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Fails the Bechdel test

The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad!

1988. Directed by David Zucker, written by Jerry Zucker and Jim Abrahams and David Zucker.

The Bechdel test

Bechdel score

1 / 3

Fails

  1. Yes 1. At least two women
    16 women characters. 6 of them speak.
  2. No 2. Who talk to each other
    Our parser found no scene where two women talk to each other.
  3. No 3. About something besides a man
    Not reached: the film fails an earlier rule.

Second opinion

Agree bechdeltest.com readers give it 1 out of 3.

Poster for The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad!

The film

A rerun of many of the gags from the television series Police Squad! (1982). An Airplane! (1980)-type spoof, this time with the an incompetent Lieutenant Frank Drebin, who always "gets his man". Visual gags come thick and fast, and it's impossible to catch them all with one viewing. The plot: Queen Elizabeth II of England is coming to town, and Vincent Ludwig has plans to assassinate her using a brainwashed baseball player.

Released
02 Dec 1988
Genres
Comedy, Crime
Rated
PG-13
IMDb
7.6 / 10
Metascore
76 / 100
Awards
2 nominations total
Elsewhere
View on IMDb

Starring, by lines spoken

  • Women
  • Men
  • Not in the cast list
  • Bigger name, more lines
  1. Frank 189 lines, man
  2. Jane 62 lines, woman
  3. Ed 44 lines, man
  4. Ludwig 33 lines, man
  5. Mayor 18 lines, woman
  6. Vin 14 lines
  7. Foreman 12 lines, man
  8. Mr. Olsen 8 lines, man
  9. Instructor 7 lines, man
  10. Nordberg 7 lines, man
Full cast, 71 people
  • Leslie Nielsen as Frank Drebin
  • Priscilla Presley as Jane Spencer
  • Ricardo Montalban as Vincent Ludwig
  • George Kennedy as Ed Hocken
  • O. J. Simpson as Nordberg
  • Susan Beaubian as Mrs. Nordberg
  • Nancy Marchand as Mayor
  • Raye Birk as Pahpshmir
  • Jeannette Charles as Queen Elizabeth II
  • Ed Williams as Ted Olsen
  • Tiny Ron as Al
  • 'Weird Al' Yankovic as 'Weird Al'
  • Leslie Maier as 'Weird Leslie'
  • Winifred Freedman as Stephanie
  • Joe Grifasi as Foreman
  • Tony Brafa as Enrico Pallazzo
  • Lorali Hart as Woman On Ledge
  • Nicholas Worth as Thug #1
  • Ronald G. Joseph as Thug #27
  • Doris Hess as Nurse #2
  • Charlotte Zucker as Dominique
  • Larry Pines as Drug Dealer #1
  • Tom Dugan as Drug Dealer #2
  • Burton Zucker as Photographer
  • David Katz as Arafat
  • Robert LuJane as Khadafi
  • Charles Gherardi as Khomeini
  • Prince Hughes as Idi Amin
  • David Lloyd Austin as Gorbachev
  • Ken Minyard as Ken & (voice)
  • Robert Arthur as Bob (voice)
  • Greg Breslau as Man Deleted from Fireworks Scene
  • Sharon Breslau as Woman Deleted from Fireworks Scene
  • Reggie Jackson as Angel Right Fielder
  • Michael J. Montes as Angel Shortstop
  • Charles Fick as Angel Catcher
  • Lawrence Tierney as Angels Manager
  • Hank Robinson as First Base Umpire
  • Joe West as Third Base Umpire
  • Jay Johnstone as Seattle First Up
  • Randy Harvey as Seattle Pitcher
  • Brett Bartlett as Seattle Centerfielder
  • Dennis Packer as Baseball P.A. Announcer
  • Dick Vitale as Baseball Announcer
  • Dick Enberg as Baseball Announcer
  • Jim Palmer as Baseball Announcer
  • Mel Allen as Baseball Announcer
  • Curt Gowdy as Baseball Announcer
  • Tim McCarver as Baseball Announcer
  • Joyce Brothers as Baseball Announcer
  • Don Woodard as "There he is!"
  • Christopher J. Keene as "Please disperse, Please disperse."
  • Mary Norman as "Here, you can use my radio mike."
  • Susan Breslau as "Hey, look out!"
  • Rick Seaman as "Ya dumb broad!"
  • Fredric Arnold as "Hey! What's the meaning of this?"
  • Ron Tank as "Mayor, will there be any additional security officers added to the police force during the Queen's visit?"
  • Mallory Sandler as "Oh, Dr. Alford, I have Mrs. Kepley's chart if you're ready to go over it."
  • Edwina Moore as "Mr. Pallazzo, our head usher will be here in two minutes to take you onto the field."
  • Jeff Wright as "Mr. Pallazzo! Would you come with me?"
  • Jim Smith as "Sorry, fellas."
  • Mark Holton as "It's Enrico Pallazzo!"
  • Jane Couris as "You killed him!"
  • John Houseman as Driving Instructor (uncredited)
  • Brinke Stevens as Brunette Woman in Showers (uncredited)
  • Jesse Ventura as Baseball Announcer (uncredited)
  • Bob Herron as Dr. Alford (uncredited)
  • Eddie Hice as Criminal at Police Station / Baseball Fan (uncredited)
  • Conrad E. Palmisano as Hijacked Taurus Driver (uncredited)
  • George Sasaki as Reception Guest (uncredited)
  • Dan Cotter as Movie Theatre Patron (uncredited)

