50 Fun Facts About The 'Burbs

Who directed The 'Burbs?

Joe Dante directed The 'Burbs, bringing the comedy-horror blend of his earlier creature features to a single suburban cul-de-sac and a cast led by Tom Hanks.

What is the name of Tom Hanks's character?

Tom Hanks plays Ray Peterson, a suburban homeowner who decides to spend his vacation at home on his cul-de-sac and instantly regrets it.

In what year was The 'Burbs released?

The 'Burbs opened on February 17, 1989, topping the Presidents' Day weekend box office, and went on to become a cult favourite on video.

What does the reclusive family next door do late at night that first alarms Ray?

The answer is 'Makes strange noises in the basement': Ray is woken by digging sounds and flashing lights from the Klopeks' cellar, which starts his obsession with the new neighbours.

Who plays Ray's wife, Carol?

Carrie Fisher plays Carol Peterson, the voice of reason who finally drags the men over for a proper welcome visit to the Klopeks.

Which actor plays the teenage neighbour Ricky Butler?

Corey Feldman plays Ricky Butler, the teenager who treats the cul-de-sac like a TV show, inviting friends over to watch the neighbours' antics from his porch.

Who plays Mark Rumsfield, the neighbour with a military past?

Bruce Dern plays Mark Rumsfield, the gung-ho veteran who acts as lookout while Ray and Art dig in the Klopeks' backyard.

Which war did Mark Rumsfield serve in?

Mark Rumsfield is a Vietnam veteran whose military bearing is played for laughs, right down to the rooftop stakeout he runs with binoculars.

Who plays Art Weingartner, Ray's nosy neighbour?

Rick Ducommun plays Art Weingartner, the nosy neighbour who keeps pushing the theory that the Klopeks are ritual murderers.

What is the name of Ray and Carol's son?

Dave Peterson, played by Cory Danziger, is sent off with Carol to her sister's so Ray can search the Klopeks' yard in peace.

What is the name of Walter's dog?

Walter's dog is Queenie; finding her running loose with Walter nowhere to be seen is what convinces the men their elderly neighbour has vanished.

What is the name of Ray's dog, which digs up a bone along the Klopeks' fence?

Ray's dog Vince digs up a bone along the Klopeks' fence, which convinces Ray and Art that the Klopeks have done away with Walter.

What bone does the dog dig up?

A femur — or so Art insists — is what the dog digs up along the fence, turning the neighbours' idle suspicion into what they consider hard evidence.

What item of Walter's turns up while he is missing, convincing the men something is wrong?

His toupee turns up while Walter is missing, and since he never went anywhere without it, the men take it as proof that the Klopeks have done him in.

Who plays Dr. Werner Klopek?

Henry Gibson, a Laugh-In veteran, plays Dr. Werner Klopek, the family's soft-spoken patriarch whose politeness curdles into menace in the final act.

Which member of the Klopek family drives an oversized garbage bag to the curb and mashes it down?

Hans, the youngest Klopek, played by Courtney Gains (Malachai in Children of the Corn), drives the bag to the curb in a downpour and pounds it down with a stick.

Which cult performer plays Uncle Reuben Klopek?

Brother Theodore, a monologist and frequent David Letterman guest whose stage persona was pure menacing eccentricity, plays the glowering Uncle Reuben Klopek.

Who plays Walter Seznick, the elderly neighbour whose disappearance alarms the street?

Gale Gordon, the long-time Lucille Ball foil from I Love Lucy and Here's Lucy, plays Walter Seznick, the elderly neighbour whose sudden absence drives the second act.

What is the name of the film's cul-de-sac?

The cul-de-sac is Mayfield Place; its houses stood on Colonial Street, the Universal Studios back lot set that had hosted decades of sitcom and film neighbourhoods.

What do Ray and Art discover when they break into the Klopeks' basement?

In the cellar they find 'What appears to be a crematorium' — a huge furnace Art is sure has been used to burn bodies — and start digging into the floor for remains.

What does Ray hit with his pickaxe in the Klopeks' basement?

A gas line is what Ray's pickaxe strikes: the house explodes moments later, just as Carol returns to find the street in chaos.

Why had Walter actually been away from home?

He had asked the Klopeks to collect his mail, and they scooped up rather more than that.

What were the Klopeks' real victims, as Werner finally reveals?

Werner confesses that the victims were 'The Knapps, the previous homeowners', killed so the Klopeks could take over the house on the cul-de-sac.

How does Werner try to kill Ray at the end of the film?

With a lethal injection — Werner pulls out a syringe as the ambulance speeds off, and Ray wrestles him for it until the vehicle crashes.

Whose house does the ambulance crash into?

The ambulance ploughs into Art's house, the home of the neighbour who started the whole witch-hunt; Werner is pulled from the wreck and arrested.

Where does Ricky find the human skeletal remains that finally incriminate the Klopeks?

