‘Crocodile Dundee’s’ Just a Notch Below ‘Top Gun’; Martin, Chase and Short Saddle Up as ‘Amigos’

The Australian comedy/adventure “Crocodile Dundee” racked up a lot of records in movie houses--such as smashing the Australian box-office record and raking in more money than any foreign film in U.S. history--$174 million.

In the home video market, “Crocodile”--debuting this week on Paramount at $29.95--just missed breaking another mark. Retailers and distributors ordered 1.8 million copies, just shy of the initial order of 1.9 million copies for “Top Gun,” the all-time champion home-video moneymaker--also on Paramount.

According to Paramount executive Tim Clott, the company has since sold another 1 million copies of “Top Gun,” which retails at $26.95, bringing the total to 2.8 million since its March debut.

“We expect ‘Crocodile Dundee’ to end up somewhere in the 2 1/2-million range,” Clott predicted. “It has that wide appeal to both youth and adults that you need to rack up those big sales numbers.”

“Dundee” has made an international superstar of Paul Hogan, who plays the larger-than-life Australian outdoorsman who’s as tough as he is charming. The first part of the movie is set in the Australian Outback where Mick Dundee, nicknamed after a legendary fight with a crocodile, is the subject of a story written by a pretty reporter (Linda Kozlowski).

But then she takes Dundee, who’s never been to a city, back to her turf--New York. The real fun of this movie is savoring his reactions to the rotten parts of the Big Apple. The plot is fairly flimsy--but it’s Hogan’s charm, not plot twists, that really sells the movie. The burning question is whether Dundee, who falls for the reporter, will be aced out by her boyfriend--a slimy city slicker.

There’s not much here for critics to rave about. This is obviously a fan’s movie--one that should dominate the rental market for the next few months.

COMING MOVIES: Next week is loaded with rental debuts: “Working Girls,” “Brighton Beach Memoirs,” “The Bedroom Window,” “Critical Condition,” “King Kong Lives” and “Native Son.”

Other August releases: “Over the Top,” “Radio Days” (Aug. 19); “My Demon Lover,” “Jocks” (Aug. 20); “The Munchies” (Aug. 25); “The Stepfather,” “The Mission” (Aug. 26); “Betty Blue,” “Dead of Winter” (Aug. 27) and “P.K. and the Kid” (Aug. 28).

NEW RELEASES: Media’s “Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors” isn’t the best of this ingenious slash-and-splatter series but it’s by far the biggest hit, grossing a whopping $45 million. The first one is still the finest--and also one of the classics of this seamy genre. But if you’re a splatter-flick fan, you’ll probably find “Nightmare 3” very scary. It does feature splashier special effects and more grisly--and more effective--macabre humor. Most critics, though, who tend to hate this kind of movie, weren’t too favorable about it.

Freddy Krueger--the dead, disfigured child killer who haunts teen dreams--is back, this time terrorizing more youngsters who had the misfortune to grow up on Elm Street. They’re all in an institution because they live in fear of Freddy’s nocturnal visits. The hospital staff is skeptical until some of the young patients die horrible deaths. Caution: Keep this one away from the kids because it can cause nightmares.

HBO’s “Three Amigos!” was victimized by great expectations. Everyone expected a screamingly funny movie since it features comedy stars Steve Martin, Chevy Chase and Martin Short and was directed by John Landis. The common complaint was that it simply wasn’t as funny as expected. The first half of this Western spoof is mainly a trail of misfired jokes, with Landis often bypassing cleverness in favor of silliness. However, the second half is faster and considerably funnier. The comedy earned $40 million and, because of its attractive cast, is expected to be a big rental hit.

Chase, Martin and Short play silent-screen Western stars who, through a series of misunderstandings, wind up tackling real villains in a Mexican town. This same idea--the merging of a star’s screen image with real-life adventure--was handled more effectively in “My Favorite Year,” the 1982 Peter O’Toole comedy. Warning: Though “Three Amigos!” is a spoof, some may find the bandidos --presented as broad Hispanic stereotypes--very offensive.

OLD MOVIES: What keeps you enthralled with “The Naked Spur” (1953, MGM/UA, $59.95) is the unpredictability of James Stewart’s character--not like those Mr. Nice Guys he usually plays. This one is an embittered, mean-tempered cowboy who’s captured a criminal (Robert Ryan) to collect the reward. The bulk of the movie, one of the most exciting of ‘50s Westerns, concerns the hero’s tense trek through the wilderness with the prisoner, accompanied by a small band of misfits. There’s only one significant flaw: As the blonde temptress, Janet Leigh, who never seems at home on the range, is miscast. Directed by Anthony Mann.

“Follow That Dream” (1961, MGM/UA, $24.95) is an Elvis Presley showcase. Though not much of an actor, he had a strong, charismatic presence that made B-movies such as this one very watchable. About a family of hillbillies homesteading on public land, this is quite predictable and often cutesy but it still has appeal--albeit low-brow--thanks to Presley’s performance as a dumb, honest, earnest country boy. Lots of Presley tunes, though none are particularly memorable.

“Paris When It Sizzles” (Paramount, 1964, $29.95) doesn’t sizzle. It’s supposedly a comedy about a screenwriter (William Holden) and his secretary (Audrey Hepburn) who use fantasies as a writing aid, but there’s not much to laugh at. Some analyses of Hepburn’s career label this as her worst movie. Lone bright spots are the Parisian scenery and appearances by Noel Coward and Marlene Dietrich.

Just out: MCA’s “Sweet Charity” (1968, $59.95), the musical starring Shirley MacLaine; MCA’s “Midnight Lace” (1960, $59.95), a suspense yarn with Doris Day and Rex Harrison.

Out next week on MCA: “The Ugly American,” the 1963 political drama starring Marlon Brando, “Send Me No Flowers,” a 1964 comedy with Rock Hudson and Doris Day, and “The Benny Goodman Story” (1955), featuring Steve Allen.

The long-awaited home video debut of “Pal Joey,” on RCA/Columbia at $29.95, is Oct. 15. Starring Frank Sinatra, Rita Hayworth and Kim Novak, this 1957 musical features Sinatra’s great version of “The Lady Is a Tramp.”

CHARTS (Compiled by Billboard magazine) TOP VIDEOCASSETTES, RENTALS 1--”The Color Purple” (Warner Video).

2--”The Golden Child” (Paramount).

3--”Crimes of the Heart” (Lorimar).

4--”Hannah and Her Sisters” (HBO).

5--”Little Shop of Horrors” (Warner Video).

TOP VIDEOCASSETTES, SALES 1--”Jane Fonda’s Low Impact Aerobics Workout” (Lorimar).

2--”Top Gun” (Paramount).

3--”Here’s Mickey!” (Disney).

4--”Callanetics” (MCA).

5--”The Color Purple” (Warner Video).