Who talks, scene by scene

Lines of dialogue in every 5 scenes, start to finish. Women above the line, men below. 17% of lines come from characters we couldn't match to the cast list and aren't shown.

Women

Men

Scene 1 Scene 218

Hover, tap or tab to a bar to see those scenes: where they happen and who's talking.

Show the numbers
ScenesWomen's linesMen's lines
1 to 505
6 to 1004
11 to 1501
16 to 20648
21 to 2532
26 to 30026
31 to 35313
36 to 40445
41 to 4586
46 to 5004
51 to 5508
56 to 6003
61 to 6509
66 to 701216
71 to 7500
76 to 8022
81 to 8507
86 to 9086
91 to 9505
96 to 1001131
101 to 1051516
106 to 1101135
111 to 11526
116 to 12000
121 to 12501
126 to 13002
131 to 13502
136 to 14000
141 to 14502
146 to 15001
151 to 15500
156 to 160011
161 to 16504
166 to 17006
171 to 17500
176 to 18012
181 to 18502
186 to 19000
191 to 19500
196 to 20032
201 to 205111
206 to 21027
211 to 21555
216 to 21800

The evidence

  • Straight from the script
  • Counted from the script and the credits

Tap an exhibit to open it.

Exhibit A: every 100 lines

Out of every 100 lines with a known speaker, 21 are women's.

97 lines from women, 356 from men.

  • Women
  • Men

Exhibit B: who's in it

16 women and 42 men in the cast. 6 women and 23 men from it get lines.

Characters

With lines

  • Women
  • Men

Exhibit C: who gets heard

The first woman speaks at line 16 of 548. The longest stretch with no woman speaking runs 53 lines.

Every line of dialogue, first to last

  • First line by a woman
  • Longest stretch with no woman speaking

Words spoken

Women speak 22% of the words (1,628), men 78% (5,614). Women have 21% of the lines, so their lines run longer than men's.

Exhibit D: the test the other way

Two named men talk to each other about something besides a woman. It passes the reverse test.

Conversations between two named characters

Exhibit E: behind the camera

2 of the 14 people in these jobs are women. Across the whole crew, 20% of the people whose gender is listed are women.

Directed by
David Zucker (man)
Written by
Jim Abrahams (man), Jerry Zucker (man), Pat Proft (man), David Zucker (man)
Produced by
Robert K. Weiss (man)
Shot by
Robert M. Stevens (man), Robert C. Thomas (man)
Edited by
Michael Jablow (man)
Music by
Ira Newborn (man)
Production design by
John J. Lloyd (man)
Costumes by
Mary E. Vogt (woman)
Cast by
Fern Champion (woman), Pamela Basker (gender not listed)

The crew, department by department

  • Other crew

    5 women, 6 men, 5 not listed

  • Production

    3 women, 7 men, 4 not listed

  • Art

    0 women, 3 men, 7 not listed

  • Camera

    0 women, 5 men, 4 not listed

  • Sound

    0 women, 7 men, 2 not listed

  • Costume & Make-Up

    1 women, 0 men, 4 not listed

  • Directing

    1 women, 2 men, 1 not listed

  • Writing

    0 women, 4 men

  • Women
  • Men
  • Gender not listed on TMDB

Exhibit F: how old the stars were

Women: 50 on average. Men: 57 on average. The top-billed cast, at the film's release.

Women

Susan Beaubian 37, Priscilla Presley 43, Nancy Marchand 60, Jeannette Charles 61

Men

O. J. Simpson 41, Raye Birk 45, Leslie Nielsen 62, Ed Williams 62, George Kennedy 63, Ricardo Montalban 68

Exhibit G: the money

It made 12.7 times what it cost.

Budget
$12 million
Box office
$152 million

From TMDB, not adjusted for inflation.

About this analysis

Our parser read the script: 218 scenes and 548 lines of dialogue. The bechdeltest.com rating comes from that site’s readers. How the test works

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