The Busy Body

The Busy Body

film poster by Frank Frazetta
Directed by William Castle
Produced by William Castle
Written by Donald E. Westlake
Ben Starr
Starring Dom DeLuise
Sid Caesar
Robert Ryan
Music by Vic Mizzy
Distributed by Paramount Pictures
Release date(s) March 12, 1967
Running time 101 min.
Language English

The Busy Body is a 1967 comedy film starring Sid Caesar as a member of a crime ring and Robert Ryan as his boss. It was directed and produced by William Castle and was the first film appearance for Richard Pryor.

The movie was based on the novel of the same name by Donald E. Westlake.

Plot

George Norton is a low-level bumbler who works for Chicago crime boss Charley Barker. A well-dressed mama's boy, George is in good standing with Barker, even gaining a promotion, until an incident that costs the mob a million dollars.

George is indirectly responsible when Archie, a mob courier, is killed at a barbecue. After the funeral, Barker instructs George to dig up Archie's body because $500,000 was stuffed inside the lining of each side of a blue suit that an unwitting George personally chose for the burial.

George opens the casket to find it empty, then later occupied by a different corpse. He sets out to retrieve the body and the money before Barker gets angry enough to arrange a funeral for HIM.

Cast

External links