Top Secret!

"Don't tell anyone."

1984 1h 30m EN

👍

7.1

SOLID

★7.1TMDB · 1,486

Comedy

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

Popular and dashing American singer Nick Rivers travels to East Germany to perform in a music festival. When he loses his heart to the gorgeous Hillary Flammond, he finds himself caught up in an underground resistance movement. Rivers joins forces with Agent Cedric and Flammond to attempt the rescue of her father, Dr. Paul, from the Germans, who have captured the scientist in hopes of coercing him into building a new naval mine.

“Don't tell anyone.”

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Cast

Val Kilmer
Nick Rivers
Lucy Gutteridge
Hillary Flammond
Peter Cushing
Bookstore Proprietor
Jeremy Kemp
General Streck
Christopher Villiers
Nigel
Warren Clarke
Colonel von Horst
Harry Ditson
Du Quois
Jim Carter
Déjà Vu

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Jim Abrahams
Writers: Jim Abrahams, Jerry Zucker, Martyn Burke
Languages: English, Yiddish, German
Countries: United Kingdom, 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

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

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

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

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

Dialogue crosses 3 languages: English, Yiddish, German.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

International production across 2 countries: United Kingdom, United States of America.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

CAST

Did you know

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

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Jim Abrahams, shot by Christopher Challis. 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 Maurice Jarre. 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 Bernard Gribble 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

Jim Abrahams directs. Christopher Challis behind the camera. Maurice Jarre scores. Bernard Gribble cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Profitable at the box office. Produced in United Kingdom, United States of America. Dialogue in English, Yiddish, German.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

190 minutes exactly — the "classic feature" runtime most directors aim for.
242 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
3Dialogue crosses 3 languages: English, Yiddish, German.
4International production across 2 countries: United Kingdom, United States of America.
5225+ people credited in cast and crew — a small city's worth of labour.
6Directed by Jim Abrahams, shot by Christopher Challis. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
7Original score by Maurice Jarre. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
8Editor Bernard Gribble shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
9Val Kilmer and Lucy Gutteridge and Peter Cushing carry the top of the cast.
10Marketing tagline: "Don't tell anyone.".
11IMDB entry: tt0088286 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
12Classified under 14 themes, including "surfing", "rock 'n' roll", "beach", "airplane".

The technical file

Cinematography: Christopher Challis
Original score: Maurice Jarre
Editing: Bernard Gribble
Production design: Michael Lamont
Costume design: Emma Porteous
Makeup / hair: Betty Glasow
Sound: Gerry Humphreys
Stunt coordinator: Joe Powell
Runtime: 90 min · 1h 30m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $9,000,000
Box office: $20,500,000
Return: 228% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): PG
IMDB: Top Secret! (1984)

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Jim Abrahams

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What people are saying

CinemaSerf2023-05-21
★ 6/10
As spoofs go, this is an adequate vehicle for the handsome and charismatic Val Kilmer to squeeze into his 501s and take on the mantle of American rock star "Nick Rivers". He is invited to take part in a cultural exchange concert in the still militaristic East Germany and so, under the watchful eye of "Gen. Streck" (a super-hammy Jeremy Kemp) he has to stay out of trouble until his gig. Easier said than done though when he meets and falls for the feisty "Hillary" (Lucy Gutteridge) and is soon embroiled is a plot to rescue her scientist father (Michael Gough) from the scheming communists before he is forced to create a weapon to end all weapons. The joke looks pretty squarely aimed at Elvis this, and Kilmer makes a decent fist of the gyrating and hair-spraying. Indeed, had we a bit more of these scenes and less of the rather obvious and clumsy espionage malarkey, it might have been a better film. As it is, though, it plays the parody hand just a bit too heavily for me and after a while the cultural clashes appeared to be as much between the star and his largely British supporting cast as much as having anything to do with scheming generals. It's not a film that needs your concentration, it has a reasonably toe-tapping soundtrack and if you aim low, you ought not to be disappointed.

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