The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad! is the 1988 comedy starring Leslie Nielsen as Frank Drebin, a police detective who stumbles into a scheme to use mind control to help assassinate Queen Elizabeth. The feature adapts the comic world of the television series Police Squad!, turning the conventions of a police procedural into broad parody.
What is The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad! about?
Frank Drebin is a Police Squad detective whose investigation leads him to a plot involving mind control and Queen Elizabeth. Paramount’s official synopsis presents the case as a police-procedural setup for comedy: Drebin’s earnest approach and the serious conventions of crime stories are played against the absurdity around him.
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The film stars Leslie Nielsen as Drebin. Its humor depends on the contrast between his deadpan performance and the increasingly ridiculous situations his investigation brings him into.
Is the film based on Police Squad!?
Yes. The film is based on Police Squad!, a 1982 television series created by Jerry Zucker, Jim Abrahams and David Zucker. The American Film Institute describes the series as a parody of 1950s and 1960s television police dramas. That background helps explain the feature’s straight-faced detective framing and genre jokes, but viewers do not need to have seen the series to follow the film.
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What are the film’s rating and runtime?
Paramount+ lists the 1988 film as a comedy rated PG-13, with a displayed runtime of 1 hour 25 minutes. Those are the details shown on the service’s title page; check the listing in your territory for current viewing information.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Where can you watch or buy it?
Paramount+ has an official title page for the film, but a page listing does not guarantee that it is currently streamable in every country or under every plan. Check your local Paramount+ catalog before subscribing or making viewing plans.
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If you want to own a copy, look for The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad! on DVD or Blu-ray. Confirm that a listing is for the 1988 film—not a sequel or the newer film titled The Naked Gun—and check the format, region, edition and stock before buying. No particular current edition or retailer offer is established here.
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