Who's Harry Crumb?
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| Who's Harry Crumb? | |
|---|---|
 The movie poster for Who's Harry Crumb?. |
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| Directed by | Paul Flaherty |
| Produced by | Arnon Milchan George W. Perkins (co-producer) John Candy (executive producer) |
| Written by | Robert Conte Peter Martin Wortmann |
| Starring | John Candy |
| Music by | Michel Colombier |
| Cinematography | Stephen M. Katz |
| Editing by | Danford B. Greene |
| Studio | Frostbacks NBC Productions |
| Distributed by | TriStar Pictures |
| Release date(s) | February 3, 1989 |
| Running time | 88 min. |
| Country | USA |
| Language | English |
| Gross revenue | $10,982,000 |
Who's Harry Crumb? (1989) is a part comedy part detective mystery movie featuring John Candy as the title character. The story revolves around the often incompetent, sometimes genius, private investigator Harry Crumb in his search for the kidnapping victim Jennifer Downing who is being held for ransom.
[edit] Plot
While visiting a health studio, Jennifer Downing, the daughter of millionaire P.J. Downing, is kidnapped. Her father turns to the detective agency Crumb, whose chief Eliot Draisen recommends the last descendant of the agency's founders, Harry Crumb, to investigate the case. The matter is complicated by the fact, however, that Draisen himself is the organizer of the kidnapping; he counts on the fact that Harry Crumb is a rather clueless person in order to escape scotsfree.
When Crumb returns from an external assignment (which he messed up as usual), he immediately begins his investigation, assisted by Jennifer's younger sister, Nikki. His tendency to mix up fact with fantasy, however, does not prevent him from noticing that Nikki's stepmother, Helen Downing, has an affair with her tennis coach Vince Barnes, and after several incidents and observations he comes to the conclusion that she is behind the kidnapping. Helen is also the object of affection of Eliot Draisen, but all she is interested in is money; to this end she tries to get rid of her husband on several occasions and even does her best - along with Barnes - to get the ransom for herself.
Draisen manages to outwit Crumb and the police and escapes to the airport, from where he intends to depart to Buenos Aires. But he makes the mistake of informing Helen of his plans; she and Barnes take the money and leave him, tied up and gagged, in a side room. Crumb and Nikki, however, manage to trail the kidnap to the airport and corners Helen and Barnes just as their plane prepares to take off. After Jennifer is freed, Crumb and the police find Draisen in the side room. Fed up with Crumb's dumb luck - and due to a slight misunderstanding - Draisen confesses and is sent to prison.
With the Downings' gratitude boasting his confidence, Crumb takes over management of his family's business, but a new case immediately piques his personal attention...
[edit] Cast
- John Candy as Harry Crumb
- Jeffrey Jones as Eliot Draisen
- Annie Potts as Helen Downing
- Tim Thomerson as Vince Barnes
- Barry Corbin as P.J. Downing
- Shawnee Smith as Nikki Downing
- Renee Coleman as Jennifer Downing
- Valri Bromfield as Det. Casey
- Doug Steckler as Dwayne
[edit] External links
- Who's Harry Crumb? at the Internet Movie Database
- Who's Harry Crumb? at Allmovie
- Who's Harry Crumb? at the New York Times
