Release calendarTop 250 moviesMost popular moviesBrowse movies by genreTop box officeShowtimes & ticketsMovie newsIndia movie spotlight
    What's on TV & streamingTop 250 TV showsMost popular TV showsBrowse TV shows by genreTV news
    What to watchLatest trailersIMDb OriginalsIMDb PicksIMDb SpotlightFamily entertainment guideIMDb Podcasts
    OscarsEmmysToronto Int'l Film FestivalIMDb TIFF Portrait StudioHispanic Heritage MonthSTARmeter AwardsAwards CentralFestival CentralAll events
    Born todayMost popular celebsCelebrity news
    Help centerContributor zonePolls
For industry professionals
  • Language
  • Fully supported
  • English (United States)
    Partially supported
  • Français (Canada)
  • Français (France)
  • Deutsch (Deutschland)
  • हिंदी (भारत)
  • Italiano (Italia)
  • Português (Brasil)
  • Español (España)
  • Español (México)
Watchlist
Sign in
  • Fully supported
  • English (United States)
    Partially supported
  • Français (Canada)
  • Français (France)
  • Deutsch (Deutschland)
  • हिंदी (भारत)
  • Italiano (Italia)
  • Português (Brasil)
  • Español (España)
  • Español (México)
Use app
  • Cast & crew
  • User reviews
  • Trivia
  • FAQ
IMDbPro

Greaser's Palace

  • 1972
  • TV-MA
  • 1h 31m
IMDb RATING
5.7/10
1.3K
YOUR RATING
Greaser's Palace (1972)
ComedyWestern

A strange man named Jesse who can revive life and walk on water comes into a surreal and cruel western town.A strange man named Jesse who can revive life and walk on water comes into a surreal and cruel western town.A strange man named Jesse who can revive life and walk on water comes into a surreal and cruel western town.

  • Director
    • Robert Downey Sr.
  • Writer
    • Robert Downey Sr.
  • Stars
    • Albert Henderson
    • Michael Sullivan
    • Luana Anders
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • IMDb RATING
    5.7/10
    1.3K
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • Robert Downey Sr.
    • Writer
      • Robert Downey Sr.
    • Stars
      • Albert Henderson
      • Michael Sullivan
      • Luana Anders
    • 32User reviews
    • 34Critic reviews
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • Photos46

    View Poster
    View Poster
    View Poster
    View Poster
    View Poster
    View Poster
    View Poster
    + 40
    View Poster

    Top cast24

    Edit
    Albert Henderson
    • Seaweedhead Greaser
    Michael Sullivan
    • Lamy 'Homo' Greaser
    Luana Anders
    Luana Anders
    • Cholera
    George Morgan
    George Morgan
    • Coo Coo
    Allan Arbus
    Allan Arbus
    • Jesse
    Ronald Nealy
    • Card Man…
    Larry Moyer
    • Captain Good
    John Paul Hudson
    • Smiley
    Jackson S. Haynes
    • Rope Man
    Lawrence Wolf
    • French Padre
    • (as Larry Wolf)
    Alex Hitchcock
    • Nun
    Pablo Ferro
    Pablo Ferro
    • Indian
    Toni Basil
    Toni Basil
    • Indian Girl
    Stan Gottlieb
    Stan Gottlieb
    • Spitunia
    Hervé Villechaize
    Hervé Villechaize
    • Mr. Spitunia
    Don Smolen
    Don Smolen
    • Gip
    Joe Madden
    • Man With Painting
    Don Calfa
    Don Calfa
    • Morris
    • Director
      • Robert Downey Sr.
    • Writer
      • Robert Downey Sr.
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    User reviews32

    5.71.2K
    1
    2
    3
    4
    5
    6
    7
    8
    9
    10

    Featured reviews

    8Kimal9000

    I loved it!

    I saw this movie after midnight on a movie-channel, in a dark room. I really wasn't expecting much but somehow this strange and surreal film has a mood to it that very few movies have. Don't try to make sense of it ( I don't know if there is any ) Just relax, and take it in, and you'll see what I mean.

