The Jerk got considered a box office smash, produced with a low budget of $4 million. It earned $100 million internationally and $73 million in the United States. The ninety-five minutes long film got produced by Aspen Film Society and distributed by Universal Pictures.
Steve Martin and Carl Gottlieb contributed to the screenplay, along with Michael Elias and story writing. Martin chose the director, Carl Reiner, and claimed to have a joyful set while filming.
The film was a financial success receiving major positive reviews. The Jerk’s cast includes Steve Martin (as Navin R. Johnson), Catlin Adams (as Patty Bernstein), Helena Carroll (as Hester), Bernadette Peters (as Marie Kimble Johnson), M. Emmet Walsh (as Madman), and more.
The film got funny, vulgar, and stupid sometimes. One reviewer also found Steve Martin’s acting silly and exaggerated. It gets made of gags more than comedy. So, the film might not make the viewers laugh again.
The Jerk Plot
Navin gets adopted by a black family in Mississippi. He cannot dance in rhythm to the blues music played but well to a champagne-style song. Thus, he leaves the house and goes to St. Louis. He adopts a dog on the way and names it ‘Shithead.’
While staying at a motel, Shithead barks at Navin’s door. Thinking of it as a fire alarm, Navin runs on the guests, making them furious. To make a living, Navin joins a gas station and finds a solution to a customer’s slipping glasses. The customer, Stan Fox, promises to market the device and share the profit with him.
Meanwhile, a crazy gunman randomly selects Navin’s name from a phonebook and opens fire, seeing an opportunity. However, Navin misses the bullet and reaches a traveling carnival while running from the crazy gunman.
Navin’s Old House (Credits: Universal Pictures)
Further, Navin begins working as a weight guesser. He gets into a physical relationship with a motorcyclist, Patty Bernstein. After that, he falls for Marie Kimble, a cosmetologist. However, the relationship does not work because Navin is financially unstable.
Broken Navin goes to Los Angeles with Shithead, where he gets a letter from the crazy gunman, who is now normal and works as a private detective . According to the letter, Stan Fox wants to meet Navin.
Stan successfully marketed Navin’s device and provided him with $250,000, his share of the profit. He also renamed Navin’s solution, the device, for slipping glasses, as Opti-Grab. The brand grows over time, and Navin’s fate makes a turn.
Navin finds and marries Marie and lives a lavish life. Unfortunately, he gets sued by Opti-Grab customers who got cross-eyed forever after using his device. Accordingly, he must pay them $10 million.
Navin gets broke, his married life suffers, and he roams on the streets. After some time, he encounters Marie, Shithead, and his adoptive family. Navin frequently used to send money to his adoptive family. The family invested in it, got financially stable, and purchased a bigger house.
Navin goes to his adoptive family’s home with Marie and Shithead, where he perfectly dances in rhythm to the blues music.
The Jerk Filming Locations
The City of Northridge, San Fernando Valley, and Pasadena, downtown Los Angeles are the two primary filming locations for The Jerk. Principal photography required $4.6 million and forty-five days.
The Gas Station
Navin R. Johnson works at a gas station, and a crazy gunman randomly finds his name in the phone book and follows to kill him. The gas station got filmed at 485 N Rosemead Blvd, Pasadena. It was a well-known site for The Jerk fans. However, the gas station got replaced by a fast-food chain, Carl’s Jr., in the 1990s.
The Gas Station In The Film And Carl’s Jr. (Credit: Universal Pictures, Best Commercial Tena)
The Carnival Scene
The gunman shoots a bullet at the gas station but misses the target. Navin reaches a traveling carnival while running from the gunman. It got filmed at Northridge’s old Devonshire Downs Fairgrounds.
The Down Fairgrounds, informally called Downs, served as a horse racing track and multiple facilities. It is called North Campus today and comes under California State University, Northridge.
The Carnival Scene In The Jerk (Credit: Universal Pictures)
The Miniature Train
Navin’s glasses flew while riding a miniature train, and he tried to get them back in the film. The scene got filmed at the Travel Town in Griffith Park near a zoo in Los Angeles. It contains many train locomotives (that still run there), a donkey ride, a trolley ride, and more.
The Miniature Train Scene In The Jerk (Credit: Universal Pictures)
Navin’s Lavish House
Navin finds a solution to slipping glasses and sells them under Opti-Grab. His business continues to grow, and he purchases a house in Beverly Hills, California, until he loses a lawsuit.
