{ "id": "ep01bjsbr5", "slug": "nothing-personal-1968-film", "title": "Nothing Personal (1968 film)", "updated": "2026-11-01", "topic_path": [ { "id": "culture", "label": "Arts and culture", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture" }, { "id": "culture.performance", "label": "Screen and stage", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen", "label": "Film and television", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.films", "label": "Films and standalone screen works", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.films" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works", "label": "Individual films by title and year", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.comedy-romance", "label": "Comedy and romantic films (individual works)", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.comedy-romance" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.comedy-romance.comedies-of-the-1980s", "label": "Comedies of the 1980s", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.comedy-romance.comedies-of-the-1980s" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.comedy-romance.comedies-of-the-1980s.comedy-dramas-of-the-1980s", "label": "Comedy-dramas of the 1980s", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.comedy-romance.comedies-of-the-1980s.comedy-dramas-of-the-1980s" } ], "geo": [ { "id": "geo.us.t1946.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.comedy-romance.comedies-of-the-1980s.comedy-dramas-of-the-1980s", "label": "United States · 1946 to 2000: Comedy-dramas of the 1980s", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t1946.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.comedy-romance.comedies-of-the-1980s.comedy-dramas-of-the-1980s", "path": [ { "id": "geo.us", "label": "United States", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us" }, { "id": "geo.us.t1946", "label": "United States · 1946 to 2000", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t1946" }, { "id": "geo.us.t1946.culture", "label": "Arts and culture", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t1946.culture" }, { "id": "geo.us.t1946.culture.performance", "label": "Screen and stage", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t1946.culture.performance" }, { "id": "geo.us.t1946.culture.performance.screen", "label": "Film and television", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t1946.culture.performance.screen" }, { "id": "geo.us.t1946.culture.performance.screen.films", "label": "Films and standalone screen works", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t1946.culture.performance.screen.films" }, { "id": "geo.us.t1946.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works", "label": "Individual films by title and year", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t1946.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works" }, { "id": "geo.us.t1946.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.comedy-romance", "label": "Comedy and romantic films (individual works)", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t1946.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.comedy-romance" }, { "id": "geo.us.t1946.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.comedy-romance.comedies-of-the-1980s", "label": "Comedies of the 1980s", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t1946.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.comedy-romance.comedies-of-the-1980s" }, { "id": "geo.us.t1946.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.comedy-romance.comedies-of-the-1980s.comedy-dramas-of-the-1980s", "label": "Comedy-dramas of the 1980s", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t1946.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.comedy-romance.comedies-of-the-1980s.comedy-dramas-of-the-1980s" } ] } ], "excerpt": "Nothing Personal: 1980 George Bloomfield comedy (not 1968) written by Robert Kaufman, starring Donald Sutherland and Suzanne Somers as a professor and lawyer saving Alaska harbor seals from a military-base developer; AFI Catalog, 96 min, PG.", "snippet": "Nothing Personal: 1980 George Bloomfield comedy (not 1968) written by Robert Kaufman, starring Donald Sutherland and Suzanne Somers as a professor and lawyer saving Alaska harbor seals from a military-base developer; AFI Catalog, 96 min, PG.", "node": "culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.comedy-romance.comedies-of-the-1980s.comedy-dramas-of-the-1980s", "markdown": "# Nothing Personal (1968 film)\n\n**Nothing Personal** is a 1980 comedy film directed by George Bloomfield and written by Robert Kaufman, starring [Donald Sutherland](https://www.edgepedia.org/donald-sutherland) as a law professor who campaigns to save a colony of harbor seals and [Suzanne Somers](https://www.edgepedia.org/suzanne-somers) as the lawyer who joins his cause. The film was produced by Purple Heart Film Corporation and Quadrant Films and released by American International; the date sometimes attached to the title in reference listings, 1968, is not supported by the production record, which places the film's development in 1972 and its production in 1979.[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/56476-NOTHING-PERSONAL) The only 1968 comedy of a similar title in the [American Film Institute](https://www.edgepedia.org/american-film-institute)'s catalog is the unrelated Universal Pictures film *Nobody's Perfect* (1968), directed by Alan Rafkin and starring Doug McClure.[2](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/23890-NOBODY%27S-PERFECT)\n\n| Key fact | Detail |\n|---|---|\n| Release | Los Angeles and New York openings on 18 April 1980; some listings give a 28 March 1980 theatrical date[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/56476-NOTHING-PERSONAL) • [3](https://www.nndb.com/films/907/000206289/) |\n| Director and writer | George Bloomfield (director), Robert Kaufman (writer)[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/56476-NOTHING-PERSONAL) |\n| Stars | Donald Sutherland as Roger Keller, Suzanne Somers as Abigail Adams, Lawrence Dane as Ralston[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/56476-NOTHING-PERSONAL) |\n| Length and rating | 96 minutes per the AFI Catalog; MPAA rating PG[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/56476-NOTHING-PERSONAL) |\n| Production | Purple Heart Film Corporation and Quadrant Films; distributed by American International; filmed in Toronto and Washington, D.C. from 6 June to late August 1979[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/56476-NOTHING-PERSONAL) |\n| Budget | Set at $4.5 million; final budget reports varied between $5 and $6 million[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/56476-NOTHING-PERSONAL) |\n| Reception | Negative reviews and weak box-office performance; a 50% Tomatometer score on Google Play and a 4.6 IMDb rating on JustWatch[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/56476-NOTHING-PERSONAL) • [4](https://play.google.com/store/movies/details/Nothing_Personal?id=t_OobCy3htg.P) • [5](https://www.justwatch.com/ca/movie/nothing-personal-1980) |\n\n## Spoilers\n\n### Plot\n\nAt Barnes College, the jaded law professor Roger Keller (Donald Sutherland) learns that a colony of harbor seals in Dawson Bay, Alaska, is being clubbed to death. A new U.S. military base is being built where the seals breed, and residents have been ordered to empty the site by killing off its animals. Because endangered species are protected by law, Keller travels to Washington, D.C., to defend the animals and end the slaughter.