Stand by Me (1986)

R | 87 mins | Drama | 8 August 1986

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HISTORY

The summary and note for this entry were completed with participation from the AFI Academic Network. Summary and note were written by participant Michael Thielvoldt, an independent scholar.

As stated in an 11 Mar 1985 DV article, the working title for the film, The Body, referred to the 1982 Stephen King novella that served as the film’s source material. The title was later changed to Stand By Me, as reported in a 28 May 1986 Var item, since the filmmakers thought The Body would be misleading to audiences, particularly in light of King’s horror novel ties, according to a 26 Aug 1986 HR brief. Writer-producer Raynold Gideon credited director Rob Reiner for coming up with Stand By Me, which was borrowed from the R&B pop song of the same name by Ben E. King.
       All cast and crew credits appear at the end of the film. End credits also include the following written statement: “Thanks to the People of Brownsville, Oregon; McCloud River Railroad; and the Gooseline Railroad of Cottage Grove, Oregon.”
       According to production notes from AMPAS library files, King’s novella was semi-autobiographical, but when Reiner asked the author how much of the story was true, King stated, “To be honest with you, I’m a pathological liar and I don’t know what is and what isn’t true, but if it isn’t true, it should be.” Reiner also noted that he funneled a lot of himself into the film’s central character, “Gordie Lachance.”
       The 11 Mar 1985 DV article announced that Embassy Pictures was producing the film as the first of ...

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The summary and note for this entry were completed with participation from the AFI Academic Network. Summary and note were written by participant Michael Thielvoldt, an independent scholar.

