The Barefoot Executive

1971 "The Secret To Success Is Pure Monkey Business"
5.9| 1h36m| G| en| More Info
Released: 17 March 1971 Released
Producted By: Walt Disney Productions
Country: United States of America
Budget: 0
Revenue: 0
Official Website:
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In the great Disney tradition of wild family fun, a young Kurt Russell stars as Steven Post - an ambitious mailroom clerk at a second-rate TV network. With his eye on the boardroom, and getting nowhere with the studio's top dog, he makes a career-changing discovery. His girlfriend's lovable pet chimp can pick a hit show every time! His secret for success turns into a madcap monkey business when he makes vice president and jealous rivals want in on the act. Ride along with narrow escapes and a classic cast featuring Joe Flynn and Harry Morgan in a comedic climb up the corporate ladder that will leave you howling for more!

Genre

Comedy, Family

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Director

Robert Butler

Production Companies

Walt Disney Productions

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The Barefoot Executive Audience Reviews

Fluentiama Perfect cast and a good story
Stevecorp Don't listen to the negative reviews
Cleveronix A different way of telling a story
Curapedi I cannot think of one single thing that I would change about this film. The acting is incomparable, the directing deft, and the writing poignantly brilliant.
fom4life When I was born, The Disney Company released 'The Barefoot Executive'. The BE does a fairly good job managing the TV station. For starters it has employed a young Kurt Russell. What a delight to witness the early career of so great an actor who has given us great movie treasure's such a 'Big Trouble in Little China' and 'Executive Decision'. He may have gotten older and fatter but is still a class act.Along for the viewing experience is John Ritter who makes his acting debut. Interestingly when I was young I was not allowed to watch 'Three's Company'. Harry Morgan from M.A.S.H. is on hand to deliver yucks as the grumpy TV president, alongside with McHale's Navy's Joe Flynn. The film has some other talented actors and also stars a Chimp named Raffles. : "That's funny... 'cause they're monkeys!" Homer Simpson The movie centers on Raffles uncanny ability to pick out what TV shows the public will like and which they will not. Raffles informs Kurt Russell's character Steven Post of this inside information which he uses to raise himself to the top of the TV executive world. "Forget about such schlock as 'Cavemen', 'Emeril' the sitcom, and the latest reincarnation of 'The Bachelor' and concentrate on 'Heroes', 'Lost', and 'The Office'. Steven Post even has ideas of his own. One of his show ideas is a TV program entitled "Abe Lincoln's Doctor's Dog.' This was an actual episode on 'Screen Director's Playhouse in 1955.Most fake TV shows in movies tend to be so badly produced it seems very unrealistic and unlikely that anyone in the real world would ever want to watch them. It is possible however that someone would actually green light such horrid programming. For this very reason it was probably a wise idea to keep the story focused on the people who were in charge of the programming and not the programming itself, although the few clips one sees of the TV shows talked about are standard looking TV show clips and promotion for such Disney classics as the 'The Shaggy Dog'.The movie has very many funny and wacky moments and makes it worth a movie rental and maybe even a place in the family library. But there are a few glitches in the TV screen. When Kurt Russell's girlfriend catches him with her kidnapped chimp, he gives her a sweet apology and explains the real good (for himself) that came out of the deceit he has pulled on everyone around him. For the sake of moving the plot along, she seizes from being majorly being cheesed off at him and accepts his weak apology with a smile. For some reason I thought there was to be a great slapstick chase at the end of this film and for that reason I was a tad bit disappointed in the ending. Although the greedy TV executives get what they deserve in the end, I thought the ending deserved a little something more.Although not perfect, 'The Barefoot Executive', is worth turning on. It was remade as a TV movie in 1995. This version has not been deemed worthy to be released on either VHS or DVD. But you have the original one to watch and enjoy.
wes-connors Kurt Russell (as Steven Post) works as a mail-boy for struggling TV station UBC (that's United Broadcasting Corporation); he is going nowhere at work, offering ridiculous projects like "Abraham Lincoln's Doctor's Dog" to studio executives - because Lincoln, doctors, and dogs are popular. Programming director Joe Flynn (as Francis X. Wilbanks) wisely rejects Mr. Russell's proposals, but has no idea how to pick a hit TV show. His secretary Heather North (as Jennifer Scott), who does double duty as Russell's girlfriend, has a chimpanzee who bugs the heck out of Russell when he wants to watch TV. Turns out, the monkey watches all the popular shows, and can easily pick the hits. Russell discovers the chimp's talent, and uses him to advance his own career. Understandably, things gets HAIRY for Russell and the cast!Raffles the chimp (handled by Frank Lamping) performs well; Raffles does look bored and/or distracted during a few scenes, when the chimp is supposed to look interested; these could have been corrected with re-takes or editing. A mild satirical edge is present - imagine a monkey picking hit TV shows! AND, it's a monkey who gets a BEER during the commercials (drinking in a Disney film)! A look through the cast will reveal s bunch of fun TV actors to recognize and try to place. You could make a drinking game, in honor of Raffles' beer-guzzling, by guessing actors, and where you've seen them before. Here's a start - Hey, isn't that "Dr. Bellows" from "I Dream of Jeannie"? Down the hatch! **** The Barefoot Executive (3/17/71) Robert Butler ~ Kurt Russell, Joe Flynn, John Ritter, Harry Morgan
loza-1 I think most of us know what is a Disney film. It is for all the family to enjoy, often taken from a classic story. Don't get me wrong. I love Disney films. Apart from Dick Van Dyke's goddawful accent in Mary Poppins, Disney films are characterised by quality and attention to detail. But a film that launches an attack on the entertainment industry and corporate America, now that is unusual for Disney.The basic plot has been dealt with by other reviewers. It is interesting that corporate America's first reaction to the chimp was first disbelief, then abduction. Was it just coincidence, or was it deliberate, that all the business executives in this film - all the bad guys - wear spectacles that look like goggles?Fascinating was the use of the adjective "simple", when an executive says to his chauffeur: "Will you stop that simple wheezing!" I liked it so much, I started using it myself.This is one of Disney's forgotten films, true it will never be as spectacular as Lady and the Tramp or Mary Poppins, but it deserves a watch now and again.
georgethetee All the way through this film, part of me was saying "I don't like this kind of film" while the rest of me was replying "No, but I'm enjoying it!" The rather offensive premise here is that the tastes of the great american television-watching public can best be assessed by a chimpanzee.There's a little go at political-correctness, major swipes at TV production values and some great characterisations of TV exec types. I watched it while laying carpet tiles and it made a welcome distraction and a good excuse to take a break. I enjoyed it