As he did in his screenplay for Silver Streak (1974), writer/director Colin Higgins mixes life-and-death melodrama with broad slapstick in Foul Play. Goldie Hawn stars as Gloria Mundy, a recent divorcée whose attempts to start life anew in San Francisco are bollixed up when she is inadvertently swept up in an assassination plot against the Pope. Offering sometimes dubious aid and comfort to Gloria is bumbling federal agent Tony Carlson (Chevy Chase). The film's comedy ranges from the farcical seduction efforts by musician Stanley Tibbets (Dudley Moore) to the zany, gag-filled car-chase finale. Foul Play features character actors Rachel Roberts and Eugene Roche as villains, Burgess Meredith as a martial arts-happy landlord, and Billy Barty as a long-suffering religious bookseller. It also packs in a memorable "throwaway" gag involving a profane Scrabble game played by sweet little old ladies Queenie Smith and Hope Summers. Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Genre: Comedy
- Category Comedy Thriller
- Theme: Woman In Jeopardy, Amateur Sleuths, Nothing Goes Right, Assassination Plots
- Studio: Paramount
- Run Time: 01 hr 56 min
- Language: English
- Subtitle Language: English
- Picture Format: widescreen
- Format: DVD
- Release Date: November 16, 2004
- Lead Actor: Rachel Roberts, Eugene Roche, Burgess Meredith, Chevy Chase, Goldie Hawn
- Supporting Actor: Frances Bay, Connie Sawyer, Garry Goodrow, William Frankfather, Lou Cutell, Jophery Brown, Janet Wood, Chuck Walsh, Cyril Magnin, Irene Tedrow, Hope Summers, Queenie Smith, John Hancock, Pat Ast, Ion Teodorescu, Cooper Huckabee, Marc Lawrence, Don Calfa, Billy Barty, Chuck McCann, Brian Dennehy, Marilyn Sokol, Bruce Solomon, Dudley Moore, Joe Bellan, Barbara Sammeth, Rollin Moriyama, M. James Arnett, David Cole
- Director: Colin Higgins
awards
- Nominations: Academy Awards (1), Golden Globe Awards (6)
- Nominee: Golden Globe Awards, Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Pictur, 1978, Goldie Hawn
- Nominee: Golden Globe Awards, Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role, 1978, Dudley Moore
- Nominee: Golden Globe Awards, Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture, 1978, Chevy Chase
- Nominee: Academy Awards, Best Song, 1978, Norman Gimbel, Charles Fox
- Nominee: Golden Globe Awards, Best Screenplay, 1978, Colin Higgins
- Nominee: Golden Globe Awards, New Star of the Year - Male, 1978, Chevy Chase
- Nominee: Golden Globe Awards, Best Original Song, 1978, Charles Fox
