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Night Shift is a 1982 American comedy film, directed by Ron Howard, concerning a timid night shift morgue employee whose life is turned upside down by a new co-worker who fancies himself a free-spirited entrepreneur. It stars Howard's Happy Days co-star Henry Winkler along with Michael Keaton, in his first starring role, and Shelley Long. Also appearing are Richard Belzer and Clint Howard; and there are brief scenes with a young Kevin Costner as "Frat Boy #1," Shannen Doherty as a Bluebell scout, Vincent Schiavelli as a man who delivers a sandwich, and Charles Fleischer as one of the jail prisoners.
| Night Shift | |
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Night Shift movie poster | |
| Directed by | Ron Howard |
| Produced by | Brian Grazer |
| Written by | Lowell Ganz Babaloo Mandel |
| Starring |
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| Music by | Burt Bacharach |
| Cinematography | James Crabe |
| Edited by | Robert James Kern Mike Hill Daniel P. Hanley |
Production company | The Ladd Company |
| Distributed by | Warner Bros. |
Release date |
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Running time | 105 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Box office | $21,095,638 |
Winkler was nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor - Motion Picture Musical or Comedy, while Keaton won the Kansas City Film Critics Circle Award for Best Supporting Actor.
Screenplay
This section needs an improved plot summary. (November 2015) |
Charles “Chuck” Lumley, formerly a successful stockbroker, has found a refuge from the ulcer-inducing Wall Street rat race in his job as an attendant at the New York City morgue. His displeasure at being "promoted" to Night Shift Supervisor to make room for his boss's nephew is exacerbated by the irrational exuberance of Bill "Blaze" Blazejowski, his new co-worker. They are inspired by the plight of Chuck's prostitute neighbor, Belinda, to apply Chuck's financial acumen and Bill's entrepreneurial spirit to open a prostitution service headquartered at the morgue.
Chuck falls in love with Belinda, but their relationship becomes complicated when Belinda refuses to quit prostitution. Chuck's passiveness keeps him from telling Belinda he loves her. Meanwhile, Chuck and Bill's foray into the prostitution business draws the ire of dangerous pimps who come to the morgue and threaten to kill Chuck. Bill inadvertently leads undercover cops to the morgue where Chuck is being assaulted by the pimps. A shootout ensues. Chuck and Bill are rescued, but are arrested for promoting prostitution. Because their arrest would be a political embarrassment, the guys are offered their old jobs back and a dismissal of all charges. Chuck accepts this, but Bill sees it as an opportunity to bargain with the mayor's office. Chuck and Bill fight and part ways. Chuck's fiancée breaks up with him.
Chuck sees Belinda in the hall of their apartment complex, but again fails to express his true feelings for her. Belinda leaves, and Chuck becomes angry with himself for being afraid. With renewed determination, Chuck finds Belinda working in an adult club and professes his love for her. He also finds Bill is employed there. The three leave the club together and go out on the town.
- Henry Winkler as Chuck Lumley
- Michael Keaton as Bill "Blaze" Blazejowski
- Shelley Long as Belinda Keaton
- Gina Hecht as Charlotte Koogle
- Pat Corley as Edward Koogle
- Bobby Di Cicco as Leonard
- Nita Talbot as Vivian
- Basil Hoffman as Drollhauser
- Tim Rossovich as Luke
- Clint Howard as Jefferey
- Joe Spinell as Manetti
- Richard Belzer as Pig
- Grand L. Bush as Mustafa
- Charles Fleischer as Prisoner
- Vincent Schiavelli as Carl
- Kevin Costner as Frat Boy #1
- Shannen Doherty as Bluebird
The movie's opening theme song is "Night Shift" by Quarterflash. The closing theme song, "That's What Friends Are For," performed by Rod Stewart, was written by Burt Bacharach and Carole Bayer Sager.
The official soundtrack was released in 1982 on the Ladd Company label and was distributed by Warner Bros. It included ten selected tracks from the film, six of which were written just for the film:
The soundtrack was a vinyl and cassette-only release. The versions of "Talk Talk" and "Penthouse and Pavement" that are on the soundtrack are different from any other releases of the songs as they were specially mixed for the soundtrack.
Other songs heard in the film include "You Really Got Me" by Van Halen and a live version of "Jumpin' Jack Flash" by The Rolling Stones, taken from the 1977 live album Love You Live; a section of "Cutting Branches for a Temporary Shelter" by the Penguin Cafe Orchestra is also heard.
Box office
Night Shift earned approximately $21.1 million at the domestic box office.
Critical reception
The film received mostly positive reviews from critics. Review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reports that 92% of 24 critics have given the film a positive review, with a rating average of 6.5 out of 10. Many reviewers praised the performances of the two male leads, particularly Michael Keaton.
TV Guide?s Movie Guide wrote that "Winkler turns in the best performance of his career, and Keaton is wonderful." The Chicago Reader Jonathan Rosenbaum compared Night Shift to the subsequent comedy film Risky Business (which also dealt with the theme of prostitution), noting that Night Shift isn't "as snappily directed or as caustically conceived, ... but it's arguably just as sexy and almost as funny." The New York Times? Janet Maslin, however, deemed Night Shift "a halfway funny movie, one that's got loads of good gags in its first half and nothing but trouble in its second." Gene Siskel, writing in the Chicago Tribune, gave the film two stars out of four but hailed Keaton's "superb comic performance", writing that "based on this one role, I would now pay to see Keaton in just about anything. Anything except Night Shift."
Controversy
Winkler's jail scene in the film is considered gratuitously homophobic by some critics. A film lexicon author who praised the film nevertheless described the scene as "infamous."
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