Brewster McCloud
Encyclopedia
Brewster McCloud is a 1970 movie
, directed by Robert Altman
, about a young recluse who lives in a fallout shelter of the Houston Astrodome, where he is building a pair of wings so he can fly. He is helped by his fairy godmother, played by Sally Kellerman
.
The film was shot on location in Houston, Texas
. During the opening credits, shots of the downtown Houston skyline (with the One Shell Plaza building under construction) zoom toward the Houston Astrodome and Astrohall, with the emerging Texas Medical Center
in the background. It was the first film shot inside the Astrodome.
saying, "I forgot the opening line," replacing the lion roar.
(1969) by including a character named Frank Shaft, who is a detective from San Francisco.
Homages to The Wizard of Oz
(1939) have been noted in the film, as Margaret Hamilton
, who played the Wicked Witch of the West
, is the music conductor seen during the opening credits. She is seen wearing ruby slippers in the film. She is portrayed as a racist
, yelling "Get out, you nigger
bird," when a raven lands on a bird cage. Hope (Jennifer Salt
) who supplies Brewster with health food, resembles Dorothy, as she wears a distinctive gingham dress, has pigtails and carries a basket. At the end of the film, she is shown in the cast as Dorothy
carrying Toto.
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
, directed by Robert Altman
Robert Altman
Robert Bernard Altman was an American film director and screenwriter known for making films that are highly naturalistic, but with a stylized perspective. In 2006, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences recognized his body of work with an Academy Honorary Award.His films MASH , McCabe and...
, about a young recluse who lives in a fallout shelter of the Houston Astrodome, where he is building a pair of wings so he can fly. He is helped by his fairy godmother, played by Sally Kellerman
Sally Kellerman
Sally Clare Kellerman is an American actress and singer known for her role as Major Margaret "Hot Lips" Houlihan in the film MASH , for which she was nominated for an Oscar for Best Actress in a Supporting Role.-Early life:...
.
The film was shot on location in Houston, Texas
Houston, Texas
Houston is the fourth-largest city in the United States, and the largest city in the state of Texas. According to the 2010 U.S. Census, the city had a population of 2.1 million people within an area of . Houston is the seat of Harris County and the economic center of , which is the ...
. During the opening credits, shots of the downtown Houston skyline (with the One Shell Plaza building under construction) zoom toward the Houston Astrodome and Astrohall, with the emerging Texas Medical Center
Texas Medical Center
The Texas Medical Center is the largest medical center in the world with one of the highest densities of clinical facilities for patient care, basic science, and translational research...
in the background. It was the first film shot inside the Astrodome.
Cast
- Bud CortBud CortBud Cort is an American film and stage actor, writer, and director. He is best known for his portrayals of Harold in Hal Ashby's 1971 film Harold and Maude and the titular hero in Robert Altman's 1970 film Brewster McCloud...
as Brewster McCloud - Sally KellermanSally KellermanSally Clare Kellerman is an American actress and singer known for her role as Major Margaret "Hot Lips" Houlihan in the film MASH , for which she was nominated for an Oscar for Best Actress in a Supporting Role.-Early life:...
as Louise - Michael MurphyMichael Murphy (actor)Michael George Murphy is an American film and television actor.-Career:Murphy played Woody Allen's duplicitous friend Yale in the film Manhattan...
as Detective Frank Shaft - William WindomWilliam Windom (actor)William Windom is an American actor. He is perhaps best known for his work on television, including several episodes of The Twilight Zone; playing the character of Glen Morley, a congressman from Minnesota like his own great-grandfather and namesake in The Farmer's Daughter; the character of John...
as Weeks - Shelley DuvallShelley DuvallShelley Alexis Duvall is an American film and television actress best known for her roles in The Shining, Popeye, Thieves Like Us and 3 Women....
as Suzanne - Rene Auberjonois as The Lecturer
- Margaret HamiltonMargaret HamiltonMargaret Hamilton was an American film actress known for her portrayal of the Wicked Witch of the West in the 1939 film The Wizard of Oz...
as Daphne Heap - Corey FischerCorey FischerCorey Fischer , born in 1945 in Los Angeles, received a BA in French and Theatre Arts from UCLA. In the mid-sixties he worked in Los Angeles in improvisational theatre, notably with The Committee, and went on to work in film and television...
as Officer Hines - Stacy KeachStacy KeachStacy Keach is an American actor and narrator. He is most famous for his dramatic roles; however, he has done narration work in educational programming on PBS and the Discovery Channel, as well as some comedy and musical...
