The Man with One Red Shoe
Encyclopedia
The Man With One Red Shoe is a 1985
comedy film
directed by Stan Dragoti
. It is a remake of a 1972 French film Le Grand Blond avec une chaussure noire
starring Pierre Richard
and Mireille Darc
. The film included small excerpts from the first three movements of the symphonic suite Scheherazade
by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov
.
, wants to take over the director position. Standing in his way is Ross (Charles Durning), whom Cooper plans on eliminating by smearing him into resigning
or being removed.
Ross catches onto the plot and decides to return the favor. He leaks a rumor that someone will be arriving at the airport
who will clear him of Cooper's faked scandal
, and he sends two agents to pick him up. Cooper, desperate to find out who this mystery man is, partners his own agent along with Ross's lackey, Brown (Edward Herrmann), to go to the airport to pick him up. Brown arrives at the airport with instructions to pick someone at random from the crowd, leading Cooper and his team on a wild goose chase.
Morris (Jim Belushi) plays a trick on his friend Richard Drew (Tom Hanks), hiding one of each pair of his shoe
s. Richard is forced to wear mismatched shoes on his flight home, with one business shoe and one red sneaker. Brown sees him in the airport and picks him as their random target, as if the sneaker were some sort of signal. Cooper takes the bait and starts tracking Richard.
They quickly learn that Drew is a concert
violin
ist who has traveled the world
, including several communist
countries. Cooper concludes that this would be the perfect cover for a spy
, and starts digging deeper. Soon they decide that his sheet music
is actually a code of some sort, and steal time on Defense Department
computer
s in an attempt to decipher it. Hoping to learn more than their biographical
information tells them, he sends in femme fatale
Maddy (Lori Singer) to come on to him and find out what he knows. While Richard is playing, Maddy actually falls for him.
Ross, meanwhile, simply sits back and watches the antics unfold. When one attempt after the other fails to yield any usable information, Cooper orders that Richard be killed, eventually attempting to murder the man himself. Richard remains completely oblivious to the plot behind the muggings
and gunfire, and settles down with Maddy once Cooper is removed.
1985 in film
-Events:* 3 December - Roger Moore steps down from the role of James Bond after twelve years and seven films. He is replaced by Timothy Dalton.* The Academy Award for Best Picture was won by Out Of Africa, while the highest grossing film was Back to the Future.* Bliss wins AFI Award for best Movie...
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...
directed by Stan Dragoti
Stan Dragoti
Stan Dragoti is an Albanian American film director, whose work includes the comedies Mr. Mom and Love at First Bite....
. It is a remake of a 1972 French film Le Grand Blond avec une chaussure noire
The Tall Blond Man with One Black Shoe
The Tall Blond Man with One Black Shoe is a 1972 French comedy film directed by Yves Robert, written by Francis Veber, starring Pierre Richard, Jean Rochefort and Bernard Blier...
starring Pierre Richard
Pierre Richard
Pierre Richard is a popular French actor best known for the roles of a clumsy daydreamer in comedy films...
and Mireille Darc
Mireille Darc
Mireille Darc is a French model and actress. She was Alain Delon's longtime co-star and companion. She appeared as a lead character in Jean-Luc Godard's 1967 film Week End...
. The film included small excerpts from the first three movements of the symphonic suite Scheherazade
Scheherazade (Rimsky-Korsakov)
Sheherazade , Op. 35, is a symphonic suite composed by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov in 1888. Based on One Thousand and One Nights, sometimes known as The Arabian Nights, this orchestral work combines two features common to Russian music and of Rimsky-Korsakov in particular: dazzling, colourful...
by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov
Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov
Nikolai Andreyevich Rimsky-Korsakov was a Russian composer, and a member of the group of composers known as The Five.The Five, also known as The Mighty Handful or The Mighty Coterie, refers to a circle of composers who met in Saint Petersburg, Russia, in the years 1856–1870: Mily Balakirev , César...
.
Plot
Cooper (Dabney Coleman), a deputy director of the CIACentral Intelligence Agency
The Central Intelligence Agency is a civilian intelligence agency of the United States government. It is an executive agency and reports directly to the Director of National Intelligence, responsible for providing national security intelligence assessment to senior United States policymakers...
, wants to take over the director position. Standing in his way is Ross (Charles Durning), whom Cooper plans on eliminating by smearing him into resigning
Resignation
A resignation is the formal act of giving up or quitting one's office or position. It can also refer to the act of admitting defeat in a game like chess, indicated by the resigning player declaring "I resign", turning his king on its side, extending his hand, or stopping the chess clock...
or being removed.
Ross catches onto the plot and decides to return the favor. He leaks a rumor that someone will be arriving at the airport
Airport
An airport is a location where aircraft such as fixed-wing aircraft, helicopters, and blimps take off and land. Aircraft may be stored or maintained at an airport...
who will clear him of Cooper's faked scandal
Scandal
A scandal is a widely publicized allegation or set of allegations that damages the reputation of an institution, individual or creed...
, and he sends two agents to pick him up. Cooper, desperate to find out who this mystery man is, partners his own agent along with Ross's lackey, Brown (Edward Herrmann), to go to the airport to pick him up. Brown arrives at the airport with instructions to pick someone at random from the crowd, leading Cooper and his team on a wild goose chase.
