Caddyshack is a 1980 American comedy film directed by Harold Ramis and written by Brian Doyle-Murray, Ramis and Douglas Kenney. It stars Chevy Chase, Rodney Dangerfield, Ted Knight, Michael O'Keefe and Bill Murray. Doyle-Murray also has a supporting role.
This was Ramis' first feature film and was a major boost to Dangerfield's film career; previously, he was known mostly for his stand-up comedy. Grossing almost $40 million in the U.S. alone (16th highest of the year), it was the first of a series of similar comedies. A sequel, Caddyshack II , followed in 1988, although it was not nearly as successful or well-received.
In 2000, Caddyshack was placed at number 71 on the American Film Institute's list of the 100 funniest American films. In 2005, a line from the movie was chosen by AFI for their list of the top 100 movie quotes from U.S. films. This film is also second on Bravo's "100 Funniest Movies".
Cast
- Chevy Chase - Ty Webb
- Rodney Dangerfield - Al Czervik
- Ted Knight - Judge Elihu Smails
- Michael O'Keefe - Danny Noonan
- Bill Murray - Carl Spackler
- Sarah Holcomb - Maggie O'Hooligan
- Scott Colomby - Tony D'Annunzio
- Cindy Morgan - Lacey Underall
- Dan Resin - Dr. Beeper
- Henry Wilcoxon - Bishop Pickering
- Albert Salmi - Mr. Noonan
- Elaine Aiken - Mrs. Noonan
- John F. Barmon Jr. - Spaulding Smails
- Brian Doyle-Murray - Lou Loomis
- Jackie Davis - Smoke Porterhouse
- Hamilton Mitchell - Motormouth
Also, Chuck Rodent was credited as playing the part of "Mr. Gopher".
Plot summary
Danny Noonan is one of many children in a working class Irish Catholic family. Danny aspires to attend college but his parents can't afford it and his grades are unremarkable, making obtaining a scholarship difficult. Danny works as a caddy at the upscale Bushwood Country Club, where he earns tips to add to his meager college fund.
Bushwood's membership includes: Judge Smails, a stodgy WASP jurist and the country club's co-founder; Doctor Beeper, an inattentive physician more concerned about his golf game than his patients; Bishop Pickering, a Lutheran Bishop; and Ty Webb, the son of Bushwood's other co-founder and a free-spirited playboy, very unlike the other members. Danny often caddies for Ty, who teaches Danny about the finer points in life, usually while showing off random trick shots.
Judge Smails notices the handiwork of a gopher on his way to the course. Smails confronts Bushwood's greenskeeper Sandy McFiddish, who entrusts the task of removing the gopher to Carl Spackler, his unkempt, unhinged assistant.
Later that day, the flamboyant nouveau riche real estate tycoon Al Czervik arrives as a guest of another member. Although obnoxious and immature, Czervik is affable and endears himself to the caddies.
Danny's caddyshack boss Lou informs the caddies that the country club's caddy scholarship has become available. Danny decides to caddy for Judge Smails in hopes of earning his favor when Smails awards the next scholarship. Smails' foursome, which includes Dr. Beeper, Bishop Pickering and Smails' grandson, Spaulding, begins their round, and is joined by Smails' voluptuous niece, Lacey Underall.
Czervik wastes no time in needling Smails on the course. Danny finally enters Smails' good graces on the final hole. Al loudly wagers $1,000 that Smails will miss his relatively short putt, which draws a crowd of onlookers. Smails does miss the putt, causing him to fling his putter in a blind rage, striking a woman. Danny takes responsibility for the incident, claiming the grips on the club were worn and Smails was not responsible, putting him in good standing with the judge.
At a Fourth of July banquet. Danny and girlfriend Maggie O'Hooligan work as servers. Danny becomes enamored of Lacey but Maggie informs him of Lacey's promiscuous reputation. Czervik creates fun-loving chaos by making insulting comments about Smails and his wife. Ty Webb arrives and catches the eye of Lacey.
Danny all but seals the scholarship by winning the Caddy Day golf tournament, earning the praise of the Judge, along with an invitation to mow his lawn and drop by a party at the Judge's yacht club. Danny and Maggie enjoy a romantic interlude first. Lacey visits Ty at his home, where the two enjoy tequila shots and a naked moonlight swim.
At the yacht club, Lacey suggests that she and Danny slip away for some private time at the Judge's house. Al Czervik literally crashes the party, destroying Smails' tiny wooden sloop with his enormous yacht by dropping the anchor into the cargo hold. The judge and his wife return home and discover Lacey and Danny naked in his bed. Danny grabs his clothes and flees, steps ahead of a club-wielding Judge.
