Trading Places

Theatrical release poster
Dan Aykroyd pictured in 2009. Paramount Pictures saw Aykroyd's success as tied to his partnership with the late John Belushi, and the studio did not want to cast him, but his previous work with director John Landis helped him to secure the role
The Curtis Institute of Music pictured in 2010. The building was used as the exterior of the Heritage Club where Winthorpe and Valentine first meet.
Winthorpe, Valentine, Ophelia, and Coleman retire with their gains to a tropical beach. The scene was shot on location in St Croix in the United States Virgin Islands.
Jamie Lee Curtis pictured in 2018. She was dismissed as only a horror film star before her critically well-received breakthrough performance in Trading Places.
Eddie Murphy pictured in 2010. His successes with 48 Hrs. and Trading Places elevated him to film superstardom.
A drawing from the 1882 novel The Prince and the Pauper by Mark Twain. Trading Places is seen as a modern retelling of that story and Twain's 1893 short story The Million Pound Bank Note.

1983 American comedy film directed by John Landis, with a screenplay by Timothy Harris and Herschel Weingrod.

- Trading Places
Theatrical release poster

145 related topics

Relevance
Curtis at the 2018 San Diego Comic-Con

Jamie Lee Curtis

American actress, producer, author, and activist.

American actress, producer, author, and activist.

Curtis at the 2018 San Diego Comic-Con
Curtis with her mother, Janet Leigh, in 1960
Curtis at the 2019 Toronto International Film Festival
Curtis at the 1989 Primetime Emmy Awards
Curtis autographing a copy of her children's book in 2010
Curtis speaking at an event in support of Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton in September 2016

Curtis's film work spans many genres, including the cult comedies Trading Places (1983)—for which she won a BAFTA for Best Supporting Actress—and A Fish Called Wanda (1988), for which she received a BAFTA nomination for Best Actress.

Bernstein guest conducting the U.S. Air Force Band in 1981

Elmer Bernstein

American composer and conductor.

American composer and conductor.

Bernstein guest conducting the U.S. Air Force Band in 1981

He is known for his work on the comedic films, Animal House (1978), Meatballs (1979), Airplane! (1980), The Blues Brothers (1980), Stripes (1981), Trading Places (1984), Ghostbusters (1984), Spies Like Us (1985), and Three Amigos (1986).

Theatrical release poster illustrated by Drew Struzan

Coming to America

1988 American romantic comedy film directed by John Landis and based on a story originally created by Eddie Murphy, who also stars in the lead role.

1988 American romantic comedy film directed by John Landis and based on a story originally created by Eddie Murphy, who also stars in the lead role.

Theatrical release poster illustrated by Drew Struzan

After a dinner date with Lisa is thwarted when Semmi furnishes their apartment with a hot tub and other luxuries, Akeem confiscates his money and donates it to two homeless men.

Landis at the 25th Anniversary for The Blues Brothers in 2005

John Landis

American comedy filmmaker and actor.

American comedy filmmaker and actor.

Landis at the 25th Anniversary for The Blues Brothers in 2005

He is best known for the comedy films that he has directed, such as The Kentucky Fried Movie (1977), National Lampoon's Animal House (1978), The Blues Brothers (1980), An American Werewolf in London (1981), Trading Places (1983), Three Amigos (1986), Coming to America (1988) and Beverly Hills Cop III (1994), and for directing Michael Jackson's music videos for "Thriller" (1983) and "Black or White" (1991).

Belushi in 2015

Jim Belushi

American actor, comedian and musician.

American actor, comedian and musician.

Belushi in 2015
Belushi at the 39th Venice International Film Festival in 1982
Belushi in House of Blues in Houston, 2008

Belushi also appeared in the film Trading Places as a drunk man in a gorilla suit during a New Year's Eve party.

Franken in 2015

Al Franken

American comedian, politician, media personality, and author who served as a United States senator from Minnesota from 2009 to 2018.

American comedian, politician, media personality, and author who served as a United States senator from Minnesota from 2009 to 2018.

Franken in 2015
Franken entertaining troops at Ramstein Air Base in December 2000
Franken with Senator Paul Simon in 1991
Franken playing Saddam Hussein while entertaining service members in Iraq (2005)
Franken campaigning for the U.S. Senate in 2008
Franken at an election rally with Hillary Clinton in October 2008
Franken meeting with Vice President Joe Biden in May 2009
Franken during the 111th Congress
Franken in 2017
Franken in July 2017 (second from the left)

They also had minor roles in All You Need Is Cash and the film Trading Places, starring Eddie Murphy and Dan Aykroyd.

Bellamy in 1934

Ralph Bellamy

American actor whose career spanned 62 years on stage, film, and television.

American actor whose career spanned 62 years on stage, film, and television.

Bellamy in 1934
Cary Grant, Rosalind Russell and Bellamy in a publicity shot for His Girl Friday (1940)
Gloria McGehee and Ralph Bellamy in Man Against Crime (1953)
Guest stars for the 1961 premiere episode of The Dick Powell Show, "Who Killed Julie Greer?". Standing, from left: Ronald Reagan, Nick Adams, Lloyd Bridges, Mickey Rooney, Edgar Bergen, Jack Carson, Ralph Bellamy, Kay Thompson, Dean Jones. Seated, from left: Carolyn Jones and Dick Powell.
As Franklin D. Roosevelt (1960)

This was quickly followed by his role as Randolph Duke, a conniving millionaire commodities trader in Trading Places (1983) alongside Don Ameche.

Aykroyd in 2009

Dan Aykroyd

Canadian actor, comedian, producer, musician and writer.

Canadian actor, comedian, producer, musician and writer.

Aykroyd in 2009
Aykroyd (right) on the set of The Great Outdoors, 1987
Dan Aykroyd in 1982
Bottle of Crystal Head vodka
Aykroyd's star on Canada's Walk of Fame

One of his best-received performances was as a blueblood-turned-wretch in the 1983 comedy Trading Places, in which he co-starred with fellow SNL alumnus Eddie Murphy and Jamie Lee Curtis.

Murphy at the 2010 Tribeca Film Festival

Eddie Murphy

American actor, comedian, writer, producer, and singer.

American actor, comedian, writer, producer, and singer.

Murphy at the 2010 Tribeca Film Festival
Murphy in 1988
Murphy's star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Murphy has received Golden Globe Award nominations for his performances in 48 Hrs. (1982), the Beverly Hills Cop series (1984–present), Trading Places (1983), The Nutty Professor (1996), and Dolemite Is My Name (2019).

Ameche on the set of International Showtime in 1964

Don Ameche

American actor, comedian and vaudevillian.

American actor, comedian and vaudevillian.

Ameche on the set of International Showtime in 1964
Ameche and Carmen Miranda in That Night in Rio (1941)
Ameche in 1946
Ameche in the 1938 film Alexander's Ragtime Band
Ameche in Down Argentine Way (1940)
Jack Haley (left), Alice Faye (center), Don Ameche and Tyrone Power (right) in a trailer for Alexander's Ragtime Band.

Returning to film work in his later years, Ameche enjoyed a fruitful revival of his career beginning with his role as a villain in Trading Places (1983) and won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in Cocoon (1985).