Even fans of Bill Murray don’t know the only film he directed: the comedy “Quick Change”, led by an astonishing clown and which had already been portrayed by Belmondo five years earlier.
Bill Murray is a reference in American comedy, with cult performances in the Ghostbusters saga, One Day Without End and The Life Aquatic. But did you know that the American had directed a feature film? Focus on Quick Change curiosity.
Released in American theaters in 1990, Quick Change therefore marks the one and only foray of Bill Murray (who almost played one of the most terrifying villains of the 90s) into directing, a function shared here with Howard Franklin. In this comedy, the American plays Grimm, a man who, disguised as a clown, robs a bank without too much difficulty with his girlfriend Phyllis and a sidekick named Loomis. On the other hand, escaping New York to reach the airport will prove a little more problematic for the trio…
A big screen adaptation of Jay Cronley’s novel, the comedy Quick Change is led by a great cast. Alongside Bill Murray, we find Geena Davis, Randy Quaid, Stanley Tucci and Jason Robards.
Before Bill Murray, there was… Belmondo!
“It’s great to have a film that you really like,” Bill Murray told journalist Bobbie Wygant. “We had a good script. We mightn’t get anyone respectable to direct it, so Howard Franklin and I decided to do it. Bob Greenhut, the guy who produced the best New York films, is behind it all and we were able to work with Woody Allen’s team. We had a great time on the streets of New York shooting this film.”
A funny little anecdote? Quick Change is not the first adaptation of the novel of the same name. Five years earlier, Alexandre Arcady had signed his own version, entitled Hold-Up and whose action takes place not in the Big Apple, but in Montreal. And it was Jean-Paul Belmondo who slipped under the red nose of the robber clown!
The trailer for “Hold-Up”, with Jean-Paul Belmondo in the role of the clown:
