Get to Know Your Rabbit
Encyclopedia
Get to Know Your Rabbit is a 1972
American
comedy film
written by Jordan Crittenden and directed by Brian De Palma
.
Donald Beeman, fed up with the rat race
, impulsively quits his job and takes to the road as a traveling tap dancing
magician
under the tutelage of Mr. Delasandro. His former boss Mr. Turnbull, determined to convince him to return to his nine-to-five existence, chases after him as he performs his routine in seedy nightclub
s and honky tonk
s, but instead the two create Tap Dancing Magicians, a course for pressured businessmen. When their little venture becomes one of the most successful corporations in the world, Donald ironically finds himself feeling the same way he did when he originally quit his job.
and obsession
. Much of the comedy has its roots in the traditional British
absurdist sense of humor associated with the likes of Monty Python
and The Goon Show
. Crittenden's screenplay
is filled with oddball characters and bizarre situations, such as a bomb
er who is put on hold when he calls to announce his device will explode in six minutes, or a beautiful young woman who confesses to Donald her crush on the paper boy prompted her to prostitute
herself so she could afford a newspaper
subscription.
De Palma completed the film in 1970 but it wasn't released by Warner Bros.
until two years later. Uncertain how to market it, the studio did little to promote it and the movie quickly disappeared from theaters.
1972 in film
The year 1972 in film involved some significant events.-Top grossing films :- Awards :Academy Awards:*Avanti!, directed by Billy Wilder, starring Jack Lemmon and Juliet MillsB...
American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
comedy film
Comedy film
Comedy film is a genre of film in which the main emphasis is on humour. They are designed to elicit laughter from the audience. Comedies are mostly light-hearted dramas and are made to amuse and entertain the audiences...
written by Jordan Crittenden and directed by Brian De Palma
Brian De Palma
Brian Russell De Palma is an American film director and writer. In a career spanning over 40 years, he is probably best known for his suspense and crime thriller films, including such box office successes as the horror film Carrie, Dressed to Kill, Scarface, The Untouchables, and Mission:...
.
Synopsis
Corporate executiveSenior management
Senior management, executive management, or management team is generally a team of individuals at the highest level of organizational management who have the day-to-day responsibilities of managing a company or corporation, they hold specific executive powers conferred onto them with and by...
Donald Beeman, fed up with the rat race
Rat Race
A rat race is a term used for an endless, self-defeating or pointless pursuit. It conjures up the image of the futile efforts of a lab rat trying to escape while running around a maze or in a wheel...
, impulsively quits his job and takes to the road as a traveling tap dancing
Tap dance
Tap dance is a form of dance characterized by using the sound of one's tap shoes hitting the floor as a percussive instrument. As such, it is also commonly considered to be a form of music. Two major variations on tap dance exist: rhythm tap and Broadway tap. Broadway tap focuses more on the...
magician
Magic (illusion)
Magic is a performing art that entertains audiences by staging tricks or creating illusions of seemingly impossible or supernatural feats using natural means...
under the tutelage of Mr. Delasandro. His former boss Mr. Turnbull, determined to convince him to return to his nine-to-five existence, chases after him as he performs his routine in seedy nightclub
Nightclub
A nightclub is an entertainment venue which usually operates late into the night...
s and honky tonk
Honky tonk
A honky-tonk is a type of bar that provides musical entertainment to its patrons...
s, but instead the two create Tap Dancing Magicians, a course for pressured businessmen. When their little venture becomes one of the most successful corporations in the world, Donald ironically finds himself feeling the same way he did when he originally quit his job.
Production notes
The film was a major departure from De Palma's usual oueuvre of suspenseSuspense
Suspense is a feeling of uncertainty and anxiety about the outcome of certain actions, most often referring to an audience's perceptions in a dramatic work. Suspense is not exclusive to fiction, though. Suspense may operate in any situation where there is a lead-up to a big event or dramatic...
and obsession
Fixation (psychology)
Fixation: 'concept originated by Sigmund Freud to denote the persistence of anachronistic sexual traits'. Subsequently '"Fixation" acquired a broader connotation...
. Much of the comedy has its roots in the traditional British
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
absurdist sense of humor associated with the likes of Monty Python
Monty Python
Monty Python was a British surreal comedy group who created their influential Monty Python's Flying Circus, a British television comedy sketch show that first aired on the BBC on 5 October 1969. Forty-five episodes were made over four series...
and The Goon Show
The Goon Show
The Goon Show was a British radio comedy programme, originally produced and broadcast by the BBC Home Service from 1951 to 1960, with occasional repeats on the BBC Light Programme...
