Police Academy 3: Back in Training

"Run for cover!"

1986 1h 24m EN

😐

5.8

MID

★5.8TMDB · 1,422

ComedyCrime

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

When police funding is cut, the Governor announces he must close one of the academies. To make it fair, the two police academies must compete against each other to stay in operation. Mauser persuades two officers in Lassard's academy to better his odds, but things don't quite turn out as expected...

“Run for cover!”

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Cast

Steve Guttenberg
Carey Mahoney
Bubba Smith
Moses Hightower
David Graf
Tackleberry
Michael Winslow
Larvell Jones
Marion Ramsey
Laverne Hooks
Leslie Easterbrook
Lieutenant Callahan
Art Metrano
Commandant Mauser
Tim Kazurinsky
Cadet Sweetchuck

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Jerry Paris
Writers: Gene Quintano
Languages: English
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

RUNTIME

Did you know

84 minutes exactly — the "classic feature" runtime most directors aim for.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Made its money back 9.0× over at the box office.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

ERA

Did you know

40 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

CINEMA

Did you know

Part of the "Police Academy Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

CAST

Did you know

204+ people credited in cast and crew — a small city's worth of labour.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Jerry Paris, shot by Robert Saad. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Robert Folk. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Bud Molin shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Jerry Paris directs. Robert Saad behind the camera. Robert Folk scores. Bud Molin cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Made its budget back several times over at the box office. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

184 minutes exactly — the "classic feature" runtime most directors aim for.
2Made its money back 9.0× over at the box office.
340 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
4Part of the "Police Academy Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.
5204+ people credited in cast and crew — a small city's worth of labour.
6Directed by Jerry Paris, shot by Robert Saad. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
7Original score by Robert Folk. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
8Editor Bud Molin shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
9Steve Guttenberg and Bubba Smith and David Graf carry the top of the cast.
10Marketing tagline: "Run for cover!".
11IMDB entry: tt0091777 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

The technical file

Cinematography: Robert Saad
Original score: Robert Folk
Editing: Bud Molin
Production design: Trevor Williams
Makeup / hair: Albert Paradis
Sound: Michael Jiron
Stunt coordinator: Alan Oliney
Runtime: 84 min · 1h 24m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $12,000,000
Box office: $107,600,000
Return: 897% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): PG
IMDB: Police Academy 3: Back in Training (1986)

Part of

Police Academy Collection

A series of American comedy films, the first six of which were made in the 1980s. The seventh and to date last installment, Mission to Moscow, was released in 1994. The series opened with Police Academy (1984) which started with the premise that a new mayor had announced a policy requiring the police department to accept all willing recruits. The movie followed a group of misfit recruits in their attempts to prove themselves capable of being police officers. The main character, Carey Mahoney (Steve Guttenberg), was a repeat offender who was forced to join the police academy as punishment.

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Jerry Paris

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Community reviews

What people are saying

Filipe Manuel Neto2022-09-27
★ 7/10
More of the same, but with quality and fun. This is the third film in the memorable “Police Academy” franchise, which was a remarkable success during the 80's and 90's. Of course, it's old stuff, but it's curious how, even today, many people remember these films, which are still quite easy to find on TV in Portugal. In this third release, the quality and freshness of the comic material is still remarkable, and the film manages to keep up with the two predecessors with relative ease. The plot continues to be the Achilles heel of these films, but it gives us what is essential to sustain an hour and a half of different antics, with some mixed action: with expenses rising, the city decided to extinguish one of the two training academies for existing police, one being our well-known academy, led by Commander Lassard, and the other a rival academy, meanwhile formed by Commander Mauser. Seeing things get complicated, Lassard turns to Mahoney, Jones, Hightower and other law enforcement officers already well known to all of us for help, knowing they are the right people for the mission. Continuing the efforts of the previous films, the crew and cast members are virtually the same as in the previous film. Jerry Paris, who had directed the previous film, remains in charge of the production and manages to give a great sense of cohesion to all the work developed. The bulk of the cast is present again, giving us more than we've ever seen, without surprises, but managing to live up to our expectations very well. We have Steve Guttenberg in the role of Mahoney, but giving the character more maturity and a sense of responsibility. Michael Winslow gets more attention in this film, and better material to work with and showcase his vocal gifts. Bob Goldthwait also gets more attention and more refined material, and along with the hilarious Tim Kazurinsky, he's going to be one of the funniest course cadets at the academy (in fact, the two actors complement each other amazingly). Also Art Metrano manages very well and gives his character a touch of elegant cynicism, being the ideal target for the mischief of others. Leslie Easterbrook also has more room to show value, achieving in this film one of the most interesting works of her career. David Graf, Bubba Smith and Marion Ramsey keep the same record we're used to, no big surprises. The film retains the production values of its predecessors. In addition to good filming locations and good costumes, the special effects are of good quality and the action scenes here received a more attentive treatment, and they work very well, especially in the final part. The editing was well executed and the fast pace of the film doesn't tire us, although at times we feel that it is nothing more than a collection of situational and verbal jokes, one after the other, and not a comic feature film.
r96sk2025-03-25
★ 6/10
<em>'Police Academy 3: Back in Training'</em> continues where the previous films left off, in that I don't hold any major pluses but, to be honest, they do make for easy viewing; to the point that I don't dislike watching them. I may feel differently after watching all seven, granted. I do enjoy seeing the cast remain, I'm a fan of characters remaining across franchises without any recasts etc. So far, we've had basically all the people involved return. It's cool to see, at least for me; I like seeing a character's trajectory, even if the films aren't the best (like here). It is neat to see the likes of Steve Guttenberg, Bubba Smith, Michael Winslow and Marion Ramsey again. Bobcat Goldthwait is even minorly watchable, his character should be irritating but somehow it almost works. Overall, there's a noticeable camaraderie between the main cast.