Next day, Danny is called into the Judge's office. Danny expects to be fired but the Judge surprises him by offering him the scholarship in gratitude after Danny promises never to mention the embarrassing incident with his niece to anybody. Smails and Czervik encounter each other in the club's private bar, where they agree on a winner-take-all $20,000 golf match pitting Smails and Dr. Beeper against Al and Ty Webb.
Danny has to caddy for Judge Smails. Word spreads of the stakes involved and a crowd builds. At the end of nine holes, Smails' team is winning. He taunts Czervik, who doubles the stakes to $40,000. Al is hit by a ricocheting ball and pretends to be hurt, hoping to have the contest declared a draw. An umpire says Al would forfeit unless they were to use a substitute. Ty choosies Danny. The Judge threatens to revoke Danny's scholarship if he plays, but Al offers to make it worth his while.
As the match proceeds, Carl continues his battle with the course's gopher. He is tying the detonators to a single master switch. By the final hole, the score is tied. Judge Smails makes his putt, putting the Smails-Beeper team ahead by one shot. Danny must sink his very long putt to force a tie. Czervik raises the stakes to a whopping $80,000 on Danny making the putt, which Smails accepts.
Danny's putt reaches the edge of the cup. At that moment, Carl detonates the explosives, rocking the course. The force of the explosions is enough to cause the ball to drop, thereby winning the $80,000 bet for Ty and Al. Smails attempts to renege but Al's thugs are summoned to convince him otherwise. Czervik turns to the crowd and proclaims "Hey, everybody! We're all gonna get laid!"
The gopher emerges, unharmed by the explosives, and dances to Kenny Loggins' "I'm All Right" as the story ends.
Production
The movie was inspired by writer and co-star Brian Doyle-Murray's memories working as a caddy at Indian Hill Club in Winnetka, Illinois. His brother Bill Murray and director Harold Ramis also worked as caddies when they were teenagers. Many of the characters in the film were based on characters they had encountered through their various experiences at the club, including a young woman upon whom the Maggie character is based and the Haverkampfs, a doddery old couple, John & Ilma, longtime members of the club, who can barely hit the ball out of their shadows ("That's a peach, hon"). The now legendary scene involving a Baby Ruth candy bar being thrown into the swimming pool was based on a real-life incident at Brian Doyle-Murray's high school.
Initially, Ted Knight's and Scott Collomby's characters were the central characters of the movie. However, the improvisational atmosphere surrounding the other cast members (specifically Dangerfield, Chase, and Murray) led to Dangerfield's, Chase's and Murray's roles expansion from cameos to starring roles, much to the annoyance of Knight and Colomby. Additionally, Knight, who was regarded as a genuinely nice person in real life, became fed up with the constant improvisation.
The pool scene was filmed at Plantation Country Club in Plantation, Florida. The pool had not been used for several years prior to filming and was considerably revamped and then filled for the production. The dinner and dancing scene was filmed at the Boca Raton Hotel and Club in Boca Raton, Florida.
The film was shot over 11 weeks during the autumn of 1979. Golf scenes were filmed at the Rolling Hills Golf Club in Davie, Florida. The explosions that take place during the climax of the film were reported at the nearby Fort Lauderdale airport by an incoming pilot, who suspected a plane had crashed. The marina scene involving Al Czervik's boat wreaking havoc upon Judge Snail's "dingy" was filmed in Biscayne Bay in Miami, FL.
The famous scene that begins when Ty Webb's golf ball crashes into Carl Spackler's ramshackle house was not in the original script. It was added by director Harold Ramis after realizing that two of his biggest stars, Chevy Chase and Bill Murray (who did not get along due to a feud dating back to their days on Saturday Night Live ), did not have a scene together. The three met for lunch and wrote the scene together. This is the only time that Chase and Murray have appeared in a movie together.
Bill Murray's famous "Cinderella story" scene was improvised based on two lines of stage direction. Ramis basically gave him direction to act as a kid announcing his own imaginary golf moment. Murray just took it from there. The flowers were his idea.
In interviews, Cindy Morgan stated that the scene she shared with Chevy Chase, in which he pours massage oil on her, was completely improvised, and her reaction to Chase dousing her back with the massage oil, where she exclaimed "You're crazy!", was genuine. Due to the fact she is legally blind without glasses or contacts
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