Trading Places

Trading Places
Trading Places is a 1983 American comedy

film directed by John Landis, with a
screenplay by Timothy Harris and Herschel
Weingrod. Starring Dan Aykroyd, Eddie
Murphy, Ralph Bellamy, Don Ameche,
Denholm Elliott, and Jamie Lee Curtis, the
film tells the story of an upper-class
commodities broker (Aykroyd) and a poor
street hustler (Murphy) whose lives cross
when they are unwittingly made the subject
of an elaborate bet to test how each man
will perform when their life circumstances
are swapped.
Trading Places
Theatrical release poster
Directed by John Landis
Written by Timothy Harris

Herschel Weingrod
Produced by Aaron Russo
Starring Dan Aykroyd

Eddie Murphy
Ralph Bellamy
Don Ameche
Denholm Elliott
Jamie Lee Curtis
Cinematography Robert Paynter
Edited by Malcolm Campbell
Music by Elmer Bernstein
Distributed by Paramount Pictures
Release date June 8, 1983
Running time 116 minutes
Country United States
Language English
Budget $15 million
Box office $121.6 million
Harris conceived the outline for Trading

Places in the early 1980s after meeting two
rich brothers who were engaged in an
ongoing rivalry with each other. He and his
writing partner Weingrod developed the idea
as a project to star Richard Pryor and Gene
Wilder. When they were unable to
participate, Landis cast Aykroyd—with
whom he had worked previously—and a
young but increasingly popular Murphy in
his second feature-film role. Landis also
cast Curtis, against the intent of the studio,
Paramount Pictures; she was famous
mainly for her roles in horror films, which
were looked down upon at the time.
Principal photography took place from
December 1982 to March 1983, entirely on
location in Philadelphia and New York City.
Elmer Bernstein scored the film, using
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's opera buffa
The Marriage of Figaro as an underlying
theme.
Trading Places was considered a box-office
success on its release, earning over $90.4
million to become the fourth-highest-
grossing film of 1983 in the United States
and Canada, and $120.6 million worldwide.
It also received generally positive reviews,
with critics praising both the central cast
and the film's revival of the screwball
comedy genre prevalent in the 1930s and
1940s while criticizing Trading Places for
lacking the same moral message of the
genre while promoting the accumulation of
wealth. It received multiple award
nominations including an Academy Award
for Bernstein's score and won two BAFTA
awards for Elliott and Curtis. The film also
launched or revitalized the careers of its
main cast, who each appeared in several
other films throughout the 1980s. In
particular, Murphy became one of the
highest-paid and most sought after
comedians in Hollywood.
In the years since its release, the film has

been reassessed both positively and
negatively. It has been praised as one of the
greatest comedy films and Christmas films
ever made, but retrospective assessments
have criticized its use of racial jokes and
language. In 2010, the film was referenced
in Congressional testimony concerning the
reform of the commodities trading market
designed to prevent the insider trading
demonstrated in Trading Places. In 1988,
Bellamy and Ameche reprised their
characters for Murphy's comedy film
Coming to America.
Plot
Brothers Randolph and Mortimer Duke own
a commodities brokerage firm, Duke & Duke
Commodity Brokers, in Philadelphia,
Pennsylvania. Holding opposing views on
the issue of nature versus nurture, they
make a wager and agree to conduct an
experiment—switching the lives of two
people on opposite sides of the social
hierarchy and observing the results. They
witness an encounter between their
managing director—the well-mannered and
educated Louis Winthorpe III, engaged to
the Dukes' grandniece Penelope—and poor
black street hustler Billy Ray Valentine;
Valentine is arrested at Winthorpe's
insistence after the latter assumes he is
being robbed. The Dukes decide to use
them for their experiment.
Winthorpe is framed as a thief, drug dealer

and philanderer by Clarence Beeks, a man
on the Dukes' payroll. He is fired from Duke
& Duke, his bank accounts are frozen, he is
denied entry to his Duke-owned home, and
is vilified by Penelope and his friends. He
befriends Ophelia, a prostitute who helps
him in exchange for a financial reward once
he is exonerated to secure her own
retirement. The Dukes post bail for
Valentine, install him in Winthorpe's former
job, and grant him use of Winthorpe's home.
Valentine becomes well versed in the
business, using his street smarts to achieve
success, and begins to act in a well-
mannered way.
During the firm's Christmas party, Winthorpe

plants drugs in Valentine's desk, attempting
to frame him, and brandishes a gun to
escape. Later, the Dukes discuss their
experiment and settle their wager for $1.
They plot to return Valentine to the streets,
but have no intention of taking back
Winthorpe. Valentine overhears the
conversation and seeks out Winthorpe, who
has attempted suicide by overdosing.
Valentine, Ophelia, and Winthorpe's butler,
Coleman, nurse him back to health and
inform him of the experiment. Watching a
television news broadcast, they learn that
Beeks is transporting a secret United States
Department of Agriculture (USDA) report on
orange crop forecasts. Winthorpe and
Valentine remember large payments made
to Beeks by the Dukes. They realize they will
obtain the report early to corner the market
on frozen concentrated orange juice.
On New Year's Eve, the four board Beeks'

train in disguise, intending to switch the
original report with a forgery that predicts
low orange crop yields. Beeks uncovers
their scheme, and attempts to kill them, but
is knocked unconscious by a gorilla being
transported on the train. The four disguise
Beeks with a gorilla costume and cage him
with the real gorilla. The group deliver the
forged report to the Dukes in Beeks' place.
After sharing a kiss with Ophelia, Winthorpe
travels to New York City with Valentine,
carrying with them Coleman's and Ophelia's
life savings to carry out their plan.
On the commodities trading floor, the Dukes

commit their holdings to buying frozen
concentrated orange juice futures
contracts, legally committing themselves to
buying the commodity at a later date. Other
traders follow their lead, driving the price
up; Valentine and Winthorpe short-sell juice
futures contracts at the inflated price.
Following the broadcast of the actual crop
report and its prediction of a normal
harvest, the price of juice futures plummets.
Valentine and Winthorpe buy at the lower
price from everyone except the Dukes,
fulfilling the contracts they had short-sold
earlier, turning an immense profit.
After the closing bell, Valentine and