    Nothing in this movie is spelled out. It is a mystery. It's very funny, and it just leaves you with a feeling of having seen something very important and meaningful about life and death, but you're not sure what...

    My favourite spot in the movie is when "our" man is asked to give something to the followers, upon which he starts to hum a continuous tone. The "disiples" soon catches on and sings the tone to. He then leaves them, and they dare not stop this gift they have been given. Throughout the rest of the movie you can always hear them in the background or nearby, off camera, as the movie goes on with other things!

    And the closing scene with the setting sun, and the music/sound just had me mesmerized!

    I saw it only once, in 1986, and even today I often think about it. I wish I could buy it, but I haven't seen it anywhere. I really want to see it one more time.

    A MUST see !
    Kate-84

    Robert Downey's savagely funny take on the passion and death of Christ is original and thought provoking.

    Jesus comes back to the old west as a 1930's song-and-dance man in a zoot suit and takes on local strongman Mr. Greaser, whose struggles with constipation are painful to witness. I love this film. It will never be selected as entertainment for anyone's church youth group, but its fresh take on Christianity make for a wild and very original ride.

    Favorite moments: Lamey Homo protesting his dad, Mr. Greaser's, disciplinary methods, "I dreamed I was swimmin' in a rainbow and there was millions of babies and they was naked...Dad? I don't want to die any more." Dad's response: "Then behave yourself!" Sibling rivalry on the part of the Holy Ghost protesting God the Father's refusal to let him take on some of God the Son's perks (like being crucified): "You'll never know what I can do because you never give me a chance!" Jesus healing the paralyzed man, who is seen later in the film crying, "I can crawl again! I can crawl again!"

    It took me a moment to identify which character was supposed to be Judas, until the woman settler, who goes through so many terrible disasters, began counting out thirty pieces of silverware.

    It is somewhat disjointed, and definitely sacrilegious in spots, but those drawbacks are very minor. This is an original, savagely funny film.
    9SatyrIX

    downey's best - think brautigan on film

    I'm sure there's no such thing as a perfect robert downey movie, but some are better than others; some Downey movies are even better than other movies, generally speaking - and for its best sequences & acting, this obscure, lysergic cinematic parable, rates as one of the most memorable & thought-provoking films I've ever discovered. Downey is super-Altman; the Christian satire is simultaneously Neitzschean & Brautiganesque - Allan Arbus is excellent.

    Downsides to the movie are several, & typical of this filmmaker - easily a third of the movie is incoherent boring & gratuitous - Downey's self-referential homages to family & friends are typical of independent filmmakers; Downey has literally taken this type of nepotism to the level of art, but it never succeeds, in any of his movies. Yet none of his other films achieve the kind of profundity this one at least occasionally does. & in spite of its excesses & shortcomings, the film brims with political & poetic energy & ideas. Quite probably this is the work of a director who thinks the raggedness & incoherence & navel-gazing are all enhancements, or at least necessary to The Experience (etc., etc.). Bow-tied think-tankers might remain unmoved by the delicate insights of Downey. But I'd have to go so far as to say Greaser's Palace stands as a far more compelling & visceral evocation of the drug dazed visionary daydreaming that preoccupied so many well-endowed minds in the sixties & very early seventies than do, e.g., Nicholson's 'Head' or Hopper's 'Last Picture Show'. Downey, Arbus & Co. at least have much more brain to fry.
    8kayester

    Jesus plays the palace

    Quite simply one of the odder incarnations of a Jesus story: in a desolate town in the middle of a borax desert in the late 19th century, where Herod has a serious case of constipation, the holy ghost is a cigar smoking actor under a white sheet with eye-holes and a mouth cutout, and Jesse aka Jesus wants to be a song and dance man. But the people won't let him be. Alan Arbus is dry and laid back in the role, always puzzled and not at all a mystery. Downey hit the high point of his career with this one, possibly the last movie he made without someone looking over his shoulder. I wish he'd the opportunity to continue exploring filmmaking of this type.
    6sol-

