Oh, God!
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Oh, God! | |
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| Directed by | Carl Reiner |
| Produced by | Jerry Weintraub |
| Written by | Larry Gelbart Avery Corman (novel) |
| Starring | John Denver George Burns Teri Garr Donald Pleasence Ralph Bellamy William Daniels Barnard Hughes Paul Sorvino |
| Music by | Jack Elliott |
| Distributed by | Warner Bros. Pictures |
| Release date(s) | October 7, 1977 |
| Running time | 98 min. |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Followed by | Oh, God! Book II Oh, God! You Devil |
| IMDb profile | |
Oh, God! is a 1977 comedy film, starring John Denver and George Burns. Based on a novel by Avery Corman, the film, whose screenplay was written by Larry Gelbart, and which was directed by Carl Reiner, was released on Friday, October 7, 1977. The story centers upon an unassuming supermarket manager (Denver) who encounters God (Burns), who picks him to spread his message, despite the skepticism of the media, religious authorities, and his own wife (Teri Garr).
The film inspired two sequels, Oh, God! Book II (1980) and Oh, God! You Devil (1984), both of which featured Burns reprising his role, but with no other recurring characters from the original story.
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[edit] Synopsis
God appears as a kindly old man to Jerry Landers (Denver), an assistant supermarket manager. After some mixups in trying to set up an "interview," He tells Jerry that he has been selected to be His messenger to the modern world, much like a contemporary Moses. A bit timidly at first, Landers dutifully tells the world of his encounters with God. Understandably scoffed at first, Landers's life is turned upside down as theologians attempt to discredit him. Eventually, Jerry decides to prove his story in a court of law, after being sued for slander by a preacher God called a "fake".
Jerry argues that if God's existence is a reasonable possibility, then if He chooses he can materialize and sit in the witness chair. At first, God fails to appear, and the judge threatens to charge Jerry with contempt for "what you apparently thought was a clever stunt." Jerry argues that his point was that when he brought up the mere possibility that God would make a personal appearance, everyone clearly waited a moment to see if it would really happen -- proving that he at least deserves the benefit of the doubt that his story is true.
Suddenly, without opening the doors, God appears and asks to be sworn in. "If it please the court, and even if it doesn't please the court, I'm God, your honor."
God provides some miracles, mostly in the form of card tricks, to help the people believe, then He issues a parting shot: "It can work. Don't hurt each other. If it's hard to have faith in me, maybe it will help to know that I have faith in you."
[edit] Main cast
- John Denver ... Jerry Landers
- George Burns ... God
- Teri Garr ... Bobbie Landers
- Donald Pleasence ... Doctor Harmon
- Ralph Bellamy ... Sam Raven
- William Daniels ... George Summers
- Barnard Hughes ... Judge Baker
- Paul Sorvino ... Reverend Willie Williams
- Barry Sullivan ... Bishop Reardon
- Dinah Shore ... Herself
- Carl Reiner ... Dinah's Guest
- Jeff Corey ... Rabbi Silverstone
- George Furth ... Briggs
- David Ogden Stiers ... Mr. McCarthy, District Produce Manager
- Moosie Drier ... Adam Landers
[edit] Trivia
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Trivia sections are discouraged under Wikipedia guidelines. The article could be improved by integrating relevant items and removing inappropriate ones. |
- According to screenwriter Larry Gelbart, Reiner initially envisioned his oft-partner Mel Brooks playing God, and Woody Allen playing the supermarket manager.
- When Jerry is in the hotel room about to give God a quiz, The Dick Van Dyke Show (1961), created by Carl Reiner, is playing on the television.
- Barbara Harris was originally cast in the role that went to Teri Garr.
- The movie's poster can be seen in a scene from the 1999 movie Man on the Moon. The movie took place in the late 70's and early 80's.
[edit] External links
- Oh God! at the Internet Movie Database (1977 version)
- Oh God! at the Internet Movie Database (2008 version)
- Oh God! Book II at the Internet Movie Database
- Oh God! You Devil at the Internet Movie Database
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