I was a huge fan of Police Squad! when it first debuted back in 1982. But all this time I've wondered why "Naked Gun" for the movie title? It was never spoken on Police Squad! that I can recall. Anyone know what it references or why it was chosen?
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I can only speculate because it sounds similar to the titles of the sort of classic film noir/crime dramas this film is spoofing (the Naked City, the Big Sleep, etc.)
shareThe answer to this is in the Trivia section and on the DVD extras.
Basically they were afraid of Police Squad movie being confused with the Police Acadamy movies that were out at about the same time.
Combining "Naked City" with a smoking gun and it sounds like a Mike Hammer title. Or Mickey Spillane.
"'Extremely High Voltage.' Well, I don't need safety gloves, because I'm Homer Sim--" - Frank Grimes
As has been mentioned, it's obviously a reference to The Naked City. I don't think the "Gun" part is a particular reference to anything other than cop movies in general. I think it's just that "naked gun" sounds kinda dirty in an adolescent way, which is the whole shtick.
shareThey were afraid it might go off accidentally. So they wrote in a baseball scene.
"Pretentious" is a three-syllable word for any thought too big for little minds.
I would agree that it is probably a reference to the Naked City which was also made into a TV drama in the late fifties/early sixties. Maybe “Gun” is a reference to the show Peter Gunn which was on TV about the same time.
shareIt's just a ridiculously silly name to give a laughingstock of a police movie lol. It fits perfectly imo.
share"The Zuckers and Abrahams were informed by Paramount Pictures that Police Squad wasn’t a suitable title because it was too similar to Police Academy. The filmmakers were given a list of 20 other titles, and chose Naked Gun because "it promised so much more than it could ever possibly deliver."
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