Comedy starring Donald Sutherland, Jack Warden and Sean Penn. In San Francisco's Mission district, old man Garvey is infamous for his meanness. His pawn shop, a regular haunt for various down-on-their-luck locals like Weslake and Dillard, is also home to a particularly large and tempting safe.
Directed by Louis Malle, the award-winning French film-maker who gave us Pretty Baby, Atlantic City and Damage, this offbeat American comedy caper is actually a remake of the 1956 Italian movie, Big Deal on Madonna Street. Donald Sutherland plays an unemployed security guard who plots to crack the safe in Jack Warden's San Francisco pawn shop with his group of misfits (who include Christine Baranski of the TV sitcom Cybil). Like the plot itself, this is a botched job, neither as funny nor as tense as intended. That said, it is full of whimsy and weird performances, and features Sean Penn in an early role.
| role | name |
|---|---|
| Weslake | Donald Sutherland |
| Garvey | Jack Warden |
| Dillard | Sean Penn |
| Turtle | Wallace Shawn |
| Boardwalk | Larry Riley |
| Ramon | Trinidad Silva |
| Maxine | Christine Baranski |
| Jasmine | Charlaine Woodard |
| Maria | Tasia Valenza |
| Lazzarelli | Irwin Corey |
| Don Fernando | Edouard Desoto |
| Slam Dunk | Anna Maria Horsford |
| Artiste | Mitchell Lichtenstein |
| Mrs O'Malley | Marjorie Eaton |
| Officer Darney | Edward Call |
| Officer Ronnie | Joseph Hindy |
| role | name |
|---|---|
| Director | Louis Malle |
