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    Nostalgia Central
    Home»Movies»Movies by Decade»Movies - 1980s
    Movies - 1980s Movies - R 2 Mins Read

    Ruthless People (1986)

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    Wealthy but loathsome businessman Sam Stone (Danny DeVito) plans to murder his wife, Barbara (Bette Midler) so he can inherit her wealth and marry his voluptuous mistress, Carol (Anita Morris).

    He thinks his problems are over when his wife is kidnapped by inept young couple, Ken and Sandy Kessler (Judge Reinhold and Helen Slater) who threaten to kill her if their ransom demands are not met. But Sam’s life is about to get even more complicated and the movie twists and turns as a whole host of other people get involved.

    Carol figures she can get rich quick if she blackmails Sam with a videotape of him killing his wife, and Carol’s mentally challenged boyfriend, Earl (a young Bill Pullman) tapes something which he thinks is Sam murdering Barbara but is actually the police commissioner heavily engaged in a noisy romp.

    Midler plays Barbara as though it’s a role she was born to, channelling every loud-mouthed, ostentatious, self-involved, wisecracking shrew that any man could ever fear – a kind of born-again Joan Rivers!

    Airplane! (1980) partners Jim Abrahams, Jerry Zucker and David Zucker teamed up again for this fun comedy.

    ruthlesspeople2

    Sam Stone
    Danny DeVito
    Barbara Stone
    Bette Midler
    Ken Kessler
    Judge Reinhold
    Sandy Kessler
    Helen Slater
    Carol
    Anita Morris
    Earl
    Bill Pullman
    Police commissioner
    William G Schilling
    Lieutenant Bender
    Art Evans
    Lieutenant Walters
    Clarence Felder
    Bedroom killer
    J E FreemanCrew

    Director
    Jim Abrahams
    David Zucker
    Jerry Zucker

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