Dennis the Menace (film)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Dennis the Menace | |
|---|---|
 One-sheet poster. |
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| Directed by | Nick Castle |
| Produced by | John Hughes |
| Written by | John Hughes |
| Starring | Walter Matthau Mason Gamble Joan Plowright Christopher Lloyd |
| Cinematography | Thomas E. Ackerman |
| Distributed by | Warner Bros. Pictures |
| Release date(s) | 1993 |
| Running time | 94 min. |
| Language | English |
| Followed by | Dennis the Menace Strikes Again |
| IMDb profile | |
Dennis the Menace (also known in the United Kingdom as Dennis) is a 1993 (see 1993 in film) live-action film based on the Hank Ketcham comic strip of the same name. The film was directed by Nick Castle, written by John Hughes, and produced by Warner Bros. Pictures and Hughes Entertainment. It concerns the misadventures of a mischievous child with a cowlick and a grin who wreaked havoc on his next-door neighbour, Mr. Wilson, and usually helping out with his friends, Joey and Margaret, and being followed everywhere by his dog, Ruff.
The plot centered around the misadventures of Dennis Mitchell, who after creating a perchant of disaster, is babysat by Mr. and Mrs. Wilson. But when Dennis did something wrong with Mr. Wilson, Dennis runs away and even comes face-to-face with the film's main villain, Switchblade Sam. The film was even notable as the first time the title character was accurately cast as a five-year-old.
The film premiered on June 25, 1993. A direct-to-video sequel called Dennis the Menace Strikes Again was also released. The film was followed up by a Saturday morning cartoon series called The Incredible Dennis the Menace.
[edit] Cast
- Walter Matthau as Mr. George Wilson
- Mason Gamble as Dennis Mitchell
- Joan Plowright as Mrs. Martha Wilson
- Christopher Lloyd as Switchblade Sam
- Lea Thompson as Mrs. Alice Mitchell
- Robert Stanton as Mr. Henry Mitchell
- Amy Sakasitz as Margaret Wade
- Kellen Hathaway as Joey
- Paul Winfield as Chief of Police
- Natasha Lyonne as Polly
- Devin Ratray as Mickey
- Hank Johnston as Gunther Beckman
- Melinda Mullins as Andrea
- Billie Bird as Edith Butterwell
- Bill Erwin as Edward Little
[edit] Trivia
- Veteran Hughes actors Billie Bird, Ben Stein, and Bill Erwin have cameo roles.
- The Mitchells' and the Wilsons' house were filmed and are located in Evanston, Illinois. The opening shot and parts of the film were filmed in Hinsdale, Illinois.
- 'Switchblade Sam' (Christopher Lloyd) is the only character in the film never referred to by his name.
- This movie marks the fifth time that Lea Thompson and Christopher Lloyd have been in a film together, but they do not share any screen time together.
- 20,000 children auditioned for the part of Dennis. Ten of them were selected to test the role with Walter Matthau. In the end, Mason Gamble got it.
- Was known simply as Dennis in the UK to avoid confusion with an unrelated British comic strip, also called "Dennis the Menace," which debuted in 1951.
- Mason Gamble lost two teeth during the filming of this movie and had to wear fake ones until after the movie was finished.
- The script was written to use certain references from both Back to the Future and Home Alone.
- This is not the first live-action Dennis the Menace movie, the first live-action film to feature Dennis was Dennis the Menace: Dinosaur Hunter, which premiered on TV in 1987, the film involved Dennis and his friends and his dog continuing their perchants for mischief until they discover a dinosaur skeleton, which Dennis dubs it as the "Dennissaurus".
- Jerry Goldsmith was John Hughes' first and only choice to write the music score for this film.
- Mason Gamble played tag with neighorhood kids in Evanston when not shooting the film.
- Several scenes with the robber were shot in a house in Evanston nearby Mr. Wilson's, not far from Dewey Elementary School, but were not used in the final cut.
