In God We Tru$t/Fun Facts

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< In God We Tru$t
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  • To prepare for his role as Armageddon T. Thunderbird, Andy Kaufman practiced preaching on city streets. During filming, he never broke character.
  • Marty Feldman performed all of his own stunts.
  • According to the Astral Research website, when theatrically released, "Some Christians tried to condemn the film as blasphemous."
  • The film's title is the official national motto of the United States of America. The title had a "$" in it to replace the "S" to evoke the film's church financial revenue raising theme. The film's subtitle also referenced evangelism, it read: "Gimme that Prime Time Religion".
  • Televangelist Armageddon T. Thunderbird's abbreviated nickname was the acronym "A.T.T."
  • Richard Pryor's credit was billed on the film and in its marketing materials as "With a Visitation by Richard Pryor as God".
  • The name of the character of evangelist "Armageddon T. Thunderbird" was a joke meaning "I'm getting a Thunderbird 'T-Bird' car".
  • Some of the signs at the monastery read, "Keep thy Trappist shut", "Money can't buy you Poverty", and "Silence! Except when talking to GOD".
  • The movie's closing epilogue said: "And they all lived happily hereafter."
  • Lauretta Feldman, wife of Marty Feldman, was an Associate Producer. This was her only feature film credit.
  • The name of Dr. Sebastian Melmoth's (Peter Boyle's) mobile ministry was "Doctor Melmoth's Travelling Church".
  • The acronym "G.O.D.", the computer for Armageddon T. Thunderbird's (Andy Kaufman's) religious organization, stood for "General Organizational Directivator".
  • The license plate on Armageddon T. Thunderbird's gold-painted 1969 Cadillac Fleetwood 75 car said "GOD II".
  • The slogan of the Church of the Divine Profit (CDP) was "Truth is Booty".
  • Armageddon T. Thunderbird's white office was made to resemble the White House Oval Office of the President of the United States.
  • The movie featured several joke religious bodies. They included the Church of the Divine Profit (CDP), The Trappist Order of St. Ambrose the unlikely, Doctor Melmoth's Travelling Church, and the Worldwide Church of Psychic Selfhumiliation.
  • The name of the biker gang dressed in black helmets and outfits that were the heavies for Armageddon T. Thunderbird's Church of the Divine Profit were the "Heaven's Devils", a spoof of the name "Hell's Angels".
  • The character of the puppet in the movie was Moses.
  • The addresses for Armageddon T. Thunderbird were (postal) Box 300, Los Angeles, California, 90046 and (street) 800 Triangle Place, Los Angeles, California, 91246.
  • The name of the manufacturer of wholesaler religious novelties was "P. Pilate".
  • The sign at the Worldwide Church of Psychic Selfhumiliation said "All denominations welcome $2.00 and up. Today's Special: Light 1 candle for 10c. Get the second one free."
  • One of two Biblical comedies from 1980, which were released a year after the box-office success of Monty Python's Biblical spoof Monty Python's Life of Brian (1979). The two pictures, Wholly Moses! (1980) and this movie, were, unlike the Python film, commercial and critical failures.
  • The name of the religious order at the monastery was "The Trappist Order of St. Ambrose the Unlikely". The amount of money they needed to balance the books was five thousand dollars. The amount they gave Brother Ambrose to go out in the world and get was fifty dollars.
  • The film's opening prologue states: "Once upon our time..."
  • The film was released in the U.S. hot on the heels a year after of another religious comedy, Monty Python's Monty Python's Life of Brian (1979). That movie had been a box-office hit, whereas this film wasn't.
  • Several cast members had worked on the comedies of Mel Brooks. These included Richard Pryor (Blazing Saddles (1974)), Peter Boyle (Young Frankenstein (1974)), and Marty Feldman (Silent Movie (1976) and Young Frankenstein (1974)). Feldman also directed a television episode for Brooks' When Things Were Rotten: Those Wedding Bell Blues (1975).
  • The name of the character, "Dr. Sebastian Melmoth", played by Peter Boyle, was a pseudonym name that had been used by writer Oscar Wilde.
  • According to the American Film Insitute, a March 25, 1982 The Hollywood Reporter article, "reported that writers Mort Lachman and Ed Simmons lost their copyright infringement lawsuit against Universal Studios and Marty Feldman. Lachman and Simmons claimed that 'In God We Trust' was plagiarized from their 1971 script 'Albert', written for CBM Prods., based in Munich, Germany. CBM Prods. representatives testified that the production company owned the copyright on 'Albert', and therefore, Federal district Judge Cynthia Hall ruled that Lachman and Simmons did not prove their ownership of the 'Albert' screenplay, which was the first requirement of a copyright infringement suit. A lawyer representing CBM Prods. stated the company might pursue their own copyright infringement lawsuit."
  • Several cast members are billed in the closing credits without character names. Hence many cast lists for the film listing various actors and actresses, but without their corresponding character names.
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