Tin Men
Template:Short description Script error: No such module "For". Template:DMCA Template:DMCA
Template:Infobox film/short descriptionPage Module:Infobox/styles.css has no content.
| Tin Men | |
|---|---|
| Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:InfoboxImage/data' not found. Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Barry Levinson |
| Written by | Barry Levinson |
| Produced by | Mark Johnson |
| Starring | Page Template:Plainlist/styles.css has no content. |
| Cinematography | Peter Sova |
| Edited by | Stu Linder |
| Music by | Fine Young Cannibals |
Production Template:Pluralize from text | Page Template:Plainlist/styles.css has no content. |
| Distributed by | Buena Vista Distribution |
Release dateTemplate:Pluralize from text | Page Template:Plainlist/styles.css has no content.
|
Running time | 112 minutes |
| Template:Pluralize from text | United States |
| Template:Pluralize from text | English |
| Budget | $11 million |
| Box office | $25.4 million |
Expression error: Unrecognized punctuation character "[".Script error: No such module "Check for conflicting parameters".
Tin Men is a 1987 American comedy film written and directed by Barry Levinson, produced by Mark Johnson, and starring Richard Dreyfuss, Danny DeVito, and Barbara Hershey.[1] It is the second of Levinson's tetralogy of films set in his hometown of Baltimore, Maryland, during the 1940s, 1950s, and 1960s, along with Diner (1982), Avalon (1990), and Liberty Heights (1999).[2]
Plot
Ernest Tilley (DeVito) and Bill "BB" Babowsky (Dreyfuss) are rival door-to-door aluminum siding salesmen in Baltimore, Maryland, in 1963, an era when "tin men", as they are called, will do almost anything, legal or illegal, to close a sale. Both have the required gift of the gab, but while BB is a smooth-talking con man who scams naive young women with his sales pitches, Tilley struggles to close his sales.
They first meet when BB, driving his new Cadillac automobile off the dealer's lot, backs into Tilley's own Cadillac. Though Tilley had the right of way, each man blames the other, and an escalating feud erupts between them.
After BB smashes Tilley's headlights and Tilley shatters BB's car windows in response, BB sets out to seduce Tilley's long-suffering wife Nora (Hershey) in revenge. Immediately after having sex with Nora, he calls Tilley to taunt him with the news. Tilley tells BB to keep Nora; he wants to be rid of her.
Meanwhile, both men have their own personal troubles. BB's older partner and mentor, Moe Adams, is hospitalized with a serious heart condition. Tilley has a gambling problem and squanders what little money he makes betting on horse races, causing a rift with Nora. He is in debt to various creditors and the IRS, which begins confiscating his possessions for unpaid property taxes. Exhausted by their rivalry, the two men decide to play a game of pool to decide who should get Nora in order to end their personal war. BB loses, but he does not honor the bet. He has fallen in love for the first time, and Nora moves in with him.
The newly formed Maryland Home Improvement Commission is investigating corrupt sales practices in the home improvement industry. Both men are subpoenaed, and after giving testimony about their sales practices, the commission takes away both of their licenses. While Tilley gives up his license reluctantly, BB does so willingly. Seeing that Tilley has lost everything, including his car, BB takes pity on him and gives him a ride. Together, the two freshly unemployed men with very similar personalities begin sharing ideas for a new business they can create for themselves.
Cast
Production
Steve Buscemi auditioned for a role.[3]
Music
The group Fine Young Cannibals appears as the house band in a nightclub in the film and contributed songs to the film's soundtrack, including the future US #1 "Good Thing".[4]
Reception
Tin Men received positive reviews from critics. Template:Rotten Tomatoes prose[5] Template:Metacritic film prose[6]
See also
- Script error: No such module "portal-inline".
References
Page Template:Reflist/styles.css has no content.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Maslin, Janet (March 6, 1987). "FILM: 'TIN MEN,' COMEDY FROM BARRY LEVINSON". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved February 22, 2026.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Levinson, Barry (November 14, 1999). "Barry Levinson: Baltimore, My Baltimore". The New York Times.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Schaffstall, Katherine (July 24, 2025). "Steve Buscemi Recalls Failed Audition for Barry Levinson's 'Tin Men': "There Was This Silence"". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved February 22, 2026.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Gerard, Chris (February 11, 2014). "Classic album revisited: Fine Young Cannibals "The Raw and The Cooked"". Metro Weekly.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Tin Men". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved May 5, 2025.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Tin Men". Metacritic. Retrieved May 5, 2025.
External links
Page Module:Side box/styles.css has no content.Page Template:Sister project/styles.css has no content.
Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Navbox/configuration' not found.