As stated in an 11 Mar 1985 DV article, the working title for the film, The Body, referred to the 1982 Stephen King novella that served as the film’s source material. The title was later changed to Stand By Me, as reported in a 28 May 1986 Var item, since the filmmakers thought The Body would be misleading to audiences, particularly in light of King’s horror novel ties, according to a 26 Aug 1986 HR brief. Writer-producer Raynold Gideon credited director Rob Reiner for coming up with Stand By Me, which was borrowed from the R&B pop song of the same name by Ben E. King.
       All cast and crew credits appear at the end of the film. End credits also include the following written statement: “Thanks to the People of Brownsville, Oregon; McCloud River Railroad; and the Gooseline Railroad of Cottage Grove, Oregon.”
       According to production notes from AMPAS library files, King’s novella was semi-autobiographical, but when Reiner asked the author how much of the story was true, King stated, “To be honest with you, I’m a pathological liar and I don’t know what is and what isn’t true, but if it isn’t true, it should be.” Reiner also noted that he funneled a lot of himself into the film’s central character, “Gordie Lachance.”
       The 11 Mar 1985 DV article announced that Embassy Pictures was producing the film as the first of an eight-picture, fifteen-month project slate. A 24 May 1985 DV piece added that the project marked Reiner’s third film for Embassy “under a 30-month first-refusal deal,” after This is Spinal Tap (1984, see entry) and The Sure Thing (1985, see entry). One month prior to production on Stand By Me, Reiner was developing two additional projects for Embassy, including The Princess Bride (1987, see entry) and a lawyer drama titled In Good Faith. Reiner described his relationship with Embassy as one of freedom, stating, “As a filmmaker they left me alone. You can’t ask for more than that.”
       A 16 Sep 1986 NYT article by Aljean Harmetz revealed that Embassy Communications co-owner, Norman Lear, sold the company to Coca-Cola while Stand By Me was in production. Following the sale, Guy McElwaine, then-president and CEO of Coca-Cola-owned Columbia Pictures, passed on an option to acquire the film, according to a 1 Oct 1986 DV news item. In turn, Lear stepped in and personally financed the film for an estimated $8 million. Columbia later picked up Stand By Me for distribution in a deal that covered Lear’s investment and awarded Embassy an undisclosed percentage of the profits.
       As stated in the 16 Sep 1986 NYT article, Reiner selected the four lead actors after auditioning 300 boys, and admitted that final decisions were tough with the exception of Corey Feldman, who “was the only boy who could play [the] kind of anger” needed for the role of “Teddy Duchamp.” River Phoenix originally read for the part of Gordie but was cast as “Chris Chambers,” the gang’s leader, because of his natural strength of character. Some of the young cast discussed their preparation process in a 14 Nov 1986 HR article. Wheaton disclosed that he prepared for the role of Gordie by talking to his parents and older friends who could remember living in the 1950s, reading books about the time, and watching old television programs from the era. According to Phoenix, the boys submerged themselves in their issued copies of the soundtrack music and 1950s lingo throughout a two-week rehearsal period. Praising Reiner’s assistance in the rehearsal and production processes, Jerry O’Connell, who played “Vern Tessio,” remarked: “If it wasn’t for Rob [Reiner], the acting wouldn’t have been half as good.” Specifically, O’Connell lauded Reiner’s incorporation of theater games developed from acting guru Viola Spolin’s book, Improvisations for the Theater (Evanston, 1963). The central four actors and the director, along with writers or crewmembers, played Spolin’s acting games over the first week of rehearsals, which were held in an Oregon hotel, before working with the script during the second week of rehearsals. Reiner stated that the purpose of the games was to develop trust among the young cast. The boys also attended carnivals and went river rafting to strengthen their camaraderie.