as Abraham Wright - John SchuckJohn SchuckConrad John Schuck Jr. is an American actor, primarily in stage, movies and television. He is best-known for his roles as police commissioner Rock Hudson's mildly slow-witted assistant, Sgt. Charles Enright in the 1970s crime drama McMillan & Wife, and as Lee Meriwether's husband, Herman Munster...
as Officer Johnson - Bert RemsenBert RemsenHerbert Birchell "Bert" Remsen was an American actor.-Life and career:Remsen was born in Glen Cove, New York, on Long Island, the son of Helen and Winfred Herbert Remsen. He played character roles in numerous films directed by Robert Altman, including: Brewster McCloud , McCabe & Mrs...
as Officer Breen - Jennifer SaltJennifer SaltJennifer Salt is an American producer, screenwriter, and former actress.-Life and career:Salt was born in Los Angeles, California. Her parents were screenwriter Waldo Salt and actress Mary Davenport; her stepmother was the writer Eve Merriam...
as Hope
Plot summary
With the aid of Louise (Sally Kellerman), owlish Brewster (Bud Cort) constructs a pair of human-size wings in his Houston Astrodome nest to realize his dream. Meanwhile creeps, including a witchy "Star-Spangled Banner"-belting crone (Margaret Hamilton) and Brewster's skinflint boss (Stacy Keach), keep turning up dead and covered with bird droppings. The Houston Establishment calls in blue-eyed, turtleneck-wearing, "San Francisco super cop" Frank Shaft (Michael Murphy) to investigate. Brewster cooks his goose, when he defies Louise's edict against sex and hooks up with Astrodome usher Suzanne (Shelley Duvall). She impressed him (and saves his life) by out-driving Shaft in her Road Runner. Despite her sweetness, Suzanne will not compromise her comfortable home to choose flight with Brewster.Opening quirk
The film opens with the MGM logo, as usual, but with the voice of Rene AuberjonoisRene Auberjonois
René Murat Auberjonois is an American actor, known for portraying Father Mulcahy in the movie version of M*A*S*H and for creating a number of characters in long-running television series, including Clayton Endicott III on Benson , Odo on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Chef Louis in The Little...
saying, "I forgot the opening line," replacing the lion roar.
Cultural references
The film has references to other films, Altman's own work, and other places. Altman refers to BullittBullitt
Bullitt is a 1968 American police procedural film starring Steve McQueen, Jacqueline Bisset and Robert Vaughn. It was directed by Peter Yates and distributed by Warner Bros. The story was adapted for the screen by Alan Trustman and Harry Kleiner, based on the 1963 novel Mute Witness by Robert L....
(1969) by including a character named Frank Shaft, who is a detective from San Francisco.
Homages to The Wizard of Oz
The Wizard of Oz (1939 film)
The Wizard of Oz is a 1939 American musical fantasy film produced by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. It was directed primarily by Victor Fleming. Noel Langley, Florence Ryerson and Edgar Allan Woolf received credit for the screenplay, but there were uncredited contributions by others. The lyrics for the songs...
(1939) have been noted in the film, as Margaret Hamilton
Margaret Hamilton
Margaret Hamilton was an American film actress known for her portrayal of the Wicked Witch of the West in the 1939 film The Wizard of Oz...
, who played the Wicked Witch of the West
Wicked Witch of the West
The Wicked Witch of the West is a fictional character and the most significant antagonist in L. Frank Baum's children's book The Wonderful Wizard of Oz...
, is the music conductor seen during the opening credits. She is seen wearing ruby slippers in the film. She is portrayed as a racist
Racism
Racism is the belief that inherent different traits in human racial groups justify discrimination. In the modern English language, the term "racism" is used predominantly as a pejorative epithet. It is applied especially to the practice or advocacy of racial discrimination of a pernicious nature...
, yelling "Get out, you nigger
Nigger
Nigger is a noun in the English language, most notable for its usage in a pejorative context to refer to black people , and also as an informal slang term, among other contexts. It is a common ethnic slur...
bird," when a raven lands on a bird cage. Hope (Jennifer Salt
Jennifer Salt
Jennifer Salt is an American producer, screenwriter, and former actress.-Life and career:Salt was born in Los Angeles, California. Her parents were screenwriter Waldo Salt and actress Mary Davenport; her stepmother was the writer Eve Merriam...
) who supplies Brewster with health food, resembles Dorothy, as she wears a distinctive gingham dress, has pigtails and carries a basket. At the end of the film, she is shown in the cast as Dorothy
Dorothy Gale
Dorothy Gale is the protagonist of many of the Oz novels by American author L. Frank Baum, and the best friend of Oz's ruler Princess Ozma. Dorothy first appears in Baum's classic children's novel The Wonderful Wizard of Oz and reappears in most of its sequels...
carrying Toto.