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Trading Places

  • 1983
  • R
  • 1h 56m
IMDb RATING
7.5/10
176K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
1,493
75
Trading Places (1983)
Watch Official Trailer
Play trailer1:05
7 Videos
99+ Photos
SatireComedy

A snobbish Wall Street commodities broker and a wily street hustler find their positions reversed as part of a bet by two callous millionaire brothers who run a brokerage house.A snobbish Wall Street commodities broker and a wily street hustler find their positions reversed as part of a bet by two callous millionaire brothers who run a brokerage house.A snobbish Wall Street commodities broker and a wily street hustler find their positions reversed as part of a bet by two callous millionaire brothers who run a brokerage house.

  • Director
    • John Landis
  • Writers
    • Timothy Harris
    • Herschel Weingrod
  • Stars
    • Eddie Murphy
    • Dan Aykroyd
    • Ralph Bellamy
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • IMDb RATING
    7.5/10
    176K
    YOUR RATING
    POPULARITY
    1,493
    75
    • Director
      • John Landis
    • Writers
      • Timothy Harris
      • Herschel Weingrod
    • Stars
      • Eddie Murphy
      • Dan Aykroyd
      • Ralph Bellamy
    • 284User reviews
    • 118Critic reviews
    • 69Metascore
  • See production info at IMDbPro
    • Nominated for 1 Oscar
      • 3 wins & 8 nominations total

    Videos7

    Official Trailer
    Trailer 1:05
    Official Trailer
    Trading Places
    Trailer 1:18
    Trading Places
    Trading Places
    Trailer 1:18
    Trading Places
    What '80s Movie Characters Should 'Bumblebee' Go on Adventure With?
    Clip 1:15
    What '80s Movie Characters Should 'Bumblebee' Go on Adventure With?
    Trading Places: What Do You Think, Valentine?
    Clip 1:05
    Trading Places: What Do You Think, Valentine?
    Gotta lot of Soul
    Video 0:49
    Gotta lot of Soul
    Security, Merry Christmas
    Video 3:26
    Security, Merry Christmas

    Photos280

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    + 274
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    Top cast99+

    Edit
    Eddie Murphy
    Eddie Murphy
    • Billy Ray Valentine
    Dan Aykroyd
    Dan Aykroyd
    • Louis Winthorpe III
    Ralph Bellamy
    Ralph Bellamy
    • Randolph Duke
    Don Ameche
    Don Ameche
    • Mortimer Duke
    Denholm Elliott
    Denholm Elliott
    • Coleman
    Maurice Woods
    • Duke & Duke Employee
    Richard D. Fisher Jr.
    • Duke & Duke Employee
    Jim Gallagher
    • Duke & Duke Employee
    Anthony DiSabatino
    • Duke & Duke Employee
    Bonnie Behrend
    • Duke & Duke Employee
    Sunnie Merrill
    • Duke & Duke Employee
    James Newell
    • Duke & Duke Employee
    • (as Jim Newell)
    Mary St. John
    • Duke & Duke Employee
    Bonnie Tremena
    • Duke & Duke Employee
    David Schwartz
    • Duke & Duke Employee
    Tom Degidon
    • Duke Domestic
    William Magerman
    • Duke Domestic
    Alan Dellay
    Alan Dellay
    • Duke Domestic
    • Director
      • John Landis
    • Writers
      • Timothy Harris
      • Herschel Weingrod
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    User reviews284

    7.5176.3K
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    Featured reviews

    8classldy

    Pairing of Murphy and Ackroyd are the best in comedy today

    Murphy and Aykroyd work well off each other. They both know how to deliver the punchlines. Supporting cast helps bring the comedy to fruition. Delightful performances by veterans Don Ameche and Ralph Bellamy knowing how to work with todays young talent.
    president242007

    A very entertaining, thoroughly enjoyable and highly recommended movie

    `Trading Places' is one of the best movies and one of the best comedies that I have had the privilege of viewing and almost every aspect of this movie is done to the highest excellence and the highest quality. I have always considered that some of the most entertaining and enjoyable movies came out during the 1980s and `Trading Places' definitely falls within this category.

    Everything is a success with this movie –the high quality of acting from both the main actors and the supporting cast, the wonderful humour and engaging dialogue contained within the script, the development of the plot, the music selection provided for the various scenes and even the atmosphere and scenery contained in the movie. Eddie Murphy and Dan Ackroyd are particularly outstanding in their various roles –and keep the excellent performances up in their reversal of roles. Ralph Bellamy, Don Ameche and Denham Elliot also provide their characters with a great amount of depth and dimension and make what would have already been a wonderful comedy success even more entertaining. The only very minor criticism is that Jamie Lee Curtis is meant to portray a prostitute in this movie. Jamie Lee Curtis is much too high quality of an actress for the role of a prostitute and I think if the emphasis had been on her character's profession it would have weakened her contribution to the movie. But thankfully the writers and producers recognized that she shouldn't be portrayed in a one-dimensional role and her truly wonderful and highly excellent acting abilities shone through during the whole movie.

    The script flowed naturally and had an edge to it that made it both entertaining and intriguing. Even though the storyline and outcome was slightly predictable, the scriptwriters succeeded in keeping you interested and keeping you entertained as the sequence of events unfolded. The humour contained in the movie is genuinely entertaining and doesn't sound forced or strained in the same way that it does in some other movies. Dan Ackroyd and Eddie Murphy make a thoroughly wonderful team and I hope they someday consider doing another movie together. I think the 1980s marked the high point of Eddie Murphy's career and this was one of the movies that cemented his reputation as a great comedian.

