Dennis the Menace (film)
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| Dennis the Menace | |
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 One-sheet poster. |
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| Directed by | Nick Castle |
| Produced by | John Hughes |
| Written by | John Hughes |
| Starring | Walter Matthau Mason Gamble Joan Plowright Christopher Lloyd |
| Cinematography | Thomas E. Ackerman |
| Distributed by | Warner Bros. Family Entertainment |
| Release date(s) | June 25, 1993 |
| Running time | 94 minutes |
| Language | English |
| Followed by | Dennis the Menace Strikes Again |
| IMDb profile | |
Dennis the Menace (also known in the United Kingdom as Dennis) is a 1993 (see 1993 in film) live-action film based on the Hank Ketcham comic strip of the same name. The film was directed by Nick Castle, written and produced by John Hughes, and distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures and Hughes Entertainment. It concerns the misadventures of a mischievous child with a cowlick and a grin who wreaked havoc on his next-door neighbour, Mr. Wilson, and usually helping out with his friends, Joey and Margaret, and being followed everywhere by his dog, Ruff.
The film premiered on June 25, 1993. It as known simply as Dennis in the UK to avoid confusion with an unrelated British comic strip, also called "Dennis the Menace," which debuted in 1951.
A direct-to-video sequel called Dennis the Menace Strikes Again was also released. The film was followed up by a Saturday morning cartoon series called The Incredible Dennis the Menace.
This is not the first live-action Dennis the Menace movie, the first live-action film to feature Dennis was Dennis the Menace: Dinosaur Hunter, which premiered on TV in 1987. The film involved Dennis and his friends and his dog continuing their perchants for mischief until they discover a dinosaur skeleton, which Dennis dubs it as the "Dennissaurus".
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[edit] Plot
Dennis Mitchell, a 5 year old boy living with his parents next to irritated neighbor George Wilson, is out of school for the summer. With both his parents working, they are forced to have various people babysit him during the day. As the summer progresses, he becomes more and more notorious among babysitters for being more than a handful, and his flagrant unwillingness to be babysat by Martha Wade (parent of his female nemesis, Margaret), proves a difficult situation when both parents are forced to go on business trips for their respective companies. Unable to find a babysitter tough enough to take care of Dennis for such a long while, they move to their final resort- asking George and Martha Wilson.
Meanwhile, a shady drifter named Sam, having recently jumped a train into the relatively crime-free neighborhood, begins a silent assault on the community, burglarizing houses, as well as striking fear into the children that see him. Due to the absence of crime in the area, barely anybody in the community locks their doors.
Mr. Wilson, becoming a winner of the community's garden association, holds a party, inviting the elder community to witness the blooming of a rare flower, whose 40-year existence will, in the light of a full moon, produce only 10 seconds of a flowered life before withering away. However, due to a storm, Dennis' mother is unable to make it back home in time to look after Dennis, forcing the Wilsons to have him around while the banquet is running. Several incidents, which include the overturning of the dinner table, end with Dennis being sent to spend the rest of the evening indoors. That very night, Switchblade Sam comes across the Wilsons home- as the party is located in the backyard garden, with the host and guests awaiting the flower's bloom, they are unaware that Switchblade Sam breaks in, locates a hidden locker in George Wilson's bookcase, and breaks the combination (which is Mr. Wilson's address, a fact that even Dennis himself had earlier guessed at), stealing a small collection of extremely valuable cents. When Dennis discovers the crime, he quickly forces the party's attention away from the now fully-bloomed (and rapidly decaying) flower.
Incensed that he had spent 40 years planting and tending to the now-dead plant, only to have it be ignored, George quietly informs the child how much he has grown to despise him in a rather harsh fashion. Distraught, Dennis secretly rides away on his tricycle into the forest, while the police arrive and investigate the scene. Soon afterwards, Mrs. Mitchell arrives, where it is discovered that Dennis is missing. Parts of the community voluntarily search for him, while George reflects (and soon regrets) the things he has said- now knowing that he had his house burglarized, and knowing that Dennis had only good intentions, he assists in searching in places where Dennis would likely hide.
Dennis, however, has come across Switchblade Sam, who intends to use the child as a hostage. Dennis' insistence to talk drives the criminal irate, to the point where he ties him up- or attempts to, in any case. Dennis demonstrates his skill in tying up a person to the criminal, who is actually interested in learning this tip. The lesson goes awry, however, when Dennis also uses handcuffs on him, and accidentally drops the keys in a pot of cooking beans. Unable to get to the keys (which are accidentally devoured in an attempt to find them), the criminal's temper grows rawer still, as he is knocked out, burned, and forced to jump into a shallow part of the lake.
Luckily, Dennis' ability with ropes proves useful in extricating the criminal from the shallows- it is at this point that Dennis comes across the collection of George Wilson's coins. Realizing that Sam is the burglar, he turns around in time to see Sam, armed with a switchblade (and still tied around the waist with a rope coming from overhead, where a train approaches). Intent on killing the boy, he is stopped short when the oncoming train catches onto the rope, pulling him up to the roof of the underpass and squeezing the breath out of him in cartoon fashion, until the rope snaps and causes the man to fall.
The next morning, George Wilson, who has spent the entire evening looking for Dennis, awakens on his front porch. Dennis rides down the street on his trike, pulling along a wagon upon which lies a near-unconscious Switchblade Sam. Dennis is greeted by the community, especially by George Wilson himself, and the burglar is taken into custody by a slightly amused sheriff.
[edit] Cast
- Walter Matthau as Mr. George Wilson
- Mason Gamble as Dennis Mitchell
- Joan Plowright as Mrs. Martha Wilson
- Christopher Lloyd as Switchblade Sam - 'Switchblade Sam' is the only character in the film never referred to by his name.
- Lea Thompson as Mrs. Alice Mitchell
- Robert Stanton as Mr. Henry Mitchell
- Amy Sakasitz as Margaret Wade
- Kellen Hathaway as Joey
- Paul Winfield as Chief of Police
- Natasha Lyonne as Polly
- Devin Ratray as Mickey
- Hank Johnston as Gunther Beckman
- Melinda Mullins as Andrea
- Billie Bird as Edith Butterwell
- Bill Erwin as Edward Little
This film marks the fifth time that Lea Thompson and Christopher Lloyd have been in a film together.
[edit] Cameos
Veteran Hughes actors Billie Bird, Ben Stein, and Bill Erwin.
[edit] Behind the scenes
- The Mitchells' and the Wilsons' house were filmed and are located in Evanston, Illinois. The opening shot and parts of the film were filmed in Hinsdale, Illinois.
- Mason Gamble lost two teeth during the filming of this movie and had to wear fake ones until after the movie was finished.
- The script was written to use certain references from both Back to the Future (also starring Christopher Lloyd and Lea Thompson) and Home Alone (also written and produced by John Hughes).
- Jerry Goldsmith was John Hughes' first and only choice to write the music score for this film.
- Mason Gamble played tag with neighorhood kids in Evanston when not shooting the film.
- Several scenes with the robber were shot in a house in Evanston nearby Mr. Wilson's, not far from Dewey Elementary School, but were not used in the final cut.
[edit] External links
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