Winthorpe explain to the Dukes that they
made a wager on whether they could get
rich and make the Dukes poor at the same
time, and Valentine collects $1 from
Winthorpe. When the Dukes prove unable to
supply the $394 million required to satisfy
their margin call, the exchange manager
orders their seats sold and their corporate
and personal assets confiscated, effectively
bankrupting them. Randolph collapses
holding his chest and Mortimer shouts at
the others, demanding the floor be
reopened in a futile plea to recoup their
losses. The now-wealthy Valentine,
Winthorpe, Ophelia, and Coleman vacation
on a luxurious tropical beach, while Beeks
and the gorilla are loaded onto a ship bound
for Africa.
Cast
Ralph Bellamy in 1971 (left) and Don Ameche in 1964. They portrayed the Duke brothers, Randolph and Mortimer, respectively.
Dan Aykroyd as Louis Winthorpe III: a

wealthy commodities director at Duke &
Duke.[1]
Eddie Murphy as Billy Ray Valentine: a
street beggar and con man.[2]
Ralph Bellamy as Randolph Duke: greedy
co-owner of Duke & Duke, alongside his
brother Mortimer.[1]
Don Ameche as Mortimer Duke:
Randolph's equally greedy brother.[1]
Denholm Elliott as Coleman: Winthorpe's
butler.[3]
Jamie Lee Curtis as Ophelia: a prostitute
who helps Winthorpe.[2]
Kristin Holby as Penelope Witherspoon:
the Dukes' grandniece and Winthorpe's
fiancée.[4]
Paul Gleason as Clarence Beeks: a
security expert covertly working for the
Dukes.[5]
As well as the main cast, Trading Places
features Robert Curtis-Brown as Todd,
Winthorpe's romantic rival for Penelope;
Alfred Drake as the Securities Exchange
manager;[6] and Jim Belushi as Harvey, a
party-goer on New Year's Eve.[3] The film
has numerous cameos, including singer Bo
Diddley as a pawnbroker;[7] Curtis' sister
Kelly as Penelope's friend Muffy; the
Muppets puppeteers Frank Oz and Richard
Hunt as, respectively, a police officer and
Wilson, the Dukes' broker on the trading
floor; and Aykroyd's former Saturday Night
Live colleagues, Tom Davis and Al Franken,
as train baggage handlers.[3]
Other minor roles include Ron Taylor as "Big

Black Guy", American football player J. T.
Turner as "Even Bigger Black Guy" who only
says "Yeah!",[8] and Giancarlo Esposito as a
cellmate.[6] Trading Places also features the
final theatrically released performance of
Avon Long who plays the Dukes' butler
Ezra.[9] The gorilla is portrayed by mime Don
McLeod.[10][11]
Production
Writing and development
In the early 1980s, writer Timothy Harris

often played tennis against two wealthy, but
frugal brothers who regularly engaged in a
competitive rivalry and betting. Following
one session, Harris returned home
exasperated with the pair's conflict and
concluded that they were "awful" people.
The situation gave him the idea of two
brothers betting over nature versus nurture
in terms of human ability. Harris shared the
idea with his writing partner Herschel
Weingrod, who liked the concept. Harris
also drew inspiration for the story from his
own living situation; he lived in a rundown
area near Fairfax Avenue in Los Angeles. He
described the area in grim terms as crime-
ridden, where everyone either had a gun
pointed at them or had been raped.[2]
Harris and Weingrod researched the

commodities market for the script.[2] They
learned of financial market incidents,
including Russian attempts to corner the
wheat market and the Hunt brothers' efforts
to corner the silver market on what became
known as Silver Thursday. They thought
trading orange juice and pork bellies would
be funnier because the public would be
unaware such mundane items were
traded.[12] Harris consulted with people in
the commodities business to understand
how the film's finale on the trading floor
would work. The pair determined that the
commodities market would make for an
interesting setting for a film, as long as it
was not about the financial market itself.
They needed something to draw the
audience in. It was decided to set the story
in Philadelphia because of its connections
to the founding of the United States, the
American dream and idealism and the
pursuit of happiness. This was tempered by
introducing Billy Ray Valentine as a black
man begging on the street.[2] The pair knew
that the method of Winthorpe's and
Valentine's financial victory could be
confusing, but hoped that audiences would
be too invested in the characters' success
to care about the details.[12]
The script was sold to Paramount Pictures

under the title Black and White. Then-
Paramount executive Jeffrey Katzenberg
offered the project to director John Landis.
Landis disliked the working title,[2] but
favorably compared the script to older
screwball comedies of the 1930s by
directors like Frank Capra, Leo McCarey,
and Preston Sturges, which often satirized
social constructs and social classes,
reflecting the cultural issues of their time.
Landis wanted his film to reflect these
concepts in the 1980s;[2][13][14] he said the
main updates were the addition of swearing
and nudity.[13] Landis admitted that it took
him a while to understand how Trading
Places ' finale worked.[2]
Casting
Dan Aykroyd pictured in 2009. Paramount Pictures saw Aykroyd's success as tied to his partnership with the late John
Belushi, and the studio did not want to cast him, but his previous work with director John Landis helped him to secure the role.
Trading Places was developed with the
intent to cast comedy duo Richard Pryor
and Gene Wilder as Valentine and Louis
Winthorpe III respectively.[2][13] The pair
were in high demand following the success
of their comedy film Stir Crazy (1980).[3]
When Pryor was severely injured after
setting fire to himself while freebasing
cocaine, the decision was made to cast
someone else.[2][15] Paramount Pictures
suggested Eddie Murphy.[2] The studio was
initially unhappy with Murphy's performance
in his first film, the as-then-unreleased
action-comedy 48 Hrs. (1982)—a film also
conceived as a Pryor project.[16] However,
that film was well received by preview test
audiences, leading the studio to reverse its
opinion.[2][13] Landis was unaware of
Murphy, who had been gaining fame as a
performer on Saturday Night Live. After
watching Murphy's audition tapes, Landis
was impressed enough to travel to New
York City to meet with him.[2] Murphy said
that he was paid $350,000 for the role; it
was reported that the figure was as high as
$1 million.[17][18]
Landis wanted Dan Aykroyd to serve as

Murphy's co-star. He had worked previously
with Aykroyd on the musical comedy film
The Blues Brothers (1980); the experience
had been positive. Landis said, "he could
easily play [Winthorpe] ... you tell him what
you want, and he delivers. And I thought
he'd be wonderful." Paramount Pictures was
less enamored with Aykroyd; executives
believed that he performed better as part of
a duo, as he had working with John Belushi.
They felt that Aykroyd working alone would
be akin to Bud Abbott, half of Abbott and
Costello, working without Lou Costello and
Aykroyd's recent films had fared poorly at
the box office. Aykroyd agreed to take a pay
cut for the role.[2]
The studio also objected to the casting of