    I couldn't recommend this movie highly enough. A truly great comedy masterpiece and classic.
    8elu5iv3

    Good, well written comedy

    One of the best comedies of the 1980's, this stars Eddie Murphy in one of his best roles alongside Dan Aykroyd. The plot is great, a poor, homeless man who has resorted to a life of crime (Murphy) and an upper class yuppie involved in the stock market (Aykroyd) trade places when two devious brothers (Aykroyd's employees) have a bet. This is a very well written, well acted, and well executed comedy, that makes you laugh, but also grips you with a strong plot. Also has a satisfying ending.
    7Cube_TX

    Murphy and Aykroyd at their best

    Could this movie honestly have been any more funny? I saw it again, as I have repeatedly for years, and still laughed. My new son had never seen it before and liked it as well. Murphy was at the top of his game back then and Aykroyd is the perfect snob-class elitist. Some of these jokes are so timeless that I still refer to them from time-to-time and they STILL get laughs, both from people who have and haven't seen this film.

    Yes, the jokes are a bit dated and somewhat slapstick, but this was a sign of the times. Most 80s comedies were full of slapstick moments. Jamie Lee Curtis was at the height of her sexy image and I'd forgotten how well she'd played her role. The late Don Ameche is so animated that it played perfectly into the mood of the film.

    You can find this film in the bargain bin of most stores these days. I saw it for sale for only $5.50. It's worth owning.
    Sargebri

    Great Early Vehicle for Eddie Murphy

    This is probably one of the funniest films of the 1980's. It not only is a play on the classic nature vs. nurture theme, but it is also a somewhat comedic commentary on the "greed is good" decade of the 80's. However, it is also a nice bridging of the generations as it features two of the biggest stars to come from "Saturday Night Live" Eddie Murphy does a fine job as con man Billy Ray and Dan Ackroyd is great as Louis. Jamie Lee Curtis is also wonderful as Ophelia. In fact, it was good to see her do something other than the "scream queen" roles which she became famous for during the early part of her career. She definitely shows the comedic timing that she would display later in her career and would make her one of the finest comedic actresses in film today. However, the one that really steals it for me is Denholm Elliot as Coleman. He delivers a very low key performance that is befitting for that role. This is a real gem.

    Eddie Murphy Through the Years

    Eddie Murphy Through the Years

    From Reggie Hammond in 48 Hrs. to Chris Carver in Candy Cane Lane, take a look back at the iconic career of Eddie Murphy.
    See the gallery
    Production art
    Photos

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    7.6
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    Related interests

    Peter Sellers in Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964)
    Satire
    Will Ferrell in Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy (2004)
    Comedy

    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      This was Ralph Bellamy's ninety-ninth film, and Don Ameche's forty-ninth. This was Eddie Murphy's second film, and he joked: "Between the three of us, we've made one hundred fifty movies!"
    • Goofs
      The train leaving Washington, D.C. has a different style locomotive than the same train shown later in a pass-by shot.
    • Quotes

      [last lines]

      Louis: Looking good, Billy Ray!

      Billy Ray: Feeling good, Louis!

    • Crazy credits
      Jon Tenney is credited as "Big Black Guy" and James D. Turner as "Even Bigger Black Guy".
    • Alternate versions
      A scene that is available only in the television version is where Valentine first enters the Duke and Duke building. The cut version shows Coleman dropping off Valentine for his first day of work, then shows a smiling Valentine exiting an elevator and speaking to a receptionist. The uncut scene (television version) has Valentine entering the main hall of the building and going through a series of interactions with the same people that was nearly identical to the scene near the beginning when Winthorpe enters the building to go to work. This scene is one of the many ways of portraying contrasts in the movie; in this case "not knowing what to expect rookie" versus "veteran snob". This scene also shows why Valentine has a smile on his face as he exits the elevator and speaks confidently to the receptionist. Valentine surely was nervous before he entered the building talking to Coleman, but he gains confidence as he progresses down the main hall toward the elevator.
    • Connections
      Featured in At the Movies: The Man with Two Brains/Superman III/Trading Places/Psycho II (1983)
    • Soundtracks
      Overture, Marriage of Figaro
      By Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

      Conducted by Elmer Bernstein

    Top picks

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    FAQ24

    • How long is Trading Places?Powered by Alexa
    • Why do Ophelia and Coleman have to give their life savings to Billy Ray and Winthorpe? They already have a briefcase full of cash.
    • What was Billy Rae Valentine being arrested for when he was panhandling? This is before he bumps into Louis Winthorpe and is accused of stealing.
    • How was the Duke brother's plan to corner the orange juice market supposed to work?

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • June 8, 1983 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • De mendigo a millonario
    • Filming locations
      • St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands
    • Production companies
      • Paramount Pictures
      • Cinema Group Ventures
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Budget
      • $15,000,000 (estimated)
    • Gross US & Canada
      • $90,404,800
    • Opening weekend US & Canada
      • $7,348,200
      • Jun 12, 1983
    • Gross worldwide
      • $90,404,800
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Tech specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      • 1h 56m(116 min)
    • Color
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • Mono
      • Dolby Digital
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.85 : 1

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