Celebrities | Pop Culture | Movies | 80s
We Dug Up 7 Facts About "Caddyshack" So We Got That Going For Us, Which Is Nice
You may have seen the cult classic Caddyshack more times than Danny Noonan has practiced his putting, but you may still be unaware of everything that went into making this comedy film.
Luckily for you, we've scoured the internet looking for these tidbits hiding away in holes, and now we're sharing them with you. Instead of keeping you waiting, we're just going to gopher it.
Animal House 2.0?
While director Harold Ramis had immense success with Animal House, he still had some trouble getting his original ideas off the table and onto screens. However when he pushed for a script that was basically "Animal House on a golf course" he was given the a-okay.
"Don't sell yourself short"
Despite a career as a comedian and success with writing and directing, Ramis hadn't really ever sat in the directors chair, so to speak. In fact, on the first day of filming, he mistakenly looked into the wrong lens of the camera and yelled "Cut" instead of "Action!"
"He's a Cinderella Story"
Not many people know that Murray had worked as a groundkeeper and caddy at a golf course when he was younger.
Even less people know that he was only on set for six days total, and improvised all of his lines, including his now famous "Cinderella speech!"
Explosion? What Explosion?
One of the stipulations that the owners of the country club had was that there was to be no explosion on the grounds. Since they really needed that shot for the movie, the producers took the owners out to a 'Thank You' lunch while they taped it.
The fireball was so big that a nearby pilot radioed in that he thought he saw a crash!
Perhaps the most interesting thing about this movie is how it evolved into something completely different while filming.
"X" Marx The Spot
When Ramis was reviewing all the footage they had collected, he felt that they hadn't really focused on the funny scenes involving the golfers. He decided to include more of Murray, Dangerfield, and Chase, and began directing it to fall in line with more of a Marx Brothers style.
"The pond would be good for you"
There was a bit of a sour connection between Murray and Chase at the time of filming. Murray had just replaced his co-star on SNL and apparently there was still some bad blood.
The scene was set up for them to improvise some lines, and while it was funny and biting, there was no issue among them afterwards.
The Missing Star
When they were editing the movie together, the studio realized they didn't really have something that tied the plot together. So Ramis had to go back and extend the scenes with Murray and the gopher. One problem. There was no gopher. The only time they had shown it previously involved a cheap hand puppet, and that wasn't going to fly again.
Fortunately, they managed to get a special effects master to design something semi-believable, and then they went back and filmed the extra scenes. Ever notice that Murray is only pictured with it once? Well now you will, hot-shot.