Jamie Lee Curtis. At the time she was seen
as a "scream queen", primarily associated
with low-quality B movies. Landis had
worked previously with Curtis on the horror
documentary Coming Soon, for which she
had served as the host. She wanted to
move away from horror films as she was
conscious that the association would limit
her future career prospects. She had turned
down a role in the horror film Psycho II
(1983) because of this. Her mother, Janet
Leigh, had famously starred in Psycho
(1960).[2] Curtis had performed recently in
the slasher film Halloween II (1981) as a
favor to director John Carpenter and
producer Debra Hill; she was paid $1 million
for that role, but received only $70,000 for
Trading Places.[2] When asked if she had
researched her role as a prostitute, Curtis
jokingly remarked: "I'd love to say I went out
and turned a couple of tricks on 42nd
Street, but I didn't."[19] Curtis had long hair
when she was cast; costume designer
Deborah Nadoolman Landis suggested
cutting her hair shorter for the film.[13]
For the greedy Duke brothers, Ralph Bellamy
was the first choice for Randolph.[3] For
Mortimer, Landis wanted to cast an actor
famous in the 1930s or 1940s who was not
associated with playing a villain. His first
choice was Ray Milland, but the actor was
unable to pass a physical test to qualify for
insurance while filming. As the start date
for filming loomed, Landis thought of Don
Ameche. The casting director claimed that
Ameche was dead.[13] Landis was skeptical
of this and contacted the Screen Actors
Guild in an attempt to locate him. They
confirmed that Ameche had no agent, and
his royalty payments were being forwarded
to his son in Arizona. Landis accepted this
as evidence that Ameche was deceased.
However, after hearing of Landis' search,
one of the Paramount Studios' secretaries
mentioned that they saw Ameche regularly
on San Vicente Boulevard in Santa Monica,
California. Landis called directory
assistance to locate a "D. Ameche" in the
area and made contact.[2] Ameche had not
featured in a film for over a decade; when
asked why, he said that no one had offered
him film work.[2][20] The studio did not want
to pay Ameche what Milland had been
offered; as Ameche was financially
independent and in no need of work, he
refused to take the part until he received
equal pay.[21][22] Landis claimed that the
studio reduced the film's budget, frustrated
at Ameche's casting after a long absence
from film work.[13]
John Gielgud and Ronnie Barker were
considered for the role of Winthorpe's
butler, Coleman. Barker refused to act if it
involved filming more than 7 miles (11 km)
from his home in the United Kingdom.[3][13]
G. Gordon Liddy, a central figure in the
Watergate political scandal of the early
1970s, was offered the role of corrupt
official Clarence Beeks. Liddy was
interested in the offer until he learned that
Beeks becomes the romantic partner of a
gorilla. Paul Gleason took the role; his
character reads a copy of Liddy's
autobiography Will while riding the train.[3]
Don McLeod portrayed the gorilla; he had
already become popular for his
performances as a gorilla in American
Tourister commercials, which led to film
appearances.[10][11]
Filming
The Curtis Institute of Music pictured in 2010. The building was used as the exterior of the Heritage Club where Winthorpe
and Valentine first meet.
Principal photography began on

December 13, 1982.[4][23] The budget was
estimated to be $15 million.[24][a] Filming
took place on location in Philadelphia and
New York City.[2][4] Robert Paynter and
Malcolm Campbell served, respectively, as
the film's cinematographer and editor.[25][26]
The script underwent minor changes
throughout filming; some improvisation was
also encouraged. Changes were normally
discussed in advance, but on other
occasions, ad-libbed dialogue was
considered funny enough to keep.
Examples of ad-libs retained in the film
include Valentine comparing Randolph to
Randy Jackson of The Jackson 5 and
demonstrating his "quart of blood"
technique in jail.[14][23] Murphy liked Trading
Places ' script; he felt it was unlike 48 Hrs.,
which he said had been saved by director
Walter Hill. Even so, he changed many of his
own lines because he said that a white
writer writing for a black person would use
stereotypical dialogue like "jive turkey" and
"sucker", and he could write his lines to
sound authentic.[23] Weingrod said the
studio objected to Murphy's line, "Who put
their Kools out on my Persian rug?" They
believed it was racist because the Kool
cigarette brand was targeted mainly at
African Americans; Murphy restored the
line.[27] Ophelia pretending to be a European
exchange student to fool Beeks was also
improvised; Curtis used a mix of German
attire with a Swedish accent because she
could not perform a German accent.[3]
The first fifteen days of filming were spent

in Philadelphia.[4] Landis described the
weather as freezing. While filming the scene
where Randolph and Mortimer collect
Valentine from jail, Landis was positioned in
a towing truck that pulled the Rolls-Royce
carrying Ameche, Bellamy and Murphy.
Landis wore a thick parka to stay warm, and
the actors had a space heater in their
vehicle; Landis listened to their dialogue via
radio. Describing the filming of the scene,
Landis recalled a jovial discussion between
Ameche, Bellamy, and Murphy: Bellamy said
that Trading Places was his 99th film;
Ameche said it was his 100th. Murphy
informed Landis that "between the three of
us we've made 201 films!"[13] Filming
locations in Philadelphia included
townhouses in Center City that served as
the Winthorpe home exterior, and the
Philadelphia Mint (now the Community
College of Philadelphia) which served as
the police station's exterior.[4][28] The
exterior and lobby of the Wells Fargo
Building serve as the respective exterior and
lobby of Duke & Duke.[2][29]
Winthorpe, Valentine, Ophelia, and Coleman retire with their gains to a tropical beach. The scene was shot on location in St
Croix in the United States Virgin Islands.
The Duke & Duke upstairs offices were

filmed inside the upstairs of the Seventh
Regiment Armory in New York.[2] Murphy's
character, pretending to be crippled, is
introduced in Rittenhouse Square. The
nearby Curtis Institute of Music, shown as
the exterior of the Heritage Club, is seen
adjacent to Rittenhouse Park in the film's
opening.[4][30][31] The interior was filmed at
the then-abandoned New York Chamber of
Commerce Building.[2][32] Independence Hall
is also featured.[30] During filming in
Philadelphia, Murphy was so popular that a
police officer had to be stationed outside of
his trailer to control the crowds.[33]
Filming moved to New York City in January

1983; many of the interior scenes were
filmed there.[2][4] In late January, two holding
cells on the 12th-floor of the New York
Supreme Court building at 100 Centre
Street were taken over for filming. Empty
lockups in police administration buildings
would normally be in use but because of the
financial investment the production had
made filming in the city, the mayor's office
agreed to accommodate Landis' request;
the studio paid for any expenses incurred.
The New York Times reported that for years
the Corrections Department had failed to
deliver prisoners on time for trials and
arraignments; despite this, they moved
nearly 300 prisoners through the 12th-floor
before 9 a.m. on the day of filming.[34]
The scene where Valentine and Winthorpe

enact their plan against the Dukes was
filmed at the COMEX commodity exchange
located inside 4 World Trade Center. The
lack of windows gave the appearance the
floor was situated below ground, but it was
actually on a high floor. The scene was
scripted to take place at the Chicago
Mercantile Exchange, but the filmmakers
were unable to secure permission to film
there.[2] The scene was shot over
approximately 3–4 hours a day over two
days.[2] It was scheduled to take place
during a weekday, but Aykroyd's and
Murphy's presence on the floor distracted
the active traders and over $6 billion of
trading had to be halted; filming was
rescheduled for a weekend.[4] A majority of
the people on screen are actual traders,
along with some extras. Landis said the
traders in the film were less physically
rough with each other than they were during
normal trading.[2][4] Landis also performed
some guerrilla filmmaking there for
additional footage.[2] Ameche was opposed
to using foul language and often apologized
in advance to his crewmates for what he
was scripted to say; he only performed one
take of his final scene where he shouts
"fuck him" towards Randolph.[3] The final
scene shot was of the main characters
celebrating on a beach; this was filmed on
Saint Croix island in the United States Virgin
Islands.[4][35] Principal photography
concluded on March 1, 1983, after 78
days.[4]
Music
The Marriage of Figaro – Overture