The 29000 sq. ft house is at 1011 North Beverly Drive. Created in 1926, it got bought and sold many times. Moreover, it contains nine bedrooms and fifteen bathrooms. The house also got used for filming some scenes in ‘How To Watch Night Doctor And Episode Schedule.’
Navin’s Lavish House In The Jerk (Credit: Universal Pictures, Hollywood Filming Locations)
Pontiac Firebird Trans AM
This vehicle has made its way through pop culture. Pontiac Firebird Trans AM is one of the notable elements of the film, made custom designed by a renowned custom car designer, George Barris, responsible for similar popular vehicles.
Navin’s Pontiac Firebird Trans AM (Credits: Universal Pictures)
Fred Zinnemann’s Western-themed High Noon is a one-of-a-kind psychological and action film that was released back in 1952. Starring Gary Cooper, the real-time movie had much more to offer than just an impactful plot.
The storyline revolves around a fictional town called Hadleyville, where our protagonist, Marshal Will Kane, lives. After finally getting married to Amy Fowler and retiring from his job, Will Kane decides to leave Hadleyville and start a new life in a neighboring place. However, things take a grim turn when Frank Miller, one of the outlaws that Kane sent to prison, is going to be released soon.
Kane faces two choices, either to leave town with his wife before Miller tracks him down or to stay and fight him as he comes to him for revenge. Having a sense of duty towards his town, Kane decides to stay, only to realize that the people that he wanted to protect so desperately were least interested in returning the favor for him.
Asides from Gary Cooper as Will Kane, the crew of High Noon consists of Thomas Mitchell in the role of Mayor Jonas, Lloyd Bridges plays Deputy Harvey Pell, Katy Jurado stars as Helen Ramirez, and Amy Fowler role is played by Grace Kelly. High Noon has been claimed as a favorite movie by many US Presidents, as it perfectly captures what it is like to be alone while fighting for a cause.
High Noon: Filming Locations
Filming for this action-filled Western film began during the late summer months of the year 1951 and lasted up until the fall of the same year. The major filming location for High Noon has been various locations spread throughout California .
The Town Scenes from High Noon (Credits: United Artists/MGM Studios)
California, USA:
Most of the rail scenes that we see in High Noon were shot at the Sierra Railroad based in Jamestown, California. While the Sierra railroad has certainly played a huge role in making Tuolumne County’s economy better, it has also served as a filming location for hit films like Back To The Future III , Gunsmoke , Rawhide , and Petticoat Junction .
This is the reason why Sierra Railroad is now often referred to as the Movie Railroad. The station where we see Amy Fowler ready to move without Kane was not a real place and was only constructed for High Noon.
Another important location in High Noon that was filmed in Jamestown is the Brooks Ranch, which helped in providing some old western ranch scenes. While some shots were taken at Brooks Ranch, Iverson Movie Ranch , located in Los Angeles, provided a place for shooting the opening scenes and wagon shots.
This infamous ranch is situated in what’s now known as Chatsworth and has previously hosted projects like My Official Wife, Gunsmoke , and The Lone Ranger . Gary Cooper has also previously worked at Iverson Ranch for his 1945 film Along Came Jones .
The Church Scenes (Credits: United Artists/MGM Studios)
The Church we see Kane visit in High Noon was the St. Joseph’s Catholic Church in Gardener Avenue, Tuolumne City. This beautifully designed church has been serving local people for a long time, and High Noon’s the only movie that was filmed here.
An infamous Gold Rush mining place, Columbia State Historic Park , was used for scenes of Hadleyville. This park is a good place to visit as it is filled with historical architecture that’s reminiscent of the 1850s. Asides from this scenic place, the sets in Columbia Movie Ranch were also where some of the New Mexico town scenes took place.
At the Warner Brothers Burbank Studios, Laramie Street was another filming location for High Noon, although the place was demolished in May 2003 and rebuilt as the Warner Village.
Taking in the sights and shops of the California Gold Rush town in the Columbia State Historic Park! 🤠 pic.twitter.com/3ByR4feZ9M — JoesLAAdventures (@JoeHollywoodLA) July 2, 2023
One thing that makes High Noon impactful is the agony and despair that Kane exhibits. Although Gary Cooper was a great actor, the feelings of fear that we see on his face were real as he was filming High Noon right after one of his surgeries. The sets were carefully designed to replicate what a true Western town would be like, and these same places were later reused for films of a similar genre.
At present, High Noon is available to stream on Prime Video.