       Principal photography began 17 Jun 1985 in Oregon and lasted sixty days, as reported in the 26 Aug 1986 HR brief. According to production notes, filming took place in numerous small towns throughout the state, with Brownsville standing in for the story’s fictional Castle Rock. In Aug 1985, photography moved to Mt. Shasta, CA, for two weeks; there, filmmakers shot the scene in which Gordie and his friends outrun a locomotive on a trestle bridge. Due to the “9 p.m. curfew” and six-hour shoot days mandated by child labor laws, special sets had to be constructed for a nighttime campfire sequence.
       During production in Oregon, O’Connell was “attacked by a show dog,” as reported by an 8 Aug 1986 HR news item, allegedly sustaining injuries for which O’Connell and his mother wanted Embassy and Reiner to be held accountable. No further information on the injuries could be found at the time this Note was written.
       Reiner did not expect the film to be successful, as mentioned in the 16 Sep 1986 NYT article, and told screenwriters Raynold Gideon and Bruce A. Evans, “There’s no way this picture is going to do business, because no one who went to Rambo will go to see our film.” According to an HR news item published circa Mar 1986, before Columbia agreed to distribute the picture, Disney, Twentieth Century Fox, Metro-Goldywn-Mayer, and “the new United Artists” passed on the film after viewing it. Embassy’s executive vice-president of worldwide production, Fred Bernstein, stated that the film’s release would require “special handling” and depend heavily on word-of-mouth for momentum. In a 1 Oct 1986 DV article, Lear exalted Columbia’s earnest marketing of the film as a mature, youth-centered story with broad age appeal, instead of “four kids on a Summer frolic.”
       A 28 May 1986 Var brief announced that Columbia had scheduled the film for a 21 Sep 1986 opening in New York City; however, the picture was released 8 Aug 1986, in Los Angeles, CA, New York City, and Toronto, Canada, as stated in the 14 Nov 1986 HR. In his 30 Jul 1986 HR review, critic Duane Byrge suggested the film would likely be “confusing to first-weekend audiences,” partly due to the oddball pairing of Reiner and King, as well as the film’s rural 1950s setting and its R-rating that excluded young audience members. However, concerns over box-office potential quickly subsided after the film’s release. After leading the box-office in its first two weeks of release, as reported in the 16 Sep 1986 NYT, the film’s distribution expanded from sixteen theaters to 743 in the third week. By 2 Nov 1986, box-office earnings had exceeded $38.6 million and the film was still performing strongly. Particularly surprising, according to a 13 Aug 1986 HR item, was that Columbia’s marketing campaign had included no radio, television, or cable advertising – only print promotions. A 27 Aug 1986 Var article revealed that Columbia expanded the film’s newspaper ad campaign as well as the scope of its wider national release plan following positive critical feedback and word-of-mouth.
       A 14 Aug 1986 HR news item announced that Atlantic Recording Corp. would release the Stand By Me soundtrack 26 Aug 1986, to coincide with the film’s expanded distribution on 22 Aug 1986. A 12 Sep 1986 LAHExam news item added that, twenty-five years after its initial recording, Atlantic Records financed a music video for Ben E. King’s song, “Stand By Me,” in the wake of the film’s success and rising popularity of the song on radio playlists; Wheaton and Phoenix appeared alongside King in the video.
       Critical reception was largely positive, and reviewers regularly praised Gideon and Evan’s realistic dialogue and characterizations. In a positive review on 8 Aug 1986, LAT’s Sheila Benson labeled the film “the summer’s great gift,” and “one of those treasures absolutely not to be missed,” while acknowledging that the script lapsed into pretention in rare instances. Duane Byrge echoed the latter point in his 30 Jul 1986 HR review, stating that the generally realistic young characters occasionally sounded too much like insightful adults. Byrge lauded Reiner’s direction and the boys’ performances on the whole, pointing to Phoenix, Feldman, and O’Connell as standouts. In his contrarian 8 Aug 1986 NYT review, critic Walter Goodman deemed the film trite and heavy-handed.
       Stand By Me marked Jerry O’Connell’s feature film acting debut after years of modeling and commercial work, as stated in the 14 Nov 1986 HR.
       Raynold Gideon and Bruce A. Evans received an Academy Award nomination for Writing (Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium). The film also received Golden Globe nominations for Best Motion Picture (Drama) and Best Director.