4:00
Performed by Musopen Symphony
(4:00)
Problems playing this file? See media help.
Elmer Bernstein composed the score for

Trading Places.[36] He and Landis had
collaborated previously on several films
including The Blues Brothers and the horror-
comedy An American Werewolf in London
(1981).[37] Landis conceived of the idea to
use the opera buffa The Marriage of Figaro
by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart as the
underlying theme for the score. He had
used classical music in his previous films to
represent the upper classes and felt that it
would be fitting for the pompous elites of
the financial industry.[38][39] The Marriage of
Figaro concerns the story of a servant who
is wronged by his wealthy employer, Count
Almaviva, and takes his revenge by
unraveling the count's own
machinations.[40]
Bernstein created his own arrangements of

the music to reflect the differing emotions
of each scene.[38][40] The overture of
Marriage of Figaro plays over the film's
opening.[36] The score also includes
arrangements of Pomp and Circumstance
Marches by Edward Elgar, and Mozart's
Symphony No. 41.[36][38] Trading Places
features songs including: "Do You Wanna
Funk" by Sylvester and Patrick Cowley,
"Jingle Bell Rock" by Brenda Lee, "The Loco-
Motion" by Little Eva, and "Get a Job" by the
Silhouettes.[4]
Release
Context
The summer of 1983 (June–September)

was predicted to surpass the previous
year's record-breaking $1.4 billion in theater
tickets sold. The season featured expected
hits such as the third installment in the Star
Wars series, Return of the Jedi, Superman III,
and the latest James Bond film Octopussy.
Over 40 films were scheduled for release
over the 16-week period. Studios had to
strategize their releases to avoid damaging
their own films' performances by pitting
them against better-performing
competition.[41] Paramount Studios opted to
release Trading Places at the start of
summer, as those films expected to do well
would benefit from being in theaters longer
during this busy period. Comedy films were
considered counterprogramming that
attracted audiences who had already seen,
or were not interested in, the major film
releases that were mainly focused on
science-fiction and superheroes. Trading
Places was released between Return of the
Jedi in May and Superman III in mid-June.
While sequels were expected to do well
having the advantage of a built-in audience,
Trading Places was predicted to be
successful based on its cast.[41]
Box office
In the United States (U.S.) and Canada,

Trading Places received a wide release on
Wednesday, June 8, 1983, across 1,375
theaters.[42][43] The film earned $1.7 million
leading into its opening weekend when it
earned a further $7.3 million—an average of
$5,344 per theater. Trading Places finished
as the number three film of the weekend
behind Octopussy ($8.9 million), also
making its debut that weekend, and Return
of the Jedi ($12 million), which was in its
third week of release.[44] The film retained
the number three position in its second
weekend with a further gross of $7 million,
behind Return of the Jedi ($11.2 million),
and the debuting Superman III
($13.3 million).[45] In its third weekend, it fell
to fifth place with $5.5 million, behind the
debuting science-fiction horror Twilight
Zone: The Movie ($6.6 million) and sex
comedy Porky's II: The Next Day ($7 million),
Superman III ($9 million), and Return of the
Jedi ($11.1 million).[46]
While the film never claimed the number

one box office ranking, it spent seventeen
straight weeks among the top ten-highest-
grossing films.[47] By September, it was the
fourth-highest-grossing film of the year with
$80.6 million,[48] and by the end of its
theatrical run, Trading Places earned an
approximate box office gross of
$90.4 million.[43][b] It finished as the fourth-
highest-grossing film of 1983, behind
Paramount Studio's surprise hit, the
romantic drama Flashdance
($90.46 million), the comedy-drama Terms
of Endearment ($108.4 million), and Return
of the Jedi ($309.2 million).[48][49][50]
Estimates by industry experts suggest that
as of 1997, the box office returns to the
studio—minus the theaters' share—was
$40.6 million.[51] Outside of the United
States and Canada, Trading Places is
estimated to have earned a further
$30.2 million, bringing its worldwide gross
to $120.6 million.[52][c]
Reception
Critical response
Jamie Lee Curtis pictured in 2018. She was dismissed as only a horror film star before her critically well-received
breakthrough performance in Trading Places.
Trading Places received generally positive

reviews from critics.[2] Reviewers compared
it to the socially conscious comedies of the
1930s and 1940s, like My Man Godfrey
(1936), Easy Living (1937), Christmas in July
(1940), and Sullivan's Travels (1941) by
directors like Preston Sturges, Frank Capra,
and Gregory La Cava.[42][53][54][55] Janet
Maslin said that the "likable" film owed a
debt to the screwball comedy genre. She
continued, "Preston Sturges might have
made a movie like Trading Places – if he'd
had a little less inspiration and a lot more
money."[42] Gary Arnold said the film was
too inconsistent to be compared to those
older films.[55] Vincent Canby said that the
screwball style had been updated for the
"existential hipness" of the 1980s, but the
film lacked the same morality tale the genre
often espoused that money is not
important. Instead, the characters do not
dismantle or expose the corruption of the
financial system, they just take revenge on
the Dukes, obtaining extreme wealth in the
process. Even so, he concluded the film was
one of the best American comedies
released in a long time.[53] Maslin agreed
that the film was too enamored with the
wealthy institutions it satirized to provide a
true criticism of the system and its failings.
She called it the American Dream in film
form.[42]
Dave Kehr said that though the film pays

homage to screwball comedies, it stripped
the concept of all but the "crudest audience-
gratification moments" and avoided
exploration of the genre's moral conflicts.[56]
In Variety 's review, the reviewer concluded
that the middle segment of the film lacked
humor.[25] People said that the ending was
perfectly presented, but Arnold considered
it to be confusing and reliant on the
audience's knowledge that the "heroes"
were being heroic to compensate for a lack
of clarity in their actions.[55][57] He
continued that even as a farcical film, the
events were too unbelievable.[55] Roger
Ebert said the ending was inventive for not
involving a "manic chase".[54] He
appreciated that Trading Places did not rely
on obvious racial plot points or employ
sitcom tropes for the social-status swaps of
Winthorpe and Valentine. He commended
the focus on developing each character so
that they were funny because of their
individual quirks and personalities. He
concluded that this required a deeper script
than would normally be developed for a
comedy.[54]
The cast were all generally praised.[25][42][54]