In the trunk of their car, popped open as the Klopeks try to flee, lie human skulls and bones; the family is arrested and the charges against Ray are dropped.

Who wrote the screenplay for The 'Burbs?

Dana Olsen wrote the screenplay, drawing on memories of his own suburban childhood and the secretive neighbours he remembered from it.

What was the script's title before it became The 'Burbs?

The script was titled Bay Window when it reached Dante, who was then developing Little Man Tate, a project later directed by Jodie Foster.

What rating did the MPAA give The 'Burbs on its release?

The 'Burbs was rated PG by the MPAA; its suburban paranoia plays as comedy, with the horror kept to shadows and rumour rather than gore.

Which Dante regular plays Vic, one of the garbagemen?

Dick Miller, who appeared in nearly every Dante film from Piranha onward, plays Vic, one of the two garbagemen whose truck the neighbours raid.

Who composed the orchestral score for The 'Burbs?

Jerry Goldsmith, Dante's regular composer, wrote the score, mixing lush suburban themes with mock-Gregorian chants and horror stings that send up the genre.

Where was The 'Burbs filmed?

It was shot 'Entirely on the Universal Studios back lot', on the Colonial Street set; Dante compared the single-location approach to Hitchcock's Lifeboat and said it could almost be a stage play.

Which earlier Tom Hanks film had used the same Colonial Street set?

The street was in use for a sitcom revival when production began.

Which TV series was shooting on the Colonial Street set when The 'Burbs went into production?

The New Leave It to Beaver was still shooting on Colonial Street, so production designer James H. Spencer had only days to redress the familiar sitcom houses for Dante's cul-de-sac.

How many endings did Joe Dante say he shot for the film?

He blamed the writers' strike for having to make things up as they went, and changed the ending after a preview audience disliked the original.

Which studio partner brought the script to Joe Dante's attention?

Brian Grazer at Imagine Films sent Dante the script, liking the idea of a regular guy taking a vacation in his own neighbourhood and thinking Dante suited its comedy-horror mix.

Roughly how much did The 'Burbs gross in its number-one opening weekend?

The 'Burbs took about $11.1 million over the Presidents' Day holiday to open at number one, and finished its US run with roughly $36.6 million.

How many stars out of four did Roger Ebert give The 'Burbs?

He wrote that it tried to sit between Beetlejuice and The Twilight Zone but lacked the dementia of one and the intelligence of the other.

What CinemaScore grade did opening audiences give The 'Burbs?

The mixed reception at the time did nothing to stop it becoming a cult classic on video and cable.

Which label released the acclaimed 2014 UK Blu-ray with a new 2K scan and a making-of documentary?

Arrow Video's 2014 UK Blu-ray carried a new 2K scan and the documentary There Goes the Neighborhood; Shout! Factory later ported most of its extras to a US edition.

Which company released the soundtrack as an expanded double LP in 2018?

Waxwork Records issued the score as an expanded double LP in 2018, restoring music from the film that earlier soundtrack releases had omitted.

Which streaming service ordered a TV series adaptation of The 'Burbs?

Peacock ordered the series from Universal Content Productions, keeping the adaptation inside the same studio family that released the original film.

Who headlines the streaming TV series based on The 'Burbs?

Keke Palmer leads the series adaptation, produced by Universal Content Productions with Imagine Entertainment and Fuzzy Door.

What breed is Walter's dog?

A poodle is Walter's dog: the small white pet is found running loose, with Walter nowhere in sight, on the morning the neighbours decide he has vanished.

How long is Ray's vacation at home in the film?

A week is what Ray takes off, choosing to stay home rather than travel, which is how he gets sucked into his neighbours' obsessions.

How did screenwriter Dana Olsen sum up his approach to The 'Burbs?

Olsen's pitch was 'Ozzie and Harriet meet Charles Manson': wholesome sitcom suburbia with a family of possible killers next door, which is exactly the tone Dante's film strikes.

Over how many weeks was The 'Burbs shot on the Universal back lot in summer 1988?

A writers' strike meant Dante and the cast had to 'make it up as we were going along'.

Which Star Trek: Voyager actor plays Joe, the second garbageman, alongside Dick Miller?

Robert Picardo, later the holographic Doctor on Star Trek: Voyager, plays Joe, the garbageman alongside Vic; both actors are Dante regulars going back to his early features.

Who plays Bonnie Rumsfield, Mark's wife, who finds Walter's dog running loose?

Wendy Schaal, a regular in Dante's films, plays Bonnie Rumsfield, whose discovery of Walter's dog running loose sets the missing-neighbour panic in motion.

Which producer's company co-produced the streaming series adaptation of The 'Burbs?

Seth MacFarlane's Fuzzy Door Productions co-produced the series adaptation with Imagine Entertainment and Universal Content Productions, bringing the cul-de-sac paranoia to streaming.