Movie Flashback: Stripes

A Comedy classic from 1981.

Although already well-known from Saturday Night Live, this was the film that really put Bill Murray on the map as a comedic film actor.

He had done “Meatballs” earlier, which was a modest success, but this was his first “Major” film.

Also in the cast were a then unknown Sean Young, Judge Reinhold, and John Larroquette. John Candy also appears in one of his first film roles.

This also marks the first pairing of Bill Murray and Harold Ramis who would later go on to star in Ghostbusters together.

Best line in the movie, in my opinion, is when Bill Murray’s girlfriend is leaving him, Murray yells out “You can’t leave….all the plants are gonna die!” For some reason, that quote has stuck with me all these years and I am still tempted to yell it out whenever anyone in the family says they are leaving to go someplace.

The Army base on which the movie was filmed is Fort Knox, Kentucky.

The actor playing John Larroquette’s assistant in the film is John Voldstad who would go on to become one of the silent “Darryl’s” of “Larry, Darryl and Darryl” fame on “Newhart“.

Buried waaaaay down in the credits is a young Bill Paxton who is billed only as “Soldier”.

Director Ivan Reitman would later go on to direct Murray and Ramis in Ghostbusters.

Kim Basinger turned down the role played by P.J. Soles.

P.J. Soles, who played one of the female Military Policewomen, was married to actor Dennis Quaid at the time of filming.

This was yet another R-Rated film from the early 80′s that I was forced to watch once it came out on VHS, long after its release, due to me not being 17yrs old and my family not yet having cable which would allow us to get HBO or SHOWTIME.