Maslin called it a strange but well-cast film
representing multiple Hollywood
generations.[42] Ebert said that what could
have been stereotypical characters were
elevated by the actors and the writing,
adding that Murphy and Aykroyd made a
"perfect" team.[54] Canby said that Murphy
demonstrated why he was the most
successful comedian in the last decade.[53]
Several reviewers compared his role to that
in 48 Hrs.;[58][55] Arnold said that Trading
Places was evidence that Murphy's
successes were not a fluke, and that
Murphy demonstrated an "exhilarating
comic authority".[55] Canby said that Trading
Places gave Murphy an opportunity to
demonstrate the range of his abilities in a
"lithe, graceful, uproarious" performance.[53]
Reviewers agreed that the film featured

Aykroyd's best performance to date.[53][55]
People said that if audiences had given up
on Aykroyd following the failures of
Neighbors (1981) and Doctor Detroit (1983),
his career was revitalized by Trading
Places.[57] Canby said that Aykroyd gave a
more consistent performance than in his
previous roles. He said that Aykroyd had
demonstrated that his success was not
dependent upon his partnership with John
Belushi.[53] Arnold said that Aykroyd worked
best when he shared a central role with
another star.[55] Rita Kempley said that his
relationship with Murphy was just as
enjoyable as his one with Belushi.[58]
Variety noted that the supporting cast in

Bellamy, Ameche, Elliott and Curtis were
essential to the film.[25] Reviewers said that
Curtis brought a deft comic ability to the
role.[53][55] Arnold called the role "stale" and
"predictable" but felt Curtis offered an
"infectious" humor that earns the audience's
support.[55] People said that she had a
significant appeal, and Kempley called her
both "curvaceous" and "vivacious".[58][57]
Canby said that in her first major non-horror
role, Curtis performed with "marvelous good
humor".[53] Kehr criticized Landis for often
turning his heroines into "busty bunnies",
and said that he had treated Curtis the
same way.[56] Ebert called Bellamy and
Ameche's casting a "masterstroke".[54]
Canby said the pair had well-written roles
that were supported by their comic
performances. He continued that Ameche
was as funny in Trading Places as he was
always meant to be.[53]
People said that the film works because

Landis demonstrated a "remarkable"
restraint.[57] Canby said Landis had shown
that he could direct a precise comedy as
well as special effects-laden fare.[53] Arnold
disagreed saying Landis' comedic timing
was less precise than in his previous work
and that he lacked the skill to handle the
source material properly.[55] People said that
Harris and Weingrod had developed a well-
written script,[57] but Arnold said they had
failed to update the screwball genre to
tackle social contrasts in a similar way.[55]
Accolades
At the 41st Golden Globe Awards in 1984,

the film received two nominations: Best
Musical or Comedy (losing to romantic
drama Yentl) and Best Actor in a Musical or
Comedy for Murphy who lost to Michael
Caine's performance in the comedy drama
Educating Rita.[59] At the 56th Academy
Awards, Bernstein was nominated for Best
Original Score; he lost to Michel Legrand
and Alan and Marilyn Bergman, who scored
Yentl.[60]
The 37th British Academy Film Awards
named Elliott and Curtis the Best
Supporting Actor and Best Supporting
Actress, respectively. Harris and Weingrod
were nominated for Best Original
Screenplay; they lost to Paul D. Zimmerman
for the 1982 black comedy The King of
Comedy.[61]
Post-release
Performance analysis and aftermath

Eddie Murphy pictured in 2010. His successes with 48 Hrs. and Trading Places elevated him to film superstardom.
As predicted, the 1983 summer film season

broke the previous year's record with over
$1.5 billion worth of tickets sold. It was
seen as a substantial increase in spite of
increased ticket prices.[48] Even so, the year
was a mixture of unexpected successes
and disappointments. Films like
Superman III and the action comedies
Smokey and the Bandit Part 3 and Stroker
Ace had failed at the box office. The science
fiction comedy The Man With Two Brains
featuring an established star in Steve
Martin had also underperformed.[62]
Conversely, Flashdance was an unexpected
hit and the third highest-grossing film of the
year, despite a negative critical reception.[48]
In September, The New York Times wrote
that Trading Places was the only film of the
fifteen top-grossing films that could be
recommended without reservation.[62] The
film was well-received critically and
considered a significant commercial
success, along with Flashdance and Return
of the Jedi.[63][62] Then-production vice
president of MGM/UA studio Peter Bart
described it as a "gimmick" film that
focused on a "high-concept" over story and
characterization. Bart believed its success
triggered a negative trend that resulted in
him receiving numerous film pitches—often
a mix of the high-concept nature of Trading
Places with a Flashdance-inspired
breakdancing or gym setting.[64] Harris
recalled people asking if the producer Aaron
Russo or Katzenberg had created the idea
and just paid him to write it. He said he
knew it was a success because people
were trying to take credit for it.[2]
Trading Places is considered responsible for

launching, changing, or re-launching the
careers of many of its stars.[2] Murphy's
success was significant. He rose from a TV
comedian to a superstar with two of the
most successful films of the year.[65]
Industry experts voted him as the biggest
box-office star after Clint Eastwood. No
other African-American actor had achieved
a comparable level of success before
him.[65] It was reported that Murphy earned
up to $1 million for Trading Places, but by
his third film, Beverly Hills Cop (1984), he
commanded a $3 million salary. This was
considered a top-tier salary reserved for the
most popular movie stars.[18]
Shortly after Trading Places ' release,

Paramount Pictures signed Murphy to a
$25 million five-film exclusive contract—one
of the biggest deals ever with an actor at
the time. The studio also agreed to finance
his Eddie Murphy Productions studio.[18][66]
Murphy was among several young stars
who emerged that year, including Matthew
Broderick, Tom Cruise, and Michael Keaton,
who were all in their 20s. This reflected the
fact that average audiences were aging and
now in their late teens to late 20s, and led to
a shift in focus away from making films
targeted mainly at children.[64] His rapid rise
to fame led to Murphy leaving Saturday
Night Live the following year; he said he had
grown to dislike the job and felt he was
resented for his success.[23]
After a series of failures, Trading Places

revitalized Aykroyd's career.[67] Throughout
the 1980s, he went on to star in the
blockbuster phenomenon Ghostbusters
(1984),[68] Spies Like Us (1985) and Dragnet
(1987). He earned an Academy Award
nomination for his performance in the
comedy-drama Driving Miss Daisy
(1989).[69][70] Trading Places is considered
Curtis's breakout performance, allowing her
to move into films outside the horror genre;
actor John Cleese cast Curtis in the 1988
heist comedy A Fish Called Wanda
specifically because of her performance in
Trading Places.[2][19][71] Curtis said Landis
had "single-handedly changed the course of
my life by giving me that part."[2] After not
having worked in film for more than a
decade, Ameche followed Trading Places
with the 1985 comedy-drama Cocoon, for
which he won his first and only Academy
Award for Best Supporting Actor.[2][21]
Landis continued to work as a director but

