FILM · 1986
Wise Guys
19 archived facts 4 topics 1 source Last reviewed Oct 2026
All facts (19)
- #001
Brian De Palma cast Danny DeVito and Joe Piscopo because he liked Johnny Dangerously (1984). De Palma was reportedly heard laughing hysterically during a preview screening of the film.
- #002
The Atlantic City casino was also used as a location in Martin Scorsese's The Color of Money (1986).
- #003
The pink Cadillac's make and model was a 1959 Cadillac Series 62 Convertible.
- #004
It was Joe Piscopo's first leading role in a theatrical film.
- #005
A major Atlantic City casino owner had the studio rewrite the script. Quoting the American Film Institute: "In the original story, a former Mafia friend turned casino manager arranged a fake hit on two bumbling gangsters so they could escape a hired killer. The script was changed so that the character would no longer have a criminal past and would not be involved in the fake murder." The reason was the casino's claim that a casino manager would have no Mafia connections.
- #006
In later years Brian De Palma expressed regret over making the film. In a 2013 interview with Fandango, De Palma was downcast: "It's not one of my favorites because nobody at the studio liked it. One regime allowed it and they left, then another regime came in. It was a bastard child that nobody wanted to do anything with, so it wasn't a pleasant experience. But I loved working with Danny DeVito so much that we managed to get through it." In a 2016 interview with Business Insider, he added, "I should have just taken my money and walked instead of dealing with a studio that didn't want to make the movie."
- #007
When the film was first released, it was never shown in cinemas in the United Kingdom; it went straight to video.
- #008
Martin Scorsese's GoodFellas (1990) was originally titled "Wiseguy" (the name of the book the film was based on), but it was renamed to avoid confusion with this film. Martin Scorsese's parents, Charles Scorsese and Catherine Scorsese, appear in both this film and GoodFellas (1990).
- #009
It was the first producing credit for co-screenwriter George Gallo, who wrote the script.
- #010
It was billed as the first theatrical film of former wrestler Lou Albano, credited as "Captain Lou Albano."
- #011
It was Maria Pitillo's first film.
- #012
After Johnny Dangerously (1984), this was the second consecutive gangster comedy co-written by Norman Steinberg. Coincidentally, both films starred Danny DeVito and Joe Piscopo.
- #013
While Harry and Moe talk about how lucky they are, the elevator door shows they are on the 14th floor, which would actually be the 13th floor, since buildings usually label the 13th floor as the 14th.
- #014
It premiered the same year as the similarly titled Tough Guys (1986).
- #015
It is the only theatrical film collaboration between director Brian De Palma and Danny DeVito.
- #016
Harry and Moe take the "superstar suite" for $1,100 a night. That amounts to roughly $3,400 a night in 2026 dollars. They also owe $250,000 in bets, a figure of more than $760,000 in 2026.
- #017
Brian De Palma's next film, Snake Eyes (1998), is also set in Atlantic City.
- #018
Ray Sharkey plays the bartender here (in Wise Guys). The following year, Sharkey would play the opening villain Sonny Steelgrave in the police procedural Wiseguy (1987).
- #019
Production of Wise Guys was postponed due to a regime change at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM).
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