Dave-El's Weekend Movie Post: Pee Wee's Big Adventure

39 years ago, on  August 9, 1985, a film was released that confronted us with scourge of bicycle theft and the lengths some people will go to stand up to such an affront to civilized society and say "NO!"  

The Dave-El's Weekend Movie Post for today turns to the feature film debut of director Tim Burton starring Paul Reubens.

From 1985, it's Pee Wee's Big Adventure.   

We meet Pee-Wee Herman, a happy man-child living in a house that's the product of a happy man-child's imagination with over complicated Rube Goldberg devices providing for the care and feeding of it's inhabitant.

Pee-Wee leaves the house to focus on his #1 mission in life, the care and maintenance of his beloved heavily accessorized bright red bicycle. 

Dottie, an employee at the bike shop, has a crush on Pee-wee, but he's oblivious to her attentions as he only eyes for his bicycle.

Which as been STOLEN?!?!?  EGAD!!! 

Pee-Wee now has a NEW #1 mission in life: the recovery of  his beloved heavily accessorized bright red bicycle. 

A psychic (who is a phony! Whoops! Spoiler!) tells Pee-wee his bike is in the basement of the Alamo Mission in San Antonio.

And we are off as Pee-Wee Herman hitchhikes to Texas.  

Pee-Wee gets a ride from Mickey.

Mickey is a fugitive seeking to escape justice.  

Soon he will do anything to escape Pee-Wee Herman.

And Pee-Wee also gets a lift from Large Marge, a truck driving... ghost?  GHOOOOOOOSSSTTT!!!!  

And a half dozen or so weird encounters on the road before Pee-Wee Herman gets to the Alamo.

Which does not have a basement.

Or his bicycle.  

Dejected, Pee-Wee seeks to find his way back home, a journey that leads to an an altercation in a biker bar that Pee-Wee extricates himself from... by dancing! 

An attempt to "borrow" a motorcycle from the biker bar goes awry when Pee-Wee crashes and winds up in the hospital. 

While in the hospital, Pee-Wee sees his bicycle is being used as a prop in a film currently in production at Warner Bros. studio. 

With some inadvertent help from Milton Berle, Pee-Wee infiltrates the studio  and takes back his bike. But studio security only see someone stealing a movie prop and a wild and wacky chase ensues.  

Security only catches Pee-Wee because he stops to save animals from a pet store that is on fire. 

A pet store with a very large and eclectic selection of animals.   

In deference to his heroism saving those animals from a fire, Warner Bros. returns Pee-wee's bike in exchange for the rights to adapt his story into a film starring James Brolin as "P.W. Herman" and Morgan Fairchild as Dottie.

This is 1980's Morgan Fairchild.

The "It's That Person Who Was In That Thing" Department 

Jan Hooks was Tina, an Alamo tour guide

Cassandra Peterson (a.k.a. Elvira, Mistress of the Dark) as the Biker Mama of Satan's Helpers.

Here is Cassandra as Elvira.

The "No, It Is NOT That Person Who Was In That Thing" Department 

Andrea thought the part of Sgt. Hunter was played by the person who was Mrs. Davis on Big Bang Theory. That was Regina King.   Sgt. Hunter was Starletta DuPois.   

Paul Reubens and Diane Salinger (who played Simone the waitress) were reunited in the opening sequence of Burton's Batman Returns, in which they portrayed the parents of Oswald Cobblepot. 

Speaking of Batman...

The success of Pee-Wee's Big Adventure as well the film Beetlejuice convinced Warner Bros. to hand the Batmobile keys to director TIm Burton for 1989's Batman.   

Burton's work on short films Vincent (1982) and Frankenweenie (1984) impressed the Warner execs to let Tim has been feature film debut with Pee-Wee's big screen debut.

Paul Reubens as Pee Wee Herman (1988)  

Paul Reubens developed the childlike Pee-wee Herman character developed as a stage act while part of the comedy troupe, The Groundlings.  While Pee-Wee had the mentality of a little boy, the stage show was laced with  adult innuendo, something that was toned down to broaden Pee-Wee's appeal to children in the movie.  

The movie would lead into his groundbreaking CBS children's show Pee-Wee's Playhouse.  

Pee-Wee's Big Adventure is more or less safe for kids with a few jokes going over their heads.  But it is not a child's movie.  Pee-Wee's sweetness and innocence co-exists with a world that isn't.  But he perseveres, surviving and succeeding in spite of the cold brutal world that does not drag him down.  

That is that for this week's Dave-El's Weekend Movie Post.

Tomorrow, it's Doctor Who Is CLASSIC! 

Until next time, remember to be good to one another.