A Fish Called Wanda
A Fish Called Wanda is a 1988 heist comedy film directed by Charles Crichton and written by John Cleese from a story conceived by Cleese and Crichton. It stars Cleese, Jamie Lee Curtis, Kevin Kline, and Michael Palin. The film follows a gang of diamond thieves who double-cross one another to recover stolen diamonds hidden by their jailed leader. His barrister becomes a central figure and jealousies rage as femme fatale Wanda seduces him to locate the loot.
Plot
The London gangster George Thomason and his right-hand man, Ken Pile, an animal lover with a stutter, plan a jewel heist. They bring in two Americans: the con artist Wanda Gershwitz and the weapons expert Otto West, a mean-spirited Anglophobe. Wanda and Otto are lovers, but they hide this from George and Ken, pretending to be siblings, so Wanda can work her charms on them.
Awards
Cast
- Andrew MacLachlan
- Cynthia Cleese
- David Simeon
- Geoffrey Palmer
- Jamie Lee Curtis
- Jeremy Child
- John Bird
- John Cleese
- Ken Campbell
- Kevin Kline
- Llewellyn Rees
- Maria Aitken
- Michael Palin
- Neville Phillips
- Patricia Hayes
- Robert McBain
- Roger Brierley
- Roger Hume
- Roland MacLeod
- Sharon Twomey
- Stephen Fry
- Tom Georgeson
More details
| author | Charles Crichton John Cleese |
|---|---|
| award | Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor |
| contentLocation | London |
| director | Charles Crichton John Cleese |
| editor | John Jympson |
| genre | comedy crime |
| keywords | animal lover arrest build con artist cross-examination crown drive eat fish tank flee heart attack heathrow airport jewel heist loveless marriage plan safe deposit box sibling south america taunt vietnam war |
| musicBy | John Du Prez |
| nomination | Academy Award for Best Director Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor Academy Award for Best Writing, Original Screenplay |
| producer | Michael Shamberg |
| productionCompany | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer |
| publisher | MGM/UA Communications Co. United International Pictures |
| recordedAt | Bermondsey Central Criminal Court Clerkenwell Kensington Little Venice London Docklands London Heathrow Airport Maida Vale Oxford Castle Oxford Town Hall Twickenham Film Studios Wandsworth |
| theme | crime comedy heist stag |