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John Candy, Jeffrey Jones, Annie Potts, Tim Thomerson, Barry Corbin ... see more see more... , Shawnee Smith , Valri Bromfield , Doug Steckler , Renée Coleman , Wesley Mann , Fiona Roeske , Lyle Alzado , Stephen Young , Brenda Crichlow , Beverley Elliott , Ewen Leslie , Joe Flaherty , Michelle Goodger , Gary Hetherington , Karen Leigh Hopkins , P. Lynn Johnson , Tamsin Kelsey , Manny Perry , Garwin Sanford , Eve Smith , Peter Yunker , James Belushi , Tino Insana , Ira Miller , Deanna Oliver , Daliah Bache , Frank Casado , Tony Dakota , Frank T. Hernandez , Marcel Maillard , Patrick McKenna , Lori O'Byrne , Cyndi Lee Rice , Rob Morton

John Candy's popularity from his appearances on the Canadian television series Second City TV did not translate into film success until he made the John Hughes comedy Uncle Buck. Who's Harry Crumb? wa... read more read more...s released just before the more well-known film, and some SCTV regulars make cameo appearances. In this farcical comedy, Candy plays bumbling Harry Crumb, scion of a family of great detectives, who works as a trainee in the agency his legendary grandparents founded. His slimey boss Eliot Draisen (Jeffrey Jones) assigns the inept young detective to find the kidnapped daughter of a multi-millionaire. The plot twist is that Draisen doesn't want the kidnappers found, for reasons of his own. While Crumb blithely bumbles along through various mishaps, Draisen tries to put the moves on the millionaire's wife (Annie Potts). Fans of Candy will probably enjoy this film, which he dominates with his comedic talents and (literally) large presence. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi

Flixster Users

43% liked it

18,136 ratings

Critics

30% liked it

10 critics

PG-13, 1 hr. 30 min.

Directed by: Paul Flaherty

Release Date: February 3, 1989

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DVD Release Date: March 7, 2000

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Stats: 455 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (455)

  • phubbs1
    July 14, 2011
    phubbs1
    The ever lovable John Candy manages to make you smile throughout this film despite it being somewhat childish with some pretty lame predictable visual gags. A simple plot involving an inept private eye trying to uncover a kidnapping and inadvertently succeeding through his own bl... read moreundering, a slight copy of 'The Pink Panther' methinks but its a fun little farce giving Candy the oppertunity to try many character disguises....think 'Fletch'.

    Its all very silly yet likeable as Candy uses his girth in all manner of ways to make you chuckle, classic 80's actor Jeff Jones is the perfect dastardly foil to Candy with Tim Thomerson in an unusual role as a slightly useless badguy henchman.
    Overall you are lead through a nice array of amusing sequences which are fun, I won't lie and say they are great and hilarious simply because Candy is the star ergo they must be great as that isn't the case, if this film had been made today it would probably be long forgotten very very quickly but that also does testify to the skill and charm of Candy.

