''Lucky Stiff'' is a 1988 American

black comedy film A comedy film is a category of film which emphasizes humor. These films are designed to make the audience laugh through amusement. Films in this style traditionally have a happy ending (black comedy being an exception). Comedy is one of the old ...

written by

Pat Proft Pat Proft is an American comedy writer, actor, and director. Born in Minnesota in 1947, Proft began his career at Dudley Riggs' Brave New Workshop in Minneapolis in the mid 1960s. He went on to perform as a one-man comedy act in the late 1960s. I ...

and directed by

Anthony Perkins Anthony Perkins (April 4, 1932 – September 12, 1992) was an American actor, director, and singer. Perkins is best remembered for his role as Norman Bates in Alfred Hitchcock's suspense thriller '' Psycho'', which made him an influentia ...

. It is his only directing credit apart from ''

Psycho III ''Psycho III'' is a 1986 American slasher film, and the third film in the ''Psycho'' franchise. It stars Anthony Perkins, who also directs the film, reprising the role of Norman Bates. It co-stars Diana Scarwid, Jeff Fahey, and Roberta Maxwell. ...

''.

Plot

Ron Douglas takes a vacation in the mountains to seek solace from his bride abandoning him on their wedding day. There he meets Cynthia Mitchell, who invites him home for Christmas dinner with her family, cannibalistic descendants of the

Donner Party The Donner Party, sometimes called the Donner–Reed Party, was a group of American pioneers who migrated to California in a wagon train from the Midwest. Delayed by a multitude of mishaps, they spent the winter of 1846–1847 snowbound in th ...

. He unexpectedly encounters his ex-fiancée, who is engaged to one of Cynthia's relatives. He also discovers that he is going to be killed and eaten by Cynthia's family. He manages to successfully escape with his ex-fiancée and she agrees to go through with the wedding.

Cast

Donna Dixon Donna Lynn Dixon is an American film and television actress, best known for playing Sonny Lumet in the TV series ''Bosom Buddies'' (1980-1982). Biography Dixon was born in Alexandria, Virginia, to Earl Dixon. Her father owned a nightclub in ...

as Cynthia Mitchell * Joe Alaskey as Ron Douglas *

Jeff Kober Jeff Kober (born December 18, 1953) is an American actor, known for his television roles as Dodger in ''China Beach'', Jacob Hale Jr. in ''Sons of Anarchy'', and Joe in the fourth season of '' The Walking Dead''. He is also known his movie rol ...

as Ike *

Fran Ryan Fran Mary Ryan (November 29, 1916 January 15, 2000) was an American character actress featured in television and films. She was born in Los Angeles, California. Career Ryan began performing at the age of six at Oakland's Henry Duffy Theatre. ...

as Ma *

William Morgan Sheppard William Morgan Sheppard (24 August 1932 – 6 January 2019) was an English actor who appeared in over 100 films and television programmes, in a career that spanned over 50 years. Stage career Sheppard graduated from the Royal Academy of ...

as Pa * Barbara Howard as Frances *

Leigh McCloskey Leigh Joseph McCloskey (born June 21, 1955) is an American actor, artist, author and philosopher. Throughout his acting career, McCloskey appeared in numerous television series and movies, including the popular American soap opera ''Dallas'' an ...

as Eric West * Elizabeth Arlen as Arlene *

Charles Frank Charles Reser Frank (born April 17, 1947) is an American actor noted for playing Bret Maverick's cousin Ben Maverick in the 1978 TV-movie ''The New Maverick'' with James Garner and Jack Kelly, and in the short-lived 1979 television series '' ...

as Durel * Andy Wood as Futterman * Bill Quinn as Emmet Kassler * David Smith as Roman Kassler *

Joe Unger Joe or JOE may refer to: Arts Film and television * ''Joe'' (1970 film), starring Peter Boyle * ''Joe'' (2013 film), starring Nicolas Cage * ''Joe'' (TV series), a British TV series airing from 1966 to 1971 * ''Joe'', a 2002 Canadian animated ...

as Kirby * Dustin "Beluga" DeMont as the 3rd grade stuntman double

Production

Filming took place in

Truckee, California Truckee is an incorporated town in Nevada County, California, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the population was 16,180, reflecting an increase of 2,316 from the 13,864 counted in the 2000 Census and having the 316th highe ...

Release

The film was released in the United States in November 1988, followed by Australia on December 7, 1989, France on February 21, 1990, and Portugal on March 15, 1991. While a box office failure, the film developed a cult following due to its quotable dialogue and exposure in '' Fangoria'', who did a feature on the film.

References

External links

* * 1988 films American black comedy films 1980s black comedy films Films directed by Anthony Perkins Films scored by Michael Tavera New Line Cinema films Films with screenplays by Pat Proft 1988 comedy films 1980s English-language films 1980s American films {{comedy-film-stub