suffered setbacks following a lawsuit over
the accidental deaths of several actors on a
segment he directed for Twilight Zone: The
Movie and a succession of moderately
successful films.[72][73] According to
Murphy, he hired Landis to direct his 1988
comedy Coming to America to help support
Landis's career. The pair had a falling out on
the set of that film; even so, they
collaborated again on Beverly Hills Cop III
(1994).[13][72][74] Harris and Weingrod were
elevated to prominence as writers.[2] They
later sued Trading Places ' producer, Aaron
Russo, for an agreed upon 0.5% of the
producer profits share, estimated to be
worth $150,000; the outcome of this lawsuit
is unknown.[4]
Home media
In the early 1980s, the VCR home video

market was gaining popularity rapidly. In
previous years, VHS sales were not a
revenue source for studios, but by 1983
they could generate up to 13% of a film's
total revenue; the North American cassette
rights could generate $500,000 alone.[75]
Trading Places was released on VHS in May
1984, priced at $39.95.[76] Paramount
distributed its own cassettes and priced
them significantly lower than the standard
$80 price to promote home user VCR
adoption. A successful film was expected
to earn between $5 million and $10 million
on the home video market.[75] In the rental
market, Trading Places was one of the more
popular releases in May, alongside the
action thriller Sudden Impact.[75] Paramount
signed an exclusive deal to show its
movies, including Trading Places, on the
Showtime TV network for approximately
$500 million; this was seen as an attempt
by Paramount to damage the network
monopoly held by HBO that the studio saw
as financially unfavorable.[75][77]
Trading Places was first released on DVD in

October 2002.[78] A Special Collector's
Edition (also known as the "Looking Good,
Feeling Good" edition) was released in 2007
on DVD, Blu-ray, and HD DVD. This edition
included deleted scenes, details on the
film's production, including discussions with
the cast and crew, 1983 promotional
interviews, and interviews with financial
experts about the film.[79][80] The film was
also released in a pack that included
Coming to America.[81] To celebrate the
film's 35th-anniversary in 2018, a special
edition was released containing a Blu-ray
and digital version of the film, and behind-
the-scenes featurettes.[82] A limited-edition
release of Bernstein's score was made
available in 2011. Only 2,000 copies were
released by La-La Land Records.[83]
Analysis
Ending explained
Several publications have attempted to

explain exactly how Valentine and
Winthorpe make a large sum of money on
the commodities market while
simultaneously bankrupting the
Dukes.[84][85] The fake crop report created
by Valentine and Winthorpe indicates to the
Dukes that the orange crop will be poor,
making the limited stock more
valuable.[1][84][85] The Dukes attempt to buy
up as many Frozen Concentrated Orange
Juice (FCOJ) futures contracts as possible
to corner the market—effectively owning a
substantial enough number of contracts
that they are able to control the price of
FCOJ. The other traders realize what the
Dukes are doing and join in buying
futures.[84][85] This demand significantly
inflates the price to $1.42 per pound—each
future represents several pounds of FCOJ.
Winthorpe and Valentine begin selling
futures at this inflated price, believing it to
be the peak price; the contracts will require
them to supply FCOJ in April.[1][85]
Anticipating that the crop report will cause
the value of FCOJ to rise far above $1.42,
the other brokers purchase heavily from the
pair.[1][84][85]
Once the real crop report is published
indicating that the orange crop will be
normal and there will be no shortage of
FCOJ, the value of the futures plummets as
the traders desperately attempt to sell their
futures and limit their financial losses.[84][85]
Winthorpe and Valentine then buy back the
futures from the traders—except for the
Dukes' trader Wilson—at the lower price of
29 cents a pound.[84][85] The difference is
their profit. Effectively, they have sold FCOJ
which they do not have at a high price and
bought it back at a lower price, earning
them a profit and eliminating the need to
fulfil any contracts.[85] Meanwhile, the
Dukes have bought a significant number of
FCOJ futures, around 100,000 contracts or
1.5 million pounds of FCOJ and have been
unable to sell any of them. When trading
closes, they must meet the margin call—
essentially a deposit—for holding the
futures contracts. In addition to their basic
financial loss from buying futures at up to
$1.42 that are now worth only 29 cents, the
margin call for holding the futures gives
them a total loss of $394 million,[d] which
they do not have, requiring the sale of all of
their assets.[86]
Thematic analysis
A drawing from the 1882 novel The Prince and the Pauper by Mark Twain. Trading Places is seen as a modern retelling of that
story and Twain's 1893 short story The Million Pound Bank Note.
The central storyline of Trading Places—a
member of society trading places with
another whose socio-economic status
stands in direct contrast to his own—has
often been compared to the 1881 novel The
Prince and the Pauper by Mark
Twain.[54][87][88] The novel follows the lives
of a prince and a beggar who use their
uncanny resemblance to each other to
switch places temporarily; the prince takes
on a life of poverty and misery while the
pauper enjoys the lavish luxuries of royal
life.[89] The Prince and the Pauper is seen as
a classic tale of American literature; Trading
Places adds a twist by casting an African-
American as the pauper raised up in status,
playing on fears of black usurpation and
appropriation.[88] The film has also been
compared to Twain's 1893 short story The
Million Pound Bank Note, in which two
brothers bet on the outcome of giving an
impoverished person an unusable million-
pound bank-note.[1][3] The choice to use
Mozart's opera buffa The Marriage of Figaro
also adds meaning. The opera tells the tale
of a servant, Figaro, who foils the plans of
his wealthy employer to steal his fiancée.
When Winthorpe is driven to work during
the film's opening, he hums "Se vuol
ballare", an aria from The Marriage of Figaro,
in which Figaro declares he will overturn the
systems in place. This foreshadows
Winthorpe's eventual efforts to do the same
to the Dukes.[3][90]
The main theme of Trading Places is the
consequences of wealth or the lack thereof.
Both extremes are depicted by those living
in opulent luxury and those trapped in a
culture of poverty—a concept arguing that
poor people adopt certain behaviors that
keep them poor.[1] Harris has described the
story as a satire of greed and social
conventions, but in the end, the good guys
win by becoming extremely rich.[2]
Economic inequality is demonstrated by the
wealthy who live in luxury. They are
completely removed from those whose lives
are affected by poverty. This is
demonstrated by the Dukes' bet, showing
their own sense of superiority over, and
disregard for, the lives of those beneath
them, even Winthorpe. Their only reward for
the bet is personal pride.[1] Author Carolyn
Anderson noted that films often feature an
"introduction" scene for characters elevated
above their station, like Valentine, to help
them understand the rules of their new
world. Conversely, there is rarely a
complementary scene for those subjected
to downward mobility.[91]
Vincent Canby said that although the film is