. Crittenden's screenplay
Screenplay
A screenplay or script is a written work that is made especially for a film or television program. Screenplays can be original works or adaptations from existing pieces of writing. In them, the movement, actions, expression, and dialogues of the characters are also narrated...
is filled with oddball characters and bizarre situations, such as a bomb
Bomb
A bomb is any of a range of explosive weapons that only rely on the exothermic reaction of an explosive material to provide an extremely sudden and violent release of energy...
er who is put on hold when he calls to announce his device will explode in six minutes, or a beautiful young woman who confesses to Donald her crush on the paper boy prompted her to prostitute
Prostitution
Prostitution is the act or practice of providing sexual services to another person in return for payment. The person who receives payment for sexual services is called a prostitute and the person who receives such services is known by a multitude of terms, including a "john". Prostitution is one of...
herself so she could afford a newspaper
Newspaper
A newspaper is a scheduled publication containing news of current events, informative articles, diverse features and advertising. It usually is printed on relatively inexpensive, low-grade paper such as newsprint. By 2007, there were 6580 daily newspapers in the world selling 395 million copies a...
subscription.
De Palma completed the film in 1970 but it wasn't released by Warner Bros.
Warner Bros.
Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc., also known as Warner Bros. Pictures or simply Warner Bros. , is an American producer of film and television entertainment.One of the major film studios, it is a subsidiary of Time Warner, with its headquarters in Burbank,...
until two years later. Uncertain how to market it, the studio did little to promote it and the movie quickly disappeared from theaters.
Cast
- Tom SmothersTom SmothersTom Smothers is an American comedian, composer and musician, best known as half of the musical comedy team The Smothers Brothers, alongside his younger brother Dick.-Early life:...
as Donald Beeman - John AstinJohn AstinJohn Allen Astin is an American actor who has appeared in numerous films and television shows, and is best known for the role of Gomez Addams on The Addams Family, and other similarly eccentric comedic characters.-Early years:...
as Mr Turnbull - Susanne ZenorSusanne ZenorSusanne Zenor is an American actress best known for the role of Margo Anderman Horton on Days of our Lives.Zenor's career began in 1970 with the movie The Moonshine War in which she portrayed Miley Mitchell. Zenor appeared in the Woody Allen movie Play It Again, Sam in which her name was listed...
as Paula - Samantha Jones as Susan
- Allen GarfieldAllen GarfieldAllen Garfield, born and sometimes credited as Allen Goorwitz , is an American film and television actor.-Biography:...
as Vic - Katharine RossKatharine RossKatharine Juliet Ross is an American film and stage actress. Trained at the San Francisco Workshop, she is perhaps best known for her role as Elaine Robinson in the 1967 film The Graduate, opposite Dustin Hoffman, which won her an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress, and her role...
as Terrific-Looking Girl - Orson WellesOrson WellesGeorge Orson Welles , best known as Orson Welles, was an American film director, actor, theatre director, screenwriter, and producer, who worked extensively in film, theatre, television and radio...
as Mr Delasandro - Hope SummersHope SummersHope Summers was an American character actress known for her work on The Andy Griffith Show and Mayberry RFD, portraying Clara Edwards.-Career:...
as Mrs Beeman - Jack CollinsJack Collins (actor)Jack Collins, , is a stage, film, and television actor. He played Mike Brady's boss, Mr. Phillips, in the television series The Brady Bunch, and Peter Christopher's boss, baby-food manufacturer Max Brahms, in the short-lived sitcom Occasional Wife.-Filmography:*The Brady Bunch * The Other * The...
as Mr Reese - George Ives as Mr Morris
- Robert Ball as Mr Weber
- M. Emmet WalshM. Emmet WalshMichael Emmet Walsh is an American actor who has appeared in over 100 film and television productions.-Life and career:Walsh was born in Ogdensburg, New York, the son of Agnes Kathrine and Harry Maurice Walsh, Sr., a customs agent...
as Mr Wendel - Helen Page CampHelen Page CampHelen Page Camp was an American actress.Camp was born in Washington. She started out as Lucy on the television show, Here Comes the Brides in 1968. Afterwards, she made many guest appearances on popular show such as, The Wild Wild West and All in the Family. In 1971, she was in the movie Cold...
as Mrs Wendel - Pearl Shear as Flo
- Timothy CareyTimothy CareyTimothy Agoglia Carey was an American film and television actor....
as Cop - Charles LaneCharles Lane (actor)Charles Gerstle Levison , better known as Charles Lane, was an American character actor seen in many movies and TV shows, and at the time of his death may have been the oldest living professional American actor. Lane appeared in many Frank Capra films, including You Can't Take It With You , Mr...
as Mr Beeman - Larry D. MannLarry D. MannLarry D. Mann is a Canadian actor. Prior to his acting career, he was a disk jockey on CHUM 1050 radio in Toronto in 1949. His best-known Canadian television exposure was in a Bell Canada series of commercials called "The Boss" in which he played the title role for ten years beginning in 1981...
as Mr Seager - Jessica Myerson as Mrs Reese
- Anne RandallAnne RandallAnne Randall is an American model. She was Playboy magazine's Playmate of the Month for its May 1967 issue...
as Stewardess - Bob EinsteinBob EinsteinStewart Robert "Bob" Einstein is an American actor and comedy writer best known for his portrayal of the fictional stuntman Super Dave Osborne.-Life and career:...
as Police Officer