section of Holly Hall viaduct is used as a filming location).
  • Detective Shaft parks his Camaro Z28 in front of an Enco gas station - the former Texas National Guard building located at the intersection of Old Spanish Trail and Fannin is seen in the background. The building was demolished in 2002 where the M.D. Anderson Cancer Center is building a new research facility.
  • Riverside Terrace served as a filming location where Abraham Wright is collecting back rent from several nursing homes; most of the locations depicted have been bulldozed by the Texas Department of Transportation where the final right-of-way acquisition for State Highway 288 was finalized in the late 1960s.
  • The railroad crossing seen in the film during the chase scene was owned by the Houston Belt and Terminal rail line (the original rail right-of-way went through the Texas Southern University campus and paralleled Velasco Street in Houston's Third Ward); the rail overpass which crosses Brays Bayou in the Riverside Terrace area was demolished in the 1980s (date unknown), right after State Highway 288 was completed in 1984.
  • Two sections of Main Street seen in the film - the intersection of Main at Alabama, and Main at Commerce - are now part of the Metro light rail corridor.
  • When Brewster is serving as Abraham Wright's driver, the former Ye Olde College Inn off South Main is briefly seen; it was bulldozed in the late 1980s by the Texas Medical Center to build the St. Luke's Medical Towers.
  • The actor portraying the Astrodome security guard pursuing Brewster during an Astrodome tour was Houston-area entertainer Dean Goss (1936-1992).
  • Officer Johnson's police cruiser is painted a darker shade of blue in the film; in reality, Houston Police cruisers were painted a lighter shade of blue until 1998. In the film, the police uniforms did not have the Space City logo - these appeared in the mid-1970s.
  • Colt Stadium (named after the Houston Colt .45s - now the Houston Astros) is seen in the film (the structure northwest of the Astrodome); right after filming was completed, the structure was torn down and rebuilt in Torreon, Mexico.
  • When Brewster takes flight during the climax, the Astroturf used inside the Astrodome had faint markings of a football field; one Astroturf surface was used for both baseball and football until separate turfs were introduced.
  • Most of the freeway scenes were filmed on the South Loop 610 adjacent to the Astrodome; the freeway main lanes were officially opened in June 1969.
  • The intersection of Fannin and Knight Road used as a filming location is the current location of the 7601 Fannin skyscraper and a townhome complex.
  • The film opens with the MGM logo, as usual, but with the voice of Rene Auberjonois saying "I forgot the opening line" replacing the lion roar. [1]

[edit] External links


Films directed by Robert Altman
The Delinquents  • The James Dean Story • Countdown • That Cold Day in the Park • MASH • Brewster McCloud • McCabe & Mrs. Miller • Images • The Long Goodbye • Thieves Like Us • California Split • Nashville • Buffalo Bill and the Indians, or Sitting Bull's History Lesson • 3 Women • A Wedding • Quintet • A Perfect Couple • HealtH • Popeye • Come Back to the Five and Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean • Streamers • Secret Honor • O.C. & Stiggs • Fool for Love • Beyond Therapy • Aria • Vincent & Theo • The Player • Short Cuts • Prêt-à-Porter • Kansas City • The Gingerbread Man • Cookie's Fortune • Dr. T & the Women • Gosford Park • The Company • A Prairie Home Companion
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