The Night They Raided Minsky's
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| The Night They Raided Minsky's | |
|---|---|
| Image:Night They Raided Minskys 1968.jpg 1968 movie poster | |
| Directed by | William Friedkin |
| Produced by | Norman Lear |
| Written by | Rowland Barber (book) Norman Lear Sidney Michaels Arnold Schulman |
| Starring | Jason Robards Britt Ekland Norman Wisdom |
| Music by | Charles Strouse |
| Cinematography | Andrew Laszlo |
| Editing by | Ralph Rosenblum Pablo Ferro (uncredited) |
| Distributed by | United Artists |
| Release date(s) | December 22, 1968 |
| Running time | 99 min. |
| Country | USA |
| Language | English |
| All Movie Guide profile | |
| IMDb profile | |
The Night They Raided Minsky's is a 1968 film directed by William Friedkin. This film tells the story of an innocent Amish girl (Britt Ekland) who, in a rebellious fit, leaves home to become a dancer and ends up inventing the striptease at Minsky's Burlesque in 1925. The film is based on the book of the same title by Rowland Barber, published in 1960.
Contents |
[edit] Plot
Rachel (Britt Ekland) is a rebellious Amish girl who goes to the big city. She is looking to make it as a dancer and auditions at Minsky's Burlesque. Her Biblical dances are not what they are looking for until the club manger decides to use it to trick the police into raiding them by billing her as the notorious Mme. Fifi. Raymond (Jason Robards), the club's main comedian, and his straight man Chick (Norman Wisdom) show her the ropes of basic burlesque, and they both fall for her in the process. Rachel's father takes the train in and begins looking for his daughter.
The film climaxes when Rachel is on stage. Raymond, Chick, her father, and the police are all watching and Rachel is nearly in tears after Raymond has revealed that they are just using her. Her father tries to drag her off-stage but she pulls away and he is left holding her sleeve. She begins to strip at the insistence of the audience, and accidentally shows her breasts when she makes a pleading gesture toward her father. Then the police raid Minsky's.
[edit] Cast
- Jason Robards as Raymond Paine
- Britt Ekland as Rachel Elizabeth Schpitendavel
- Norman Wisdom as Chick Williams
- Forrest Tucker as Trim Houlihan
- Harry Andrews as Jacob Schpitendavel
- Joseph Wiseman as Louis Minsky
- Denholm Elliott as Vance Fowler
- Elliott Gould as Billy Minsky
- Jack Burns as Candy Butcher
- Bert Lahr as Professor Spats. Lahr, most famous for his role as the Cowardly Lion in The Wizard of Oz, died suddenly from a heart attack in 1967 with only a few scenes shot. A double had to be brought in.
[edit] Adaptation
A musical stage adaptation features a book by Evan Hunter, lyrics by Susan Birkenhead, and music by Charles Strouse.
[edit] External links
- The Night They Raided Minsky's at the TCM Movie Database
- The Night They Raided Minsky's at Rotten Tomatoes
Films directed by William Friedkin |
|---|
| Good Times (1967) • The Birthday Party (1968) • The Night They Raided Minsky's (1968) • The Boys in the Band (1970) • The French Connection (1971) • The Exorcist (1973) • Sorcerer (1977) • The Brink's Job (1978) • Cruising (1980) • Deal of the Century (1983) • To Live and Die in L.A. (1985) • Rampage (1988) • The Guardian (1990) • Blue Chips (1994) • Jade (1995) • Rules of Engagement (2000) • The Hunted (2003) • Bug (2007) |
