W.H.I.F.F.S. [Whiffs] (1975, Elliott Gould, Eddie Albert, Harry Guardino, Godfrey Cambridge, Jennifer O’Neill, Alan Manson, Don ‘Red’ Barry, Richard Masur, Howard Hesseman) – Classic Movie Review 13,755

Elliott Gould plays Dudley Frapper, a test subject for nerve gas experiments who turns to crime, in the 1975 American comedy film Whiffs.

Director Ted Post’s 1975 American comedy film W.H.I.F.F.S. [Whiffs] stars Elliott Gould, Eddie Albert, Harry Guardino, Godfrey Cambridge, and Jennifer O’Neill, along with Alan Manson, Donald Barry [Don ‘Red’ Barry], Richard Masur, and Howard Hesseman.

Elliott Gould plays Dudley Frapper, a professional test subject for nerve gas experiments who turns to crime aided by the toxic vapours and crook Chops Mulligan (Harry Guardino), gassing a town to commit a double bank heist.

The title is about as funny as it gets, but, bizarrely, when it was released in the UK the title was changed to C.A.S.H. to link in with Gould’s hit film M.A.S.H. It was advertised as ‘the most hilarious military farce since M.A.S.H.!’

W.H.I.F.F.S. is a turgid comic heist movie that lacks a single amusing moment. As a satire it’s completely inept. The very good cast are completely lost. A.V.O.I.D. Gould recalled: ‘That picture didn’t work. They went with the obvious comedy.’

Writer Malcolm Marmorstein is to blame. Marmorstein previously wrote the screenplay for S*P*Y*S (1974), another misfire, also with Elliott Gould. Marmorstein, trying to blame the director, recalled: ‘Ted Post was a very amiable guy, except he had no idea how to shoot comedy.’

On the bright side, George Barrie (music) and Sammy Cahn (lyrics) were Oscar and Golden Globe nominated for the song “Now That We’re In Love”.

It was made by Brut Productions and released by 20th Century Fox in the US on 15 October 1975.

It is partly shot in Dugway, Stockton and Tooele, Utah.

Gould insisted on his then-girlfriend Jennifer O’Neill to play the female lead but they broke up during filming.

O’Neill has been married nine times to eight men (remarrying her sixth husband). Gould wasn’t one of them. Gould said: ‘I thought I was gonna marry Jennifer. Since I couldn’t, I thought that she’d be perfect to be my nurse in Whiffs.’ Marmorstein said: ‘We really didn’t want to hire her because we thought, what if their romance breaks up in the middle of the film?’ And they did.

© Derek Winnert 2025 – Classic Movie Review 13,755

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