Ernest P. Worrell is a bank janitor sent to jail when people mistake his identity for a look-alike.Ernest P. Worrell is a bank janitor sent to jail when people mistake his identity for a look-alike.Ernest P. Worrell is a bank janitor sent to jail when people mistake his identity for a look-alike.
- Charlotte Sparrow
- (as Barbara Bush)
- Defense Attorney
- (as Buck Ford)
- Jerry
- (as Andrew Stahl)
- Director
- Writer
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaAmong the famous eccentric actors whom Ernest imitates in jail when trying out for "Mr. Nash", are James Cagney, Walter Brennan, Humphrey Bogart, Barry Fitzgerald, Sylvester Stallone, and James Mason.
- GoofsWhen the shop vac goes up the walls and on the ceiling, huge creases are in the walls and ceiling to keep the vacuum in contact with what it is rolling up against.
- Quotes
Auntie Nelda: The way they run this institution is an outrage, for a poor, tight, old lonely woman like me. Her only son of feathers is a terribly successful one. Young man? Young Man?
[the gate guard comes out]
Auntie Nelda: Young Man, Would you please open that gate, I left my car running outside?
Gate Guard: Ma'am, You tell me how you got through this gate, the visitors area's on the other side of the prison.
Auntie Nelda: I brought him up with the best I could, but sometimes a bad thief pulls from even the most fragile flower.
Gate Guard: Ma'am, you are not going through this gate.
Auntie Nelda: Is this the way you'd treat your mother? Is this the kind of abuse that poor woman must endure?
Gate Guard: Well, I guess that my mother is a little bit mad at-...
Auntie Nelda: Mmmhmm! You ought to be in the slammer with the rest of these misfits! If you had any remorse at all for the HORROR you pushed your mother through, you'd open that gate! I have a car overheating as we SPEAK!
[Ernest makes a snooty expression at the Gate Guard]
Gate Guard: Ok, Ok.
[picks up phone]
Gate Guard: All right! Let's open the east gate.
[hangs it up]
Gate Guard: There, now you satisfied?
Auntie Nelda: Now tell your mother how her son has improved despite his shady and somewhat checkered past.
- Alternate versionsWhen aired on TV, this movie has extra scenes not features in the home video release. Like: When Ernest get's both steel balls cuffed to his legs, he originally started with one but he pulls another stunt and the bailef makes it two; At the very end, Ernest is finally a bank clerk, his computer shorts out and he becomes magnitized once again, except nothing metal clings to him. Except the file cabinets back for a rematch; Ernest getting his last meal before going to the chair;
- ConnectionsFeatured in Shameful Sequels: Ernest Goes to Jail (2014)
It's a familiar plot, and the production values are not that great (what's with all the pink lighting in jail?) but Jim Varney's mugging and the story's eccentric imagination make it a fun watch. It's a tighter movie than Camp though, which I felt was a bit of a false start to his big screen adventures.
It's hard to believe Varney was only 40 at the time of filming, and that he'd only live another 10 years. As crass as the Ernest movies might be they are a constant reminder of an actor who's abilities were wide, but never got the recognition he deserved.
- CuriosityKilledShawn
- Jul 30, 2014
- Permalink
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Details
Box office
- Budget
- $9,000,000 (estimated)
- Gross US & Canada
- $25,029,569
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $6,143,372
- Apr 8, 1990
- Gross worldwide
- $25,029,569
- Runtime1 hour 21 minutes
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 1.85 : 1