A young boy struggles on his own in a run-down hotel after his parents and younger brother are separated from him in 1930s Depression-era Midwest.A young boy struggles on his own in a run-down hotel after his parents and younger brother are separated from him in 1930s Depression-era Midwest.A young boy struggles on his own in a run-down hotel after his parents and younger brother are separated from him in 1930s Depression-era Midwest.
- Awards
- 8 nominations
- Ben
- (as Joseph Chrest)
- Director
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaIn the author A.E. Hotchner's book " Paul and Me" ( about his lifetime friendship and business partnership with Paul Newman) he says that "King of the Hill" is his own autobiography. Newman asked him to write a screenplay from it, so they could produce the film, but Hotchner said he just couldn't do it, implying he was too close to it... the story of his parents, and himself as a child. Paul Newman replied... "A Pity". Then Hotchner goes on to mention that this film, Steven Soderbergh's version, produced by Robert Redford, was excellent, named one of the top ten films of the year, and praised the remarkable performance of 14 yr old Jesse Bradford.
- GoofsAaron's father's car's plate number is 415138. Though his father was out of town with his car for a very long time we saw the same car/plate just outside the house where the party is given after the graduation ceremony. That car can't be there at that moment.
- Quotes
Mr. Kurlander: [sighs] Listen to me, Aaron. You're going to be okay, huh? You're a smart boy. You're very smart. I tell you how smart you are. Once, when you were less than a year old, your mother was in the sanitarium with consumption; and you would cry every night. So, the first few times, I picked you up and you stopped crying. So, I realized you just wanted attention. So, the next time you cried, I got a glass of cold water, and I stood over the crib and I said, 'You see this? This is a glass of cold water. So, you better stop crying or you'll be sorry.' But you kept crying, so I poured the water in your face and you stopped crying; just like that! And from then on... when you cried, all I had to do was to show you the glass of water and you'd stop crying. Now, that's a smart baby for you, eh? You be a mensch.
- Crazy creditsThis film was re-recorded in a Swelltone theater
- SoundtracksTiger Rag
Written by Edwin B. Edwards, Henry Ragas, Larry Shields, Edwin B. Edwards and Tony Sbarbaro (collectively as The Original Dixieland Jazz Band)
Performed by The Mills Brothers
Courtesy of MCA Records
Set in St. Louis in 1933, "King of the Hill" is like a light kids version of "The Pianist" (it's even got Adrien Brody!). The film centers around the 12 year-old Aaron Kurlander, and his family -- his mother, father, and younger brother, Sullivan. The Depression is in full force, and Aaron's parents have come to the agreement that the only way to save money and be able to continue raising their two sons is to have young Sullivan shipped off on a Greyhound bus to live with his uncle. Soon thereafter, Aaron's mother is taken out of the picture when she has to go for a stay at a sanitarium. The family lives in a hotel run by a bank, and Aaron's father isn't paying the bills; soon he's out of the picture when he goes off looking for work, leaving Aaron on his own to fend for himself.
He makes friends with a rich nerdy kid at school when he rescues him from some school marble bullies, and comes up with schemes of how to make money, like having canary's mate, since a newborn will fetch three dollars. He spins tall tales in order to get by at school, like telling his teacher that his parents work for the government. His hunky, older pal also living in the hotel, Lester (Adrien Brody) helps him about; in one incident they end up stealing Aaron's father's car, and with Aaron too small to be able to reach the brake pedal, he ends up going on a scary trip around town.
When one girl from school invites him over for supper, he gets caught in his own web of deceit when the school kids, at an after-graduation party where Aaron wins a special prize, hear different stories about what his parents really are. (Government workers, archaeologists, pilots.) At the same party, he's exposed for what (they think) he is: a poor kid and a teacher's pet.
He befriends a gawky girl in his hotel with a crush on him when she invites him over for hot dogs and dancing, but ends up having some sort of fit on the floor. (Epileptic seizure?)
The cop out in the street is just looking to bust some young punk kid, and the hotel bellhop is just waiting for Aaron to slip up, so he can lock him out of his room. (Look fast for Lauryn Hill as the hotel elevator operator!)
The movie looks great, both in the set deco and the juicy, round cinematography. The music is a plus, and nearly all the performances are first-rate. Jesse Bradford, with his big, expressive eyes, is just terrific as Aaron. He's got an ultra-pleasant face to watch, and his acting is totally fresh, without any hint of affectation. (Unlike his father's strange accent.)
"King of the Hill" is a lovely, great-looking period piece. A sometimes heartwarming, sometimes heartbreaking dramedy without any pretensions to be anything other than a good little gem of a movie. And that it is.
****
- SanTropez_Couch
- Apr 18, 2003
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Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Language
- Also known as
- Tepenin Kralı
- Filming locations
- 16 Portland Place, St. Louis, Missouri, USA(Billy Thompson's House)
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- $8,000,000 (estimated)
- Gross US & Canada
- $1,214,231
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $46,476
- Aug 22, 1993
- Gross worldwide
- $1,214,231
- Runtime1 hour 43 minutes
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 2.35 : 1
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