It Seemed Like a Good Idea at the Time
A gilt-edged wacky comedy
1975 | 90m | English
Popularity: 0.3 (history)
| Director: | John Trent |
|---|---|
| Writer: | John Trent, David Main |
| Staring: |
| Sweeney is a playwright on a career decline. He spends much of his time wheedling money and beer out of his artistic friend Moriarty. One of his few highlights is weekly sex with his ex-wife Georgia. She is remarried to a rich but vile construction developer, but Sweeney and Gorgina are still in love. | |
| Release Date: | Sep 11, 1975 |
|---|---|
| Director: | John Trent |
| Writer: | John Trent, David Main |
| Genres: | Comedy |
| Keywords | |
| Production Companies | Canadian Film Development Corporation, Quadrant Films |
| Box Office |
Revenue: $0
Budget: $0 |
| Updates |
Updated: Jan 30, 2026 Entered: Apr 30, 2024 |
| Name | Character |
|---|---|
| Anthony Newley | Sweeney |
| Stefanie Powers | Georgina |
| Isaac Hayes | Moriarty |
| Lloyd Bochner | Burton |
| Yvonne De Carlo | Julia |
| Henry Ramer | Prince |
| Lawrence Dane | Broom |
| John Candy | Kopek |
| Moya Fenwick | Mrs. Chorley |
| Anne Marie Sten | Big Red |
| Robert A. Silverman | Lawyer |
| Roy Wordsworth | Albert |
| Allan Kolman | Party Guest |
| Steven Meek | Party Crasher |
| Name | Job |
|---|---|
| John Trent | Director, Writer |
| David Main | Writer |
| Harry Makin | Director of Photography |
| Jim Hopkins | Sound Editor |
| Clarke Da Prato | Sound Re-Recording Mixer |
| William McCauley | Original Music Composer |
| Claude Harz | Original Concept |
| Tony Lower | Editor |
| Robin Leigh | Assistant Editor |
| Gary Oppenheimer | Assistant Editor |
| Caro Jones | Casting |
| Claude Bonnière | Art Direction |
| Ken Brooke | Makeup Artist |
| Liz Butterfield | Production Manager |
| Warren Keillor | Special Effects |
| Name | Title |
|---|---|
| David Perlmutter | Producer |
| Organization | Category | Person |
|---|
Popularity History
| Year | Month | Avg | Max | Min |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 4 | 2 | 4 | 1 |
| 2024 | 5 | 3 | 5 | 1 |
| 2024 | 6 | 2 | 4 | 1 |
| 2024 | 7 | 3 | 7 | 1 |
| 2024 | 8 | 3 | 6 | 1 |
| 2024 | 9 | 2 | 4 | 1 |
| 2024 | 10 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
| 2024 | 11 | 2 | 6 | 1 |
| 2024 | 12 | 2 | 4 | 1 |
| 2025 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 1 |
| 2025 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 1 |
| 2025 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1 |
| 2025 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
| 2025 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
| 2025 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| 2025 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2025 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2025 | 9 | 2 | 3 | 0 |
| 2025 | 10 | 2 | 3 | 1 |
| 2025 | 11 | 2 | 3 | 0 |
| 2025 | 12 | 1 | 5 | 0 |
| 2026 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Trending Position
Rather rubbish. 1975's <em>'It Seemed Like a Good Idea at the Time'</em> is supposed to be a comedy but I can't say I laughed, or even really chuckled, once, it's a bit of a slog to sit through; despite a short run time of 90 minutes. A flick seemingly most known for being the second film role ... of John Candy, who I'm surprised to see got a spin-off from this with co-star Lawrence Dane - neither of them stood out to me to be honest, especially (the eventually great) Candy. Of the other cast members, Stefanie Powers is alright but Anthony Newley's character kinda irritated more than anything else unfortunately. I shall still check out spin-off <em>'Find the Lady'</em>, in hope more than expectation that it'll be better than this - presumably with Candy as lead, it stands more of a chance than it otherwise would to be fair.