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GEOGRAPHIC LOCATIONS
SOURCE CITATIONS
SOURCE
DATE
PAGE
Box Office
Sep 1986
---
Daily Variety
11 Mar 1985
---
Daily Variety
30 Apr 1985
---
Daily Variety
8 May 1985
---
Daily Variety
24 May 1985
---
Daily Variety
1 Oct 1986
---
Hollywood Reporter
9 Apr 1984
---
Hollywood Reporter
Mar 1986
---
Hollywood Reporter
30 Jul 1986
p. 3, 13
Hollywood Reporter
8 Aug 1986
---
Hollywood Reporter
13 Aug 1986
---
Hollywood Reporter
14 Aug 1986
---
Hollywood Reporter
26 Aug 1986
---
Hollywood Reporter
14 Nov 1986
---
LAHExam
12 Sep 1986
---
Los Angeles Times
8 Aug 1986
p. 1, 13
New York Times
8 Aug 1986
p. 10
New York Times
16 Sep 1986
Section C, p. 17
Variety
2 Apr 1986
---
Variety
28 May 1986
---
Variety
30 Jul 1986
p. 16
Variety
27 Aug 1986
---
Variety
10 Sep 1986
---
CAST
NAME
CREDITED AS
CREDIT

PRODUCTION CREDITS
NAME
PARENT COMPANY
PRODUCTION COMPANY
PRODUCTION TEXT
A Rob Reiner Film
DISTRIBUTION COMPANY
NAME
CREDITED AS
CREDIT
DIRECTORS
Prod mgr
1st asst dir
2d asst dir
Carol Bonnefil
Addl 2d asst dir
WRITERS
PHOTOGRAPHY
Dir of photog
Cam op
Cam op
Cam asst
Cam asst
Panaglide op
Gaffer
Best boy gaffer
Key grip
Best boy grip
Dolly grip op
Grip
Grip
Still photog
ART DIRECTOR
FILM EDITORS
Film ed
Asst ed
Negative cutting
SET DECORATORS
Set dec
Swing gang
Swing gang
Swing gang
Prop master
Asst props
Const coord
Const foreman
Stand-by painter
Sign writer
Greensman
COSTUMES
Cost supv
MUSIC
Mus ed
Mus ed
Mus supv
Mus rec eng
Mus programmed and performed by
Mus programmed and performed by
SOUND
Sd mixer
Cable
Supv sd ed
Supv sd ed
Supv sd ed
Sd ed
Sd ed
Sd ed
Asst sd ed
Asst sd ed
Foley artist
Alicia M. Stevenson
Foley artist
Foley artist
Re-rec mixer
Re-rec mixer
Re-rec mixer
VISUAL EFFECTS
Spec eff
Matte paintings
Matte artist
Titles and opticals by
MAKEUP
Hair
Monty Westmore
Makeup
PRODUCTION MISC
Casting
Extra casting, Eugene
Casting assoc
Prod supv
Scr supv
Post prod coord
Asst to Mr. Nicolaides
Prod accountant
Asst prod accountant
Post prod accountant
Prod coord
Unit pub
Prod secy
Prod secy
Personal asst to Mr. Reiner
Prod asst
Prod asst
Prod asst
Prod asst
Prod asst
Prod asst
Prod asst
Dog trainer
Transportation coord
Transportation capt
Transportation co-capt
Projectionist
Projectionist
Craft service
Catering
Catering
Catering
First aid
First aid
STAND INS
Stunt coord/Stunts
Stunts
Stunts
Stunts
Stunts
Stunts
COLOR PERSONNEL
Col timing by
SOURCES
LITERARY
Based on the novella The Body by Stephen King in his Different Seasons (New York, 1982).
LITERARY SOURCE AUTHOR
SONGS
"Stand by Me," by B. E. King, J. Leiber and M. Stoller, performed by Ben E. King, all rights administered by Unichappell Music, Inc. and Trio Music, courtesy of the Atlantic Recording Corp., by arrangement with Warner Special Products; "Mr. Lee," by H. Dixon, E. R. Pought, T. Pought and L. Webb, performed by The Bobbettes, all rights administered by Unichappell Music, Inc., courtesy of the Atlantic Recording Corp., by arrangement with Warner Special Products; "Rockin' Robin," by J. Thomas, performed by Bobby Day, published by Recordo Music Publishers, courtesy of Original Sound Record Co., Inc.; "Great Balls of Fire," by O. Blackwell and J. Hammer, performed by Jerry Lee Lewis, all rights administered by Chappell & Co., Inc. and Unichappell Music, Inc., courtesy of Sun International Corporation; "Sorry (I Ran All the Way Home)," by H. Giosasi and A. Zwirn, published by Big Seven Music Corp.; "The Ballad of Paladin," by Johnny Western, Richard Boone and Sam Rolfe, published by Irving Music, Inc.; "Whispering Bells," by F. Lowry and C. Quick, performed by The Del Vikings, published by Gil Music Corp., courtesy of MCA Records, Inc.; "Let the Good Times Roll," by L. Lee, performed by Shirley and Lee, published by Atlantic Music Corp./CBS Unart Catalog, Inc., courtesy of EMI America Records; "Book of Love," by C. Patrick, W. Davis, and G. Malone, performed by The Monotones, published by Arc Music Corp. and Nom Music, courtesy of MCA Records, Inc.; "Lollipop," by B. Ross and J. Dixon, performed by The Chordettes, published by Edward B. Marks Music Company, courtesy of Barnaby Records Inc.; "Everyday," by N. Petty and C. Hardin, performed by Buddy Holly, published by Peer International Corporation, courtesy of MCA Records, Inc.; "Come Go With Me," by C. E. Quick, performed by The Del Vikings, published by Gil Music Corp./Fee Bee Music Co., courtesy of MCA Records, Inc.; "Come Softly to Me," by G. Troxel, G. Christopher and B. Ellis, performed by The Fleetwoods, published by CBS Unart Catalog, Inc., courtesy of EMI America Records; "Hush-A-Bye," by D. Pomus and M. Shuman, performed by The Mystics, all rights administered by Unichappell Music, Inc., courtesy of Continental Communications Corp.; "Get a Job," by The Silhouettes, performed by The Silhouettes, published by Ol-Ric Music and Cobweb Music/Dandelion Music Co. and Wildcat Music, Inc., courtesy of Arista Records, Inc.; "Yakety Yak," by J. Leiber and M. Stoller, performed by The Coasters, all rights administered by Chappell & Co., Inc., courtesy of the Atlantic Recording Corp., by arrangement with Warner Special Products.
SONGWRITERS/COMPOSERS
+
DETAILS
Alternate Title:
The Body
Release Date:
8 August 1986
Premiere Information:
Los Angeles and New York openings: 8 Aug 1986
Production Date:
17 Jun--late Aug 1985 in Oregon and California
Copyright Info
Claimant
Date
Copyright Number
Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc.
3 October 1986
PA305893
Physical Properties:
Sound
Color
Technicolor®
Lenses/Prints
Prints by de luxe®
Lenses/Prints
Lenses & Panaflex® cameras by Panavision®
Duration(in mins):
87
MPAA Rating:
R
Country:
United States
Language:
English
PCA No:
28071
SYNOPSIS

