The 'Burbs
| The 'Burbs | |
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Theatrical release poster
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| Directed by | Joe Dante |
| Produced by |
Larry Brezner Michael Finnell Ron Howard Dana Olsen |
| Written by | Dana Olsen |
| Starring | |
| Music by | Jerry Goldsmith |
| Cinematography | Robert M. Stevens |
| Edited by | Marshall Harvey |
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Production
company |
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| Distributed by | Universal Studios |
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Release date
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Running time
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101 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $18 million |
| Box office | $49,101,993 |
The 'Burbs is a 1989 American comedy thriller film directed by Joe Dante starring Tom Hanks, Bruce Dern, Carrie Fisher, Rick Ducommun, Corey Feldman, Wendy Schaal and Henry Gibson. The film was written by Dana Olsen, who also has a cameo in the movie. The film pokes fun at suburban environments and their eccentric dwellers.
On Mayfield Place, a cul-de-sac in the fictional suburban town of Hinkley Hills, Ray Peterson is on vacation from work for a week and is trying to learn more about his mysterious new next-door neighbors, the Klopeks, after hearing strange noises emitting from their basement late one night. Art Weingartner, the Petersons' other next-door neighbor, believes the Klopeks are murderers.
While snooping around one evening, Ray, Art, and veteran Lt. Mark Rumsfield watch Hans Klopek drive his car from the garage to the curb, then carry a large garbage bag from the trunk to the garbage can and bang it with a hoe. During the night, Ray watches the Klopeks digging in their back yard with pick-axes in a rainstorm. The following morning, Art checks the contents of the garbage truck as it is collecting the Klopeks' can. He is joined by Rumsfield and Ray, but they find no human remains, suspecting that's what the contents of their garbage contained.
Bonnie Rumsfield finds a dog running loose and realizes it belongs to another neighbor of theirs, an elderly man named Walter Sczenik, and wonders if Walter went away, being it unlike him to leave his dog running loose. Ray, Art, Bonnie and Ricky Butler (the kid who lives next door to the Rumsfields) go to Walter's house and find his toupee in the kitchen, also believing this to be a clue to Walter's sudden disappearance. Ray collects the dog and leaves a note for Walter, explaining the situation. The following night, Ray and Art have a meeting in the Petersons' basement and theorize about Walter's mysterious disappearance.
Carol, Ray's wife, grows tired of her husband and his buddies snooping around the Klopeks' home and she requests that she, Ray, and the Rumsfields pay the Klopeks a visit, meeting Hans, Reuben, and Werner while Art peeks around in the backyard. Later that evening, Ray reveals to Art and Rumsfield that he found Walter's toupee in the Klopeks' basement, which he had previously slipped through Walter's mailslot after the group found it inside his house a couple of days earlier. Deducing that the Klopeks must have entered Walter's house in order to retrieve the toupee, Ray and the others are convinced the Klopeks have murdered Walter, and the trio agree to investigate the Klopeks' backyard the next day, knowing the Klopeks would be gone for the day.
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