The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad! (1988)
12-month trend
12-month trend
Monthly article views
2025-09 to 2026-08
A bumbling police lieutenant must navigate a series of absurd mishaps while trying to foil a plot to assassinate the Queen.
The story
Police Squad Lieutenant Frank Drebin is on vacation in Beirut when he disrupts a conference of the United States' greatest enemies who are trying to conceive a terrorist plan to humiliate the U.S. In Los Angeles, Officer Nordberg is injured during a drug bust. Drebin returns to Los Angeles and is tasked with investigating the case and ensuring security for the upcoming visit of Queen Elizabeth II. As Drebin navigates the investigation, he must deal with a series of escalating complications while trying to keep the Queen's visit safe from potential threats.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
While on vacation in Beirut, Lieutenant Frank Drebin disrupts a meeting of world enemies planning a terrorist plot against the U.S. Back in Los Angeles, Officer Nordberg is injured during a drug bust. Drebin is tasked with investigating the case and securing the city for Queen Elizabeth II's visit. Drebin meets the drug lord's assistant, Jane, and they fall in love while he investigates the plot. Drebin discovers a plan to use a beeper to turn a baseball player into an assassin. During a chaotic sequence at a baseball game, Drebin tries to stop the assassin, leading to a brawl. He eventually confronts the villain, Ludwig, who is killed in a series of absurd accidents. Drebin is reinstated to the force, and while celebrating with a recovered Nordberg, he accidentally sends Nordberg's wheelchair down a flight of stairs.
- First release year
- 1988
- Runtime (minutes)
- 85
- Production countries
- United States
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- David Zucker
- Writers
- Jerry Zucker · writer; Jim Abrahams · writer; David Zucker · writer; Pat Proft · writer
- Cast and characters
- Leslie Nielsen · Frank Drebin
- Genres
- crime; comedy
- Themes
- absurdity; law enforcement
- Tone and mood
- slapstick; humorous
- Premise and plot tags
- parody; police comedy
- Source material / true-story basis
- Police Squad!
- Franchise connections
- The Naked Gun
- Content notes
- slapstick
- Reception
- The film was a critical and commercial success, regarded as one of the greatest comedy films of all time.
- Reported review scores
- Rotten Tomatoes · score: 88% · review count: 144; Metacritic · score: 76 · scale: 100 · review count: 13
- Production trivia
- The film was selected by The New York Times as one of 'The Best 1,000 Movies Ever Made'.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
Your lists
Loading your lists…