Morris (Jim Belushi) plays a trick on his friend Richard Drew (Tom Hanks), hiding one of each pair of his shoe
Shoe
A shoe is an item of footwear intended to protect and comfort the human foot while doing various activities. Shoes are also used as an item of decoration. The design of shoes has varied enormously through time and from culture to culture, with appearance originally being tied to function...
s. Richard is forced to wear mismatched shoes on his flight home, with one business shoe and one red sneaker. Brown sees him in the airport and picks him as their random target, as if the sneaker were some sort of signal. Cooper takes the bait and starts tracking Richard.
They quickly learn that Drew is a concert
Concert
A concert is a live performance before an audience. The performance may be by a single musician, sometimes then called a recital, or by a musical ensemble, such as an orchestra, a choir, or a musical band...
violin
Violin
The violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello....
ist who has traveled the world
World
World is a common name for the whole of human civilization, specifically human experience, history, or the human condition in general, worldwide, i.e. anywhere on Earth....
, including several communist
Communism
Communism is a social, political and economic ideology that aims at the establishment of a classless, moneyless, revolutionary and stateless socialist society structured upon common ownership of the means of production...
countries. Cooper concludes that this would be the perfect cover for a spy
SPY
SPY is a three-letter acronym that may refer to:* SPY , ticker symbol for Standard & Poor's Depositary Receipts* SPY , a satirical monthly, trademarked all-caps* SPY , airport code for San Pédro, Côte d'Ivoire...
, and starts digging deeper. Soon they decide that his sheet music
Sheet music
Sheet music is a hand-written or printed form of music notation that uses modern musical symbols; like its analogs—books, pamphlets, etc.—the medium of sheet music typically is paper , although the access to musical notation in recent years includes also presentation on computer screens...
is actually a code of some sort, and steal time on Defense Department
United States Department of Defense
The United States Department of Defense is the U.S...
computer
Computer
A computer is a programmable machine designed to sequentially and automatically carry out a sequence of arithmetic or logical operations. The particular sequence of operations can be changed readily, allowing the computer to solve more than one kind of problem...
s in an attempt to decipher it. Hoping to learn more than their biographical
Biography
A biography is a detailed description or account of someone's life. More than a list of basic facts , biography also portrays the subject's experience of those events...
information tells them, he sends in femme fatale
Femme fatale
A femme fatale is a mysterious and seductive woman whose charms ensnare her lovers in bonds of irresistible desire, often leading them into compromising, dangerous, and deadly situations. She is an archetype of literature and art...
Maddy (Lori Singer) to come on to him and find out what he knows. While Richard is playing, Maddy actually falls for him.
Ross, meanwhile, simply sits back and watches the antics unfold. When one attempt after the other fails to yield any usable information, Cooper orders that Richard be killed, eventually attempting to murder the man himself. Richard remains completely oblivious to the plot behind the muggings
Robbery
Robbery is the crime of taking or attempting to take something of value by force or threat of force or by putting the victim in fear. At common law, robbery is defined as taking the property of another, with the intent to permanently deprive the person of that property, by means of force or fear....
and gunfire, and settles down with Maddy once Cooper is removed.
Cast
- Tom HanksTom HanksThomas Jeffrey "Tom" Hanks is an American actor, producer, writer, and director. Hanks worked in television and family-friendly comedies, gaining wide notice in 1988's Big, before achieving success as a dramatic actor in several notable roles, including Andrew Beckett in Philadelphia, the title...
– Richard - James BelushiJames BelushiJames Adam "Jim" Belushi is an American actor, comedian, and musician. He is the younger brother of comic actor John Belushi.-Early life:Belushi was born in Chicago...
– Morris - Dabney ColemanDabney ColemanDabney Wharton Coleman is an American actor, best known for his roles in 9 to 5, WarGames, You've Got Mail, Sworn to Silence, The Beverly Hillbillies and as the voice of Principal Peter Prickly in Recess and Recess: School's Out.-Early life:Coleman was born in Austin, Texas, the son of Mary...
– Cooper - Lori SingerLori SingerLori Singer is an American actress. She is perhaps best known for her role as Ariel Moore, the female lead in the 1984 feature film Footloose, and as Julie Miller in the television series Fame.-Film and television career:...
– Maddy - Charles DurningCharles DurningCharles Durning is an American actor. With appearances in over 100 films, Durning's memorable roles include police officers in the Oscar-winning The Sting and crime drama Dog Day Afternoon , along with the comedies Tootsie, To Be Or Not To Be and The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, the last two...
– Ross - Carrie FisherCarrie FisherCarrie Frances Fisher is an American actress, novelist, screenwriter, and lecturer. She is most famous for her portrayal of Princess Leia in the original Star Wars trilogy, her bestselling novel Postcards from the Edge, for which she wrote the screenplay to the film of the same name, and her...
– Paula - Edward HerrmannEdward HerrmannEdward Kirk Herrmann is a U.S. television and film actor. He is best known for his Emmy-nominated portrayals of Franklin D...
– Brown - Irving Metzman – Virdon
- Tom NoonanTom NoonanTom Noonan is an American actor and film writer-director.-Early life:Noonan was born in Greenwich, Connecticut, the son of Rosaleen and Tom Noonan, who worked as a dentist and jazz musician respectively...
– Reese