Contemplating a newspaper article titled “Attorney Christopher Chambers Fatally Stabbed in Restaurant,” middle-aged author Gordie Lachance recalls the first time he saw a dead human being. In the summer of 1959, twelve-year-old Gordie meets up with his two card-playing friends in a tree house: crazy Teddy Duchamp, the son of a mentally unstable and abusive father, and Chris Chambers, the group’s leader. The gang’s fourth, Vern Tessio, arrives, and they let him in although he’s forgotten their secret knock yet again. Vern intrigues the gang with some overheard news: after stealing a car and driving out to the countryside, Vern’s older brother Billy discovered a boy’s corpse in the woods. The boys suspect that the dead body is Ray Brower, a local boy who recently went missing, and Chris suggests they set out to find it in the hopes of gaining commendation. The gang is excited, except for Gordie, whose enthusiasm is stifled by the recent death of his beloved older brother, Denny. Gordie reflects on the time Denny gave him a Yankees baseball cap. Later, Gordie and Chris meet after gathering supplies for the trip. Chris shows Gordie the pistol he took from his dad, and Gordie accidently shoots a round into a trashcan. Tearing around a corner to avoid being caught, the boys run into Chris’s older brother, “Eyeball,” and his friend, Ace Merrill, who terrorize Gordie and Chris and take Gordie’s cap. Afterward, Gordie, Chris, Teddy, and Vern set out on their two-day trek along the railroad tracks to the spot where Billy saw the corpse. Early into the trip, Teddy plays chicken with an oncoming train until Chris panics and pulls him off the tracks. ...

