A nebbish of a morgue attendant gets shunted back to the night shift where he is shackled with an obnoxious neophyte partner who dreams of the "one great idea" for success. His life takes a bizarre turn when a prostitute neighbor complains about the loss of her pimp. His partner, upon hearing the situation, suggests that they fill that opening themselves using the morgue at night.
Acting
Michael Keaton's breakout—Bill Blazejowski is pure kinetic chaos.
Direction
Ron Howard proving he could do comedy before becoming Oscar bait.
Writing
Lowell Ganz & Babaloo Mandel's snappy screwball dialogue.
Director
Ron Howard
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
This was Ron Howard's first theatrical feature after leaving Happy Days—he cast Winkler partly from their TV chemistry.
Keaton based Bill Blazejowski on a real fast-talking salesman he knew; the character's manic energy defined his early career.
US