an homage to social satire screwball
comedies of the early 20th century, Trading
Places is a symbol of its time. Where the
earlier films espoused the benefits of things
other than money, Trading Places is built
around the value of money and those who
aspire to have it. The heroes win by making
lots of money; the villains are punished by
becoming part of the impoverished. The
heroes' reward is escaping to a tropical
island, completely divorced from the
poverty-stricken neighborhoods that had
previously been their home.[53][92][93] Money
is demonstrably a solution to all of the
problems raised in the film, and when it is
taken away, it is shown that people quickly
resort to a basic criminal nature.[1] Stephen
Schiff wrote that it can be seen as an
example of supply-side economics,
alongside films like the comedies Arthur
(1981) and Risky Business (1983). While
seemingly supporting left-leaning political
concepts by arguing that given an equal
platform a street-hustler like Valentine can
perform Winthorpe's job equally well, Schiff
argued that the film was still "unconsciously
promoting Reaganism" where the
accumulation of wealth is highly valued.[92]
David Budd said Trading Places defies

expectations of racial stereotypes.
Randolph's attempts to prove nurture wins
over nature demonstrates that Valentine,
given the same advantages as Winthorpe, is
just as capable, and leaves behind the
negative aspects of his former, unfair
life.[87] Even so, once the Dukes' bet is
complete, Mortimer reveals his intent to
return Valentine to poverty, saying, "Do you
really believe I would have a nigger run our
family business?"; Randolph concurs,
"Neither would I".[93] Budd concluded the
film is a "message loudly asking for a
reassessment of prejudice, and for level
playing fields".[87] Hernan Vera and Andrew
Gordon argue racial stereotypes are
enabled with the permission of the only
black main character. As part of their
revenge against the Dukes, Winthorpe
disguises his identity by donning blackface
makeup, an act enabled by Valentine who
has helped loosen up this strait-laced
character. Because Valentine allowed it, it
makes the act acceptable. This requires
Valentine to accept and support Winthorpe
despite having numerous reasons to dislike
him, including originally getting Valentine
wrongly arrested and then later trying to
frame Valentine to reclaim his old job. Even
so, Valentine befriends Winthorpe and helps
him get revenge on the Dukes, the old
establishment characters who demonstrate
explicit racism. The film requires Valentine
to act "white", performing as is expected of
him to survive in the Dukes' world.[94]
Stephen Schiff argues that because the film

identifies money as the most valuable
entity, this in turn means that Ophelia is only
valuable as a prostitute because she is
financially intelligent.[92] Hadley Freeman
said Ophelia is an example of the Smurfette
principle, a female character in an otherwise
male ensemble cast who exists to be pretty
and rescued by men.[95] However, it is
Ophelia who rescues Winthorpe, helping
him to survive his new lowered-state.[93]
Neal Karlen said Ophelia becomes a real
person after telling Louis: "All I've got going
for me in this whole, big, wide world is this
body, this face, and what I've got up here
[referring to her brain]".[96]
Trading Places also employs several

conventions of its Christmas setting to
highlight the individual loneliness of the
main characters, in particular, Winthorpe.
On Christmas Eve he humiliates himself in
front of his former bosses, unwittingly
losing his opportunity for his swap with
Valentine to be undone by having become a
criminal. While waiting outside a store, a
dog urinates on him.[97][98] He attempts
suicide and only fails because the gun does
not fire; then it begins to rain on him. The
following day offers a Christmas
redemption and a change of fortune as
Winthorpe is integrated into the non-
traditional family unit of Coleman, Ophelia
and Valentine.[1][97]
Legacy
Along with the impact their respective roles
had on its stars' careers,[2] Trading Places is
considered one of the best comedy films
ever made and part of the canon of
American comedies.[2][99][100][101][102] In a
1988 interview, Aykroyd said that he
considered it among his "A-tier" films, along
with Ghostbusters, Dragnet, The Blues
Brothers, and Spies Like Us.[103] Bellamy and
Ameche reprised their Duke characters for
Murphy's 1988 film Coming to America.
Murphy portrays the affluent Prince Akeem
who hands the now-homeless brothers a
large sum of cash. Mortimer tells Randolph
that it is enough to give them a new start.[3]
Of the two films, Murphy has said that while
he "loves" Trading Places, he prefers Coming
to America because it allowed him to
portray multiple characters.[104] The 2021
sequel Coming 2 America also references
the Dukes, revealing they used Akeem's
donation to rebuild their business.[105][106]
Harris described one incident where a

person told him they had obtained a career
in finance because of Trading Places; Harris
said that this was counter to the film's
message.[2] An anonymous seller sold off
their portion of the royalties earned from
the film for $140,000 in 2019. At the time,
the share was generating an average of
$10,000 per annum.[107][108] A musical
adaptation of Trading Places debuted at the
Alliance Theater in Atlanta, Georgia, on
June 4, 2022.[109]
In 2010, nearly 30 years after its release, the

film was cited in the testimony of
Commodity Futures Trading Commission
chief Gary Gensler regarding new
regulations on the financial markets. He
said:
We have recommended banning

using misappropriated
government information to trade
in the commodity markets. In the
movie Trading Places, starring
Eddie Murphy, the Duke brothers
intended to profit from trades in
frozen concentrated orange juice
futures contracts using an illicitly
obtained and not yet public
Department of Agriculture
orange crop report. Characters
played by Eddie Murphy and Dan
Aykroyd intercept the
misappropriated report and
trade on it to profit and ruin the
Duke brothers.[110]
The testimony was part of the Dodd–Frank

Wall Street Reform and Consumer
Protection Act designed to prevent insider
trading on commodities markets, which had
previously not been illegal. Section 746 of
the reform act is referred to as the "Eddie
Murphy rule".[1]
Critical reassessment
Trading Places is considered one of the best

comedies of the 1980s and one of the best
Christmas films.[111][112][113] In 2015, the
screenplay was listed as the joint thirty-third
funniest on the WGA's 101 Funniest
Screenplays list, tied with Ferris Bueller's
Day Off (1986).[102][114] In 2017, the BBC
polled 253 critics (118 female, 135 male)
from 52 countries on the funniest film
made. Trading Places came seventy-fourth,
behind The Nutty Professor (1963) and The
Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad!
(1988).[101] Several publications have
named it one of the best films of the 1980s,
including: number eight by IFC;[115] number
17 by MTV;[116] number 37 by USA
Today;[111] and number 41 by Rotten
Tomatoes.[112] It has also been listed as one
of the best comedy films ever by
publications including: number 16 by Time
Out;[117] number 26 by Rotten Tomatoes;[99]
and number 48 by Empire.[100]
Although the film's story takes place over

several weeks leading up to and after
Christmas, Trading Places is regarded as a
Christmas film.[1][98] In 2008, The
Washington Post called it one of the most
underrated Christmas films.[118] The Atlantic
described it as a less traditional Christmas
film, but one whose themes remain relevant,
particularly regarding the divide between
the wealthy and poor.[1] It has appeared on
several lists of the best Christmas films,
including: number 5 by Empire;[119] number
12 by Entertainment Weekly;[120] number 13
by Thrillist;[121] number 23 by Time Out;[122]
number 24 by Rotten Tomatoes (based on
overall critical scores);[113] number 45 by
Today;[123] and unranked by Country
Living[124] and The Daily Telegraph.[125] Since
1997 in Italy, the film is regularly aired on
the national channel called Italia Uno on the
evening of Christmas eve.[126] The adaption
of the Italian title is called "Una poltrona per
due", which means "An armchair for two".
Review aggregation website Rotten