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Contemplating a newspaper article titled “Attorney Christopher Chambers Fatally Stabbed in Restaurant,” middle-aged author Gordie Lachance recalls the first time he saw a dead human being. In the summer of 1959, twelve-year-old Gordie meets up with his two card-playing friends in a tree house: crazy Teddy Duchamp, the son of a mentally unstable and abusive father, and Chris Chambers, the group’s leader. The gang’s fourth, Vern Tessio, arrives, and they let him in although he’s forgotten their secret knock yet again. Vern intrigues the gang with some overheard news: after stealing a car and driving out to the countryside, Vern’s older brother Billy discovered a boy’s corpse in the woods. The boys suspect that the dead body is Ray Brower, a local boy who recently went missing, and Chris suggests they set out to find it in the hopes of gaining commendation. The gang is excited, except for Gordie, whose enthusiasm is stifled by the recent death of his beloved older brother, Denny. Gordie reflects on the time Denny gave him a Yankees baseball cap. Later, Gordie and Chris meet after gathering supplies for the trip. Chris shows Gordie the pistol he took from his dad, and Gordie accidently shoots a round into a trashcan. Tearing around a corner to avoid being caught, the boys run into Chris’s older brother, “Eyeball,” and his friend, Ace Merrill, who terrorize Gordie and Chris and take Gordie’s cap. Afterward, Gordie, Chris, Teddy, and Vern set out on their two-day trek along the railroad tracks to the spot where Billy saw the corpse. Early into the trip, Teddy plays chicken with an oncoming train until Chris panics and pulls him off the tracks. Meanwhile, Ace’s gang, “The Cobras,” including Eyeball, Billy, and another friend named Charlie Hogan, continues to reign terror, driving by mailboxes and whacking them with a baseball bat. At a junkyard, the younger boys take a break from walking while Gordie heads to a nearby store to purchase food supplies. Upon his return, Gordie spots his friends climbing out of the yard and realizes that the junkman, Milo Pressman, and his attack dog, Chopper, are on site. Gordie narrowly outruns Chopper and, after a verbal altercation with Milo, the boys continue on their way. Back on the tracks the boys talk, sing, and goof off, but they also discuss a few serious topics, like the grimness of the awaiting dead body and the approaching first year of middle school that promises to divide the group. Chris urges Gordie to seek out intelligent new friends who can help him develop his writing skills and ensure a promising future. A train approaches as the boys cross a trestle bridge high above a river, and they are forced to outrun the locomotive in the face of certain death. That night, Gordie regales the group with one of his fictional stories. This tale is about “Lardass” Hogan, a tormented, obese boy who seeks revenge on his town by drinking castor oil before a pie-eating contest. During the competition, Lardass eats several pies before vomiting on one of his competitors and inciting a chain of vomiting throughout the crowd. Later that night, the boys take turns standing watch over the camp with Chris’s father’s pistol. Gordie has a nightmare about his brother’s funeral and wakes up during Chris’s watch. The boys confide in each other, Gordie revealing to Chris how much he misses his brother and Chris bemoaning his family’s lowly reputation in the community. The next day, Gordie’s group decides to take a shortcut through a wooded crossing known as “The Royal.” There, they trudge across a small body of water, and discover it is infested with leaches. Meanwhile, the Cobras head out to relocate and report the dead body after Billy and Charlie finally let slip their knowledge about its location. However, the younger group arrives at the site first and locates Ray Brower’s corpse. More upset than his friends by the sight of the dead body, Gordie breaks down in tears as emotions about his dead brother surface. Chris consoles his friend but they are interrupted by the arrival of Ace and Eyeball. Chris faces down the older boys, telling them that his group has dibs on the corpse. When the remaining Cobras arrive, the younger boys quickly realize that they are outmuscled. Vern and Teddy retreat, but Chris refuses to move, even as Ace descends upon him with a knife. A shot rings out and Gordie steps forward with the pistol, taking aim at Ace. Gordie announces that no one is taking the body and demands the Cobras leave. With the Cobras gone, the younger boys cover the body with a blanket and set out for home. They later tip off authorities to the location of Ray Brower’s body via an anonymous phone call. Back in their hometown of Castle Rock, the boys head their separate ways. Many years later, middle-aged Gordie recounts that he and Chris saw “less and less of Teddy and Vern” as time went on. Vern eventually became a forklift operator and started a family, while Teddy ended up performing odd jobs around Castle Rock after numerous failed attempts to enlist in the army and time in jail. Despite Chris’s belief that he would never become successful, he and Gordie went to college together, and Chris became a lawyer. According to the newspaper story Gordie has been reading, Chris was recently stabbed to death while trying to break up a fight in a restaurant. At home, Gordie writes the final lines of a story about his childhood friends, then heads outside to spend time with his son.

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Viewed by AFI
Partially Viewed
Offscreen Credit
Name Occurs Before Title
AFI Life Achievement Award

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