    Not his best film but its up there in the top five.
  • fb100002359227440
    May 27, 2011
    fb100002359227440
    Who's Harry Crumb? Well, it's a fun guy, but you really don't want see him. You know what i meen?
  • ajv2688
    April 5, 2011
    ajv2688
    One of Candy's funniest performances for me. Plus, the rest of the cast is perfect. The story is a bit predictable, but it's highly enjoyable, and I recommend this movie.
  • stormyweather980
    September 10, 2009
    stormyweather980
    In "Who's Harry Crumb?" John Candy stars as a clueless detective who's searching for a woman who has reportedly been kidnapped. However, everybody soon notices that Mr. Crumb acts like a complete idiot and doesn't seem to know anything about what he's supposed to be doing. It see... read morems for sure that there's no possible way that Mr. Crumb will be able to find the woman that he's looking for.
    "Who's Harry Crumb?" is hilarious at times, but it's not one of John Candy's best movies. It's no "Great Outdoors" or "Planes, Trains, and Automobiles," but it's still funny. I recommend anybody who likes comedy movies and especially John Candy comedies to get "Who's Harry Crumb?" NOTE: That was my Amazon review from the year 2001. Actually, this or his final movie was the worst of Candy's movies. Most of his are classics.
  • deano
    December 11, 2006
    deano
    Unfunny comedy with John Candy as a bungling private detective is jack of all disguise, master of none.
  • nadyajoensen
    January 25, 2011
    nadyajoensen
    I saw this movie a long time ago and I thought it was hilarious. Being a huge John Candy fan I love most of his movies and this is one of the good underappreciated ones. I would definetely recommend this movie to all John Candy fans.
  • ileo
    December 25, 2007
    ileo
    Very funny!
  • fb16709066
    April 8, 2012
    fb16709066
    I love these types of comedies quite a bit, but this movie is pretty awful. Unfortunately it is not awful as in good, or it's the type of awful that makes the comedy even better. This movie quite flat and quite disappointing given John Candy is the lead. The plot in this movie is... read more quite predicable, the jokes are quite forced and pretty predictable, and the physical comedic elements are a swing and a miss.
  • Bostonceltics6
    December 16, 2011
    Bostonceltics6
    Look, I like silly humor. But this was a bit much.
    Harry Crumb, a clumsy and stupid detective, is hired to solve the murder of model Jennifer Downing. The Downing family is terrified, but Crumb makes thing even worse by doing clumsy actions. He also finds out that the mother of ... read morethe family is a cheater and a dirty person. With the work of Jennifer's sister, Nikki, he tries to solve the unexpected ending.
    Umm, this was a bit much. Don't get me wrong, John Candy is very, very funny. But he was just not that good in this. I wondered where the "Uncle Buck" or "Planes, Trains, and Automobiles" type of Candy was, but not here. The plot is kinda good, but obvious that the mother is a vicious person, as well as Crumb's boss, Elliott. But the one thing I CAN NOT stand is Candy's disguise as an Indian air conditioning salesman. Very annoying.
    As you can see, the movie isn't that great. Only part I somewhat liked is when Crumb is on a ceiling fan going faster and faster.
    Oh, and by the way, this isn't for the kids. Numerous cussing and a bit of sexual scenes. Didn't like this one at all.
  • skekcol
    May 19, 2010
    skekcol
    A fun comedy from John Candy. I wouldn't call it hilarious, but it was certainly charming and worth watching.

View All Who's Harry Crumb? Reviews

Critic Reviews

Frank Ochieng
January 20, 2006
Frank Ochieng, TheWorldJournal.com

An outlandishly fluffy whodunnit farce that generates its inspired nuttiness from the likable John Candy.

Scott Weinberg
January 15, 2003
Scott Weinberg, eFilmCritic.com

Love the late, great John Candy? Me too. Let's honor the funnyman by never seeing this movie again. Full Review

Pablo Villaca
May 31, 2002
Pablo Villaca, Cinema em Cena

O slogan do filme é 'Nervos de aço. Corpo de ferro. Cérebro de pedra.'. A quem os produtores estavam se referindo? A Crumb ou a nós, pobres espectadores? Full Review

March 26, 2009
Variety

Click to read the article Full Review

Janet Maslin
May 20, 2003
Janet Maslin, New York Times

Click to read the article Full Review

Richard Harrington
January 1, 2000
Richard Harrington, Washington Post

Click to read the article Full Review

Emanuel Levy
August 11, 2005
Emanuel Levy, EmanuelLevy.Com

No review available.

Carol Cling
August 22, 2003
Carol Cling, Las Vegas Review-Journal

No review available.

Nicolas Lacroix
March 24, 2003
Nicolas Lacroix, Showbizz.net

No review available.

Shannon J. Harvey
February 4, 2003
Shannon J. Harvey, Sunday Times (Australia)

No review available.

Critic ratings and reviews powered by RottenTomatoes.com

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Facts

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    • Man in Apartment: Get your butt up there Sabu! More coins!
    • Harry Crumb: Maybe your eyes are playing tricks on me! [Chuckles]
    • Harry Crumb: (In Salon). Too tight, too loose, too fluffy!
    • Dennis Kimball: You don't like what you see?
    • Harry Crumb: Only I am the judge of that.
    • Dennis Kimball: Of course.
    • Harry Crumb: Of course!
    • Harry Crumb: I am Dejoul Dilliouje.
    • Suki's Salon Receptionist: Could you spell that please?
    • Harry Crumb: I don't think so. Try it with a 'D'.
    • Harry Crumb: My reputation precedes me. Otherwise, I'd be late for all my appointments.
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Who's Harry Crumb? Trivia

  • Who's Harry Crumb?  Answer »
  • I was in Howard the Duck, Transylvania 6-5000, Beetle Juice, Who's Harry Crumb, Ravenous, Sleepy Hollow (1999) and, my voice can be found in some Invader Zim episodes. Who am I?   Answer »
  • In what 1989 movie will you see John Candy as a Big-hearted, soft headed, bumbling private eye in search of a multi-millionaires' kidnapped daughter?  Answer »
  • Who played Harry Crumb in Who's Harry Crumb?  Answer »
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