Tomatoes gives the film an approval rating
of 88%, based on 51 reviews, with an
average rating of 7.5/10. The site's
consensus states: "Featuring deft interplay
between Eddie Murphy and Dan Aykroyd,
Trading Places is an immensely appealing
social satire".[127] Metacritic gave the film a
score of 69 out of 100, based on 10 critics,
which indicates "generally favorable
reviews".[128]
In the years followings its release, some

critics have praised the film while
highlighting elements that they believe have
aged poorly and become seen by some as
problematic, including racial language, the
use of blackface, and the implied rape of
Beeks by a gorilla.[1][95][129][130] The film's
use of the word "nigger", said during
Mortimer's statement that he will never
allow Valentine to run his family business, is
sometimes censored in TV broadcasts.
Todd Larkins Williams, director of the 2004
documentary The N-Word, said that it is a
critical scene that should not be censored.
He considered it dangerous to pretend a
word never existed as in turn other negative
events could also be ignored.[129] GQ argued
that its social commentary remained
relevant in spite of these elements.[130] In
response to the 2020 George Floyd protests
about racial inequality, Trading Places was
one of 16 films that had a disclaimer added
by British broadcaster Sky UK. The
disclaimer read, "This film has outdated
attitudes, language, and cultural depictions
which may cause offence today".[131]
References
Notes
a. The 1983 budget of $15 million is equivalent

to $44.1 million in 2022.
b. The 1983 United States and Canada box

office gross of $90.4 million is equivalent to
$266 million in 2022.
c. The 1983 worldwide box office gross of

$120.6 million is equivalent to $354 million in
2022.
d. The $394 million the Dukes lose is equivalent

to $1.16 billion in 2022.
Citations
1. White, Gillian B.; Lam, Bourree (December 25,

2015). "Trading Places: A 1983 Christmas
Comedy That's Still Surprisingly Relevant" (ht
tps://www.theatlantic.com/business/archiv
e/2015/12/trading-places/421899/) . The
Atlantic. Archived (https://web.archive.org/w
eb/20190422031828/https://www.theatlanti
c.com/business/archive/2015/12/trading-pl
aces/421899/) from the original on April 22,
2019. Retrieved July 3, 2020.
2. Wile, Rob (June 27, 2013). "It's The 30-Year

Anniversary Of The Greatest Wall Street
Movie Ever Made: Here's The Story Behind It"
(https://www.businessinsider.com/an-oral-hi
story-of-trading-places-2013-6) . Business
Insider. Archived (https://web.archive.org/we
b/20200703114327/https://www.businessin
sider.com/an-oral-history-of-trading-places-2
013-6?r=US&IR=T) from the original on July
3, 2020. Retrieved July 3, 2020.
3. Drumm, Diana (June 8, 2013). " 'Trading
Places': More Than 7 Things You May Not
Know About The Film (But We Won't Bet A
Dollar On It)" (https://www.indiewire.com/20
13/06/trading-places-more-than-7-things-you
-may-not-know-about-the-film-but-we-wont-b
et-a-dollar-on-it-97192/) . IndieWire. Archived
(https://web.archive.org/web/201809181241
46/https://www.indiewire.com/2013/06/tradi
ng-places-more-than-7-things-you-may-not-k
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on-it-97192/) from the original on
September 18, 2018. Retrieved July 3, 2020.
4. "Trading Places" (https://catalog.afi.com/Cat

alog/MovieDetails/67293) . AFI.com.
Archived (https://web.archive.org/web/2020
0809134555/https://catalog.afi.com/Catalo
g/MovieDetails/67293) from the original on
August 9, 2020. Retrieved July 4, 2020.
5. Weintraub, Steve (May 30, 2006). "Mr. Beaks
Says Goodbye to Clarence Beeks" (https://col
lider.com/mr-beaks-says-goodbye-to-clarenc
e-beeks/) . Collider. Archived (https://web.ar
chive.org/web/20200109015140/https://colli
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beeks/) from the original on January 9,
2020. Retrieved September 18, 2020.
6. "Trading Places (1983)" (https://www.bfi.org.

uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b77c074c1) .
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the original on June 11, 2019. Retrieved
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External links
Trading Places (https://www.imdb.com/tit
le/tt0086465/) at IMDb
Trading Places (https://www.rottentomato
es.com/m/trading_places) at Rotten
Tomatoes
Portals: 1980s Film

Philadelphia
United States
Trading Places at Wikipedia's sister projects: Definitions
from
Wiktionary
Media from
Commons
News from
Wikinews
Quotations
from
Wikiquote
Data from
Wikidata
Retrieved from
"https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?
title=Trading_Places&oldid=1159153996"
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Trading Places

Trading Places is a 1983 American comedy

Theatrical release poster

Directed by John Landis

Written by Timothy Harris

Produced by Aaron Russo

Starring Dan Aykroyd

Cinematography Robert Paynter

Edited by Malcolm Campbell

Music by Elmer Bernstein

Distributed by Paramount Pictures

Release date June 8, 1983

Running time 116 minutes

Country United States

Budget $15 million

Box office $121.6 million

Harris conceived the outline for Trading

In the years since its release, the film has

Winthorpe is framed as a thief, drug dealer

During the firm's Christmas party, Winthorpe

On New Year's Eve, the four board Beeks'

On the commodities trading floor, the Dukes

After the closing bell, Valentine and

Dan Aykroyd as Louis Winthorpe III: a

Other minor roles include Ron Taylor as "Big

Writing and development

In the early 1980s, writer Timothy Harris

Harris and Weingrod researched the

The script was sold to Paramount Pictures

Landis wanted Dan Aykroyd to serve as

The studio also objected to the casting of

Principal photography began on

The first fifteen days of filming were spent

The Duke & Duke upstairs offices were

Filming moved to New York City in January

The scene where Valentine and Winthorpe

The Marriage of Figaro – Overture

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Elmer Bernstein composed the score for

Bernstein created his own arrangements of

The summer of 1983 (June–September)

In the United States (U.S.) and Canada,

While the film never claimed the number

Trading Places received generally positive

Dave Kehr said that though the film pays

The cast were all generally praised.[25][42][54]

Reviewers agreed that the film featured

Variety noted that the supporting cast in

People said that the film works because

At the 41st Golden Globe Awards in 1984,

Performance analysis and aftermath

As predicted, the 1983 summer film season

Trading Places is considered responsible for

Shortly after Trading Places ' release,

After a series of failures, Trading Places

Landis continued to work as a director but

In the early 1980s, the VCR home video

Trading Places was first released on DVD in

Several publications have attempted to

Vincent Canby said that although the film is

David Budd said Trading Places defies

Stephen Schiff argues that because the film

Trading Places also employs several

Harris described one incident where a