    A Stranger Arrives

    Dressed in a 1920s zoot suit, an amateur magician parachutes in an Old West town where he causes unrest by performing tricks that the locals believe are miracles in this decidedly weird western from Robert Downey Sr. Written as a deliberately anachronistic character, the protagonist here is intriguing; as his tricks involve healing the sick and walking on water, he is clearly modeled on Christ, yet with the way he dresses and lands in town, it is as if he has been sent from the future back to the Wild West. Whatever the case, Allan Arbus (of 'M*A*S*H' fame) is excellent in the lead role, remaining calm and collected throughout (turn the other cheek) and always very enthusiastic about performing - even when a card guessing trick terribly backfires. For a Christ-like figure, he is highly subverted, encouraging kindness and good will by getting those he comes across to applaud his acts and marvel at his showmanship. For all its ambition though, 'Greaser's Palace' remains a highly episodic motion picture, often coming across as a series of loose sketches than a plot-driven story - something that dulls the religious parable at hand and makes the overall experience a tad uneven. There are some great running gags in the mix too though, such as Arbus constantly bringing local black sheep Michael Sullivan back to life, much to the outcast's constant bewilderment.

    More like this

    Putney Swope
    6.7
    Putney Swope
    Last Year at Marienbad
    7.6
    Last Year at Marienbad
    Pound
    5.7
    Pound
    Dr. Tarr's Torture Dungeon
    5.1
    Dr. Tarr's Torture Dungeon
    The Adventures of Robin Hood
    7.9
    The Adventures of Robin Hood
    Dr. Jekyll vs. The Werewolf
    5.6
    Dr. Jekyll vs. The Werewolf
    Long Live Death
    6.5
    Long Live Death
    Curse of the Devil
    5.5
    Curse of the Devil
    Rings of Fear
    5.6
    Rings of Fear
    Decoder
    6.3
    Decoder
    Demon Witch Child
    5.0
    Demon Witch Child
    No More Excuses
    6.2
    No More Excuses

    Related interests

    Will Ferrell in Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy (2004)
    Comedy
    John Wayne and Harry Carey Jr. in The Searchers (1956)
    Western

    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      Robert Downey, Jr., the son of the writer-director of the film, has an uncredited role as a Quasimodo-like child. Elsie Downey who played "the Woman" was Robert Downey Sr.'s wife. Also in the cast were Allyson Downey and Stacy Sheehan, Downey Sr.'s daughter and niece.
    • Goofs
      In the scene where the girl wakes to find her lover's throat cut she stands up wearing partially see-thru period underwear and you can see she is wearing tight-fitting modern panties underneath.
    • Quotes

      Lamy Homo Greaser: Dad, I was swimming in a rainbow with millions of babies... and they was naked... and then all of the sudden I turned into a perfect smile!

      Old guy: Put a rope around the son of a bitch!

    • Connections
      Featured in Remembering Greasers Palace (2010)
    • Soundtracks
      Turquoise Skies
      Music by Jack Nitzsche

      Lyrics by Robert Downey Sr.

    Top picks

    Sign in to rate and Watchlist for personalized recommendations
    Sign in

    FAQ14

    • How long is Greaser's Palace?Powered by Alexa

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • November 8, 1973 (France)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • Дворец Грисера
    • Filming locations
      • Camel Rock, Pojoaque, New Mexico, USA
    • Production company
      • Greaser's Palace Ltd.
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Tech specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      • 1h 31m(91 min)
    • Sound mix
      • Mono
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.85 : 1

    Contribute to this page

    Suggest an edit or add missing content
    • Learn more about contributing
    Edit page

    More to explore

    Recently viewed

    Please enable browser cookies to use this feature. Learn more.
    Get the IMDb App
    Sign in for more accessSign in for more access
    Follow IMDb on social
    Get the IMDb App
    For Android and iOS
    Get the IMDb App
    • Help
    • Site Index
    • IMDbPro
    • Box Office Mojo
    • License IMDb Data
    • Press Room
    • Advertising
    • Jobs
    • Conditions of Use
    • Privacy Policy
    • Your Ads Privacy Choices
    IMDb, an Amazon company

    © 1990-2025 by IMDb.com, Inc.