Stripes - Trivia, Questions and Fun Facts

[discussimdb]

Fan of Stripes or just want to share your movie knowledge? This topic is dedicated to all trivia and questions related to Stripes

[chad]

Near the end of the film, an image of an army newspaper indicates that Capt. Stillman (John Larroquette) was transferred to the Arctic command. This is later referenced in an episode of Night Court (1984), in which Dan Fielding (Larroquette) reveals he is a captain in the U.S. Army Reserve. By the end of the episode, his commanding officer orders him transferred for duty in the Arctic Circle.

[eli]

Robert J. Wilke had trouble remembering his lines. His shots took longer to shoot than the soldiers' graduation drill routine.

[beth]

When we first meet Hulka, many of the cast members who are laughing are genuinely laughing, as much improvisation caught them off guard, this is especially apparent with Judge Reinhold.

[liam]

Included among the American Film Institute's 2000 list of the 500 movies nominated for the Top 100 Funniest American Movies.

[nina]

John Diehl had never auditioned before and won his first paying job as an actor.

[victoria]

The cast improvised virtually all of the dialogue where they sit around and tell their back stories. This includes Bill Murray's lines about "Lee Harvey" making out with a cow, and calling Sgt. Hulka a "big toe".

[bernice]

If you look really closely during the scene where the platoon is telling stories about their lives back home, you can see at one point that Warren Oates (Sgt. Hulka) is actually laughing at one of the stories that a soldier tells. Ivan Reitman attempted to re-shoot this scene several times with Oates acting deadpan in response to the stories being told, but Oates had such a hard time staying in character and not laughing that he left it in. This is before Bill Murray's (John Winger) speech about Sgt. Hulka being the "big toe".

[nina]

According to Ivan Reitman in the DVD commentary, the scene where Bill Murray is loading the rich woman's suitcases into the trunk and he hits himself in the crotch was an accident. Murray really did hit himself in the crotch with the case, thus his very real line "Oh, my balls."

[addison]

Donald Gibb, who plays an uncredited bouncer in this film, later reunites with Tim Busfield in Revenge of the Nerds (1984) and its sequel. He also appears on an episode of nightcourt with John Laroquette.

[frances]

Director Ivan Reitman admits to being embarrassed by the third act of the film. But Reitman had determined that a film about the Army needed to have a war and thereby created a conflict with Czechoslovakia, his birthplace.

[jessica]

Bill Murray and Sean Young did not get along. Young did not like Murray's method of ad-libbing during scenes. Murray vowed to never work with Young again.

[michele]

Lance LeGault and William Lucking were both in The A-Team (1983) as the team's adversaries Col. Decker and Col. Lynch respectively.

[tammy]

"Do Wah Diddy Diddy", a central theme performed by cast members, was originally recorded in the U.S. by The Exciters in late 1963. During "The British Invasion" it was covered by Manfred Mann and rose to #1 U.S. Pop in July 1964. The song has become a popular cadence in the U.S. military.

[gerald]

The EM-50 Urban Assault Vehicle was built from a 1973-1978 GMC Motor Home.

[nora]

In 1993 Bill Murray reflected, "I'm still a little queasy that I actually made a movie where I carry a machine gun. But I felt if you were rescuing your friends it was okay. It wasn't Reds (1981) or anything, but it captured what it was like on an Army base: It was cold, you had to wear the same green clothes, you had to do a lot of physical stuff, you got treated pretty badly, and had bad coffee".

[bernard]

Ivan Reitman requested Joe Flaherty for the part of the border guard. However, due to a mix-up, Joseph X. Flaherty was accidentally cast in the role. Reitman was able to contact the Flaherty that he originally wanted. The other Flaherty was given a small role as Sgt. Crocker.

[maureen]

Warren Oates died of a heart attack a year after the film premiered.

[chris]

The basic training scenes were filmed at Fort Knox, KY. Fort Knox is home to the U.S. Army Armor Center, which trains new tank crewmen and armored cavalry troopers. The barracks in the film are still at Fort Knox, but have been gutted since the film was shot there and converted into an urban warfare training course. As of 2010, the United States Army Armor School is being moved to Fort Benning, GA, as part of the United States' BRAC program.

[francisco]

In the final homecoming scene at the airport, although it is not mentioned, Captain Stillman has been demoted and wears the single silver bar of First Lieutenant, and his aide, Corporal Tyson - In credits as Stillman's Aide - has been promoted, and is wearing the three stripes of a Sergeant.