7.5/10
124,281
182 user 97 critic

Trading Places (1983)

R | | Comedy | 8 June 1983 (USA)
Trading Places Poster
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A snobbish investor and a wily street con artist find their positions reversed as part of a bet by two callous millionaires.

Director:

John Landis

Writers:

Timothy Harris, Herschel Weingrod

Stars:

Eddie Murphy, Dan Aykroyd, Ralph Bellamy | See full cast & crew »
69
Reviews
Popularity
2,283 ( 229)
Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 3 wins & 4 nominations. See more awards »

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Photos

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Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Denholm Elliott ... Coleman
Dan Aykroyd ... Louis Winthorpe III
Maurice Woods Maurice Woods ... Duke & Duke Employee
Richard D. Fisher Jr. Richard D. Fisher Jr. ... Duke & Duke Employee
Jim Gallagher Jim Gallagher ... Duke & Duke Employee
Anthony DiSabatino Anthony DiSabatino ... Duke & Duke Employee
Bonnie Behrend Bonnie Behrend ... Duke & Duke Employee
Sunnie Merrill Sunnie Merrill ... Duke & Duke Employee
James Newell James Newell ... Duke & Duke Employee (as Jim Newell)
Mary St. John Mary St. John ... Duke & Duke Employee
Bonnie Tremena Bonnie Tremena ... Duke & Duke Employee
David Schwartz David Schwartz ... Duke & Duke Employee
Ralph Bellamy ... Randolph Duke
Don Ameche ... Mortimer Duke
Tom Degidon Tom Degidon ... Duke Domestic
See full cast »
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Storyline

Louis Winthorpe is a businessman who works for commodities brokerage firm of Duke and Duke owned by the brothers Mortimer and Randolph Duke. Now they bicker over the most trivial of matters and what they are bickering about is whether it's a person's environment or heredity that determines how well they will do in life. When Winthorpe bumps into Billy Ray Valentine, a street hustler and assumes he is trying to rob him, he has him arrested. Upon seeing how different the two men are, the brothers decide to make a wager as to what would happen if Winthorpe loses his job, his home and is shunned by everyone he knows and if Valentine was given Winthorpe's job. So they proceed to have Winthorpe arrested and to be placed in a compromising position in front of his girlfriend. So all he has to rely on is the hooker who was hired to ruin him. Written by rcs0411@yahoo.com

Plot Summary | Plot Synopsis

Plot Keywords:

role reversal | prostitute | class differences | suicide attempt | stock market | See All (162) »

Taglines:

Take two complete strangers, make one of them rich the other poor... just watch the fun while they're... TRADING PLACES See more »

Genres:

Comedy

Certificate:

R | See all certifications »

Parents Guide:

View content advisory »
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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

8 June 1983 (USA) See more »

Also Known As:

Black or White See more »

Filming Locations:

The New York Chamber of Commerce Building - The Great Hall, 65 Liberty Street, New York City, New York, USA See more »
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Box Office

Budget:

$15,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$7,348,200, 12 June 1983

Gross USA:

$90,404,800
See more on IMDbPro »

Company Credits

Production Co:

Cinema Group Ventures, Paramount Pictures See more »
Show more on IMDbPro »

Technical Specs

Runtime:

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1
See full technical specs »
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Did You Know?

Trivia

Premiere voted this movie as one of "The 50 Greatest Comedies Of All Time" in 2006. See more »

Goofs

The amount of tinsel Ophelia has in her left hand while decorating the Christmas tree changes between camera shots. See more »

Quotes

[first lines]
Coleman: [holding a breakfast tray while Louis is still asleep] Your breakfast, sir.
See more »

Crazy Credits

Ron Taylor is credited as 'Big Black Guy' and James D. Turner as ' Even Bigger Black Guy' See more »

Alternate Versions

There was a scene in the movie that was not included in the final cut, but can only be seen when the movie is shown on television (presumably to fill a longer time slot with commercials). This "TV-only" scene occurs after Clarence Beeks talks to the Dukes via telephone and Billy Ray eavesdrops on their scheme. In the original cut, he goes from the phone booth to the Amtrak train platform, holding the briefcase with the crop report. Yet in this added scene, we see Beeks go and procure the reports from a secured vault where he drugs a security guard and uses the guard's keys to open a safe-deposit box. See more »

Connections

Featured in HBO First Look: The Making of 'Dr. Dolittle 2' (2001) See more »

Soundtracks

ORALEE COOKIES
by Nicholas Guest & Robert Curtis Brown
Performed by "The Hot Toddies"
See more »

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: How much did Billy Ray and Louis make in their scheme?
See more »

User Reviews

Great Early Vehicle for Eddie Murphy
22 June 2005 | by Sargebri – See all my reviews

This is probably one of the funniest films of the 1980's. It not only is a play on the classic nature vs. nurture theme, but it is also a somewhat comedic commentary on the "greed is good" decade of the 80's. However, it is also a nice bridging of the generations as it features two of the biggest stars to come from "Saturday Night Live" Eddie Murphy does a fine job as con man Billy Ray and Dan Ackroyd is great as Louis. Jamie Lee Curtis is also wonderful as Ophelia. In fact, it was good to see her do something other than the "scream queen" roles which she became famous for during the early part of her career. She definitely shows the comedic timing that she would display later in her career and would make her one of the finest comedic actresses in film today. However, the one that really steals it for me is Denholm Elliot as Coleman. He delivers a very low key performance that is befitting for that role. This is a real gem.
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