Top Secret! (1984)
83%RT Audience Score: 80%
Awards & Nominations: NA
Top Secret! finds the team of Zucker-Abrahams-Zucker sending up everything from spy movies to Elvis musicals with reckless, loony abandon
If you’re looking for a movie that’s as silly as it is entertaining, then Top Secret is the perfect pick for you. Sure, it may not be as funny as Airplane!, but it’s still clever enough to keep you laughing. The jokes may be hit-and-miss, but the performances are top-notch and the musical numbers are pitch-perfect. Plus, it’s clean (except for that one awkward moment with a marital aid). So, if you’re in the mood for some flaky, free-swinging fun, then Top Secret is the way to go.
Production Company(ies)
Société Nouvelle Pathé Cinéma
Distributor
Paramount Pictures
Release Type
Theatrical
Filming Location(s)
Pinewood Studios, Iver Heath, Buckinghamshire, England, UK
MPAA / Certificate
PG
Year of Release
1984
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Color:Color
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Sound mix:Dolby Stereo
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Aspect ratio:1.85 : 1
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Runtime:1h 30m
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Language(s):English, German, Yiddish, Latin, French
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Country of origin:United States
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Release date:Release Date (Theaters): Jun 8, 1984 Original
Release Date (Streaming): Jul 16, 2002
Genre(s)
Comedy/Music
Keyword(s)
starring Val Kilmer, Lucy Gutteridge, Christopher Villiers, Omar Sharif, Peter Cushing, Jeremy Kemp, Michael Gough, directed by Jim Abrahams, David Zucker, Jerry Zucker, written by Jim Abrahams, David Zucker, comedy, music, box office performance, budget, reviewed by Kathleen Carroll, Tom Setzer, Laurie Horn, Kevin Thomas, Gene Siskel, Jay Boyar, David Nusair, James Croot, Patrick Taggart, Allan Ulrich, Karl Vick, Adrian Turner, PG rating, Paramount Pictures, Dolby, Surround, Flat (1.85:1), Nick Rivers, Hillary Flammond, Nigel aka The Torch, Resistance Leader, Agent Cedric, Sven Jorgensen, the Sweden Bookstore Owner, Resistance Member, General Streck, German High Command, Elvis musicals, spy movies, underground resistance movement, Dr Paul, naval mine, East Germany, American singer, music festival, captured scientist, coercing, new naval mine, rescue mission, caught up in espionage intrigues, parody, satire, musical numbers
Worldwide gross: $20,458,340
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): $59,908,740
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 1,257
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): 6,533,123
US/Canada gross: $20,458,340
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): $59,908,740
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 989
US/Canada opening weekend: $4,406,205
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): $12,902,816
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): 865
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): $9,000,000
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): $26,354,957
Production budget ranking: 1,226
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): $14,192,144
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): $19,361,640
ROI to date (est.): 48%
ROI ranking: 1,161
Lucy Gutteridge – Hillary Flammond
Christopher Villiers – Nigel aka The Torch, Resistance Leader
Omar Sharif – Agent Cedric
Peter Cushing – Sven Jorgensen, the Sweden Bookstore Owner, Resistance Member
Jeremy Kemp – General Streck, German High Command
Director(s)
Jim Abrahams, David Zucker, Jerry Zucker
Writer(s)
Jim Abrahams, David Zucker
Producer(s)
Hunt Lowry, Jon Davison
Film Festivals
Cannes
Awards & Nominations
NA
Academy Awards
All Critics (50) | Top Critics (16) | Fresh (38) | Rotten (12)
Although there is no question that this free-swinging spoof… runs out of steam, it is a wonderfully flaky example of what Hollywood has to offer in this traditionally silly summer season.
April 20, 2021 | Rating: 3/4
Kathleen Carroll
New York Daily News
TOP CRITIC
If you’re in the mood for some frequently inspired silliness (and have been weakened by the heat) you’ll no doubt find something to laugh at in this movie.
April 20, 2021 | Rating: 2/4
Tom Setzer
Fort Worth Star-Telegram/DFW.com
TOP CRITIC
The jokes leave you tickled, but never build to a comic crescendo.
April 20, 2021 | Rating: 2/4
Laurie Horn
Miami Herald
TOP CRITIC
The result is a non-stop barrage of gags, many of them inspired and hilarious themselves but scattershot in effect because the premise isn’t sturdy or coherent enough to hold them together.
April 20, 2021
Kevin Thomas
Los Angeles Times
TOP CRITIC
Not even half as funny as “Airplane!’ but still… a lot more clever than most movie comedies made today.
April 20, 2021 | Rating: 3/4
Gene Siskel
Chicago Tribune
TOP CRITIC
It’s amusing enough in a Mad magazine sort of way to be worth a look.
April 20, 2021 | Rating: 3/5
Jay Boyar
Orlando Sentinel
TOP CRITIC
…a hit-and-miss comedy that benefits from its stirring performances and smattering of hilarious set-pieces…
July 5, 2022 | Rating: 2.5/4
David Nusair
Reel Film Reviews
Along with his megawatt grin and pitch-perfect singing, which covers a range of musical genres, this was the moment that we saw a movie star born.
June 27, 2022
James Croot
Stuff.co.nz
It’s no classic, but Top Secret is funny, good-natured, and – with one exception early on involving a marital aid – clean.
April 20, 2021
Patrick Taggart
Austin American-Statesman
Abrahams-Zucker-Zucker scatter the jokes the way farmers scatter corn around a chicken house. They’re shameless.
April 20, 2021 | Rating: 3/4
Allan Ulrich
San Francisco Examiner
Insouciance runs so deep in the film it extends clear down to the structure, which must be ingenious to support the film as nimbly as it does, but which appears to be ad hoc.
April 20, 2021 | Rating: 4/5
Karl Vick
Tampa Bay Times
Not as funny as it should be, but entertaining enough.
April 20, 2021 | Rating: 3/5
Adrian Turner
Radio Times…
Plot
This time Zucker and Abrahams are spoofing, most notably, Elvis films and WWII spy movies. Val Kilmer stars as Nick Rivers, a handsome American 50s-style rock and roll singer. While performing in East Germany, he falls in love with a beautiful heroine and becomes involved with the French Resistance.
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
Val Kilmer stars in Top Secret! in his first major film role and also showcases his singing abilities.
Jim-Abrahams.jpg