[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/56476-NOTHING-PERSONAL)\n\nGovernment officials are unsympathetic: a Pentagon colonel (Gary Reineke) argues that the Dawson Bay installation will protect the United States from potential Chinese air strikes, and a senator ([John Dehner](https://www.edgepedia.org/john-dehner)) says construction is needed to stimulate the economy. Unable to win support from other attorneys, Keller teams up with [Abigail Adams](https://www.edgepedia.org/abigail-adams) (Suzanne Somers), who offers to work for free. Although he presumes she is less qualified than her male colleagues, she wins him over with her knowledge of Dunbar, the construction company building the base, and with the gift of a single share of Dunbar stock. Posing as investors, the two visit Dunbar's corporate office in Philadelphia, where Keller loses composure and orders executive Tom Dickerson ([Dabney Coleman](https://www.edgepedia.org/dabney-coleman)) to end the seal killings. The story ends at a Dunbar shareholders' meeting, where Keller makes an impassioned speech on behalf of the seals and the stakeholders vote to suspend construction.[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/56476-NOTHING-PERSONAL)\n\nAlong the way, Keller and Adams begin a romance, and the film pits them against the corporate opposition represented by Ralston (Lawrence Dane) as well as Dickerson.[6](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/1015283-nothing_personal/cast-and-crew)\n\n## Production history\n\n**A decade in development.** On 4 January 1972, Daily Variety reported that television producers David L. Wolper and Stan Margulies were considering acquiring Kaufman's screenplay, and a later item that month confirmed the project had been optioned through [Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer](https://www.edgepedia.org/metro-goldwyn-mayer) with Mel Stuart hired to direct. The film then remained in limbo until May 1978, when Kaufman met the Canadian producer David M. Perlmutter at the Cannes Film Festival. The two formed Quadrant-Bobka Productions to finance Kaufman's projects through Canadian tax-shelter laws, under which national productions were exempt from taxation and Canadian-based filmmaking was regarded as a low-risk investment.[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/56476-NOTHING-PERSONAL)\n\n**Financing and casting.** After the success of Kaufman's *Love at First Bite* (1979), the distributor American International negotiated a $5 million deal for three pictures over three years, with *Nothing Personal* set as the first production and its budget set at $4.5 million. Interest rose with the casting of Suzanne Somers, who had become famous on the television comedy *Three's Company*; because she was married to the Canadian talk-show host [Alan Hamel](https://www.edgepedia.org/alan-hamel), she qualified for ACTRA membership and met the film's tax-exemption requirements. The picture was developed as a vehicle for Somers, whose manager Jay Bernstein introduced her to the script, and it marked her movie debut in a starring role. Both Hamel and Bernstein are credited onscreen as executive producers.[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/56476-NOTHING-PERSONAL)\n\n**Financing by public share sale.** Four months before the U.S. release, Perlmutter had oversold the public stock in Canada, generating $7.3 million; each share sold for 10,000 Canadian dollars, and orders exceeded what was needed to redeem his investment by 25 percent. At that time the sum represented the greatest public offering for a single feature film in Canadian history. Despite the enthusiasm of investors, the film received negative reviews and did not perform well at the box office.[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/56476-NOTHING-PERSONAL)\n\n[Principal photography](https://www.edgepedia.org/principal-photography) ran from 6 June to late August 1979, on location in Toronto and Washington, D.C. Two directors of photography, Arthur Ibbetson and Laszlo George, are credited, with George Appleby as editor, Mary Kerr as production designer, and Peter Mann composing the original music, including the title song \"Nothing Personal,\" sung by Somers.[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/56476-NOTHING-PERSONAL)\n\n## Cast\n\nThe supporting cast draws heavily on Canadian comedy performers. Credited roles include [Roscoe Lee Browne](https://www.edgepedia.org/roscoe-lee-browne) as Paxton, Sean McCann as Jake, Chief Dan George as Oscar, Dabney Coleman as Dickerson, Lawrence Dane as Ralston, John Dehner as a senator, Gary Reineke as a colonel, Sean Sullivan as Dean Collier, Michael Wincott as Peter, and [Catherine O'Hara](https://www.edgepedia.org/catherine-ohara) as Audrey. Television comics [David Steinberg](https://www.edgepedia.org/david-steinberg) and Craig Russell appear as a talk-show host and guest, and Eugene Levy plays Marty; Maury Chaykin, Joe Flaherty, and Tony Rosato also appear in small roles.[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/56476-NOTHING-PERSONAL) • [7](https://www.tvguide.com/movies/nothing-personal/cast/2030103257/)\n\n## Reception\n\nContemporary critics were hostile. Gary Arnold of The Washington Post called the film an example of \"the Hollywood mentality at its most presumptuously low-brow,\" writing that director George Bloomfield \"betrays no style or discretion\" and succeeds only in imposing listlessness on the story; he found [Sutherland](https://www.edgepedia.org/sutherland) a \"limp defender of righteousness\" but praised the teamwork of Lawrence Dane and Dabney Coleman as the corporate villains.[8](https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1980/03/28/nothing-personal/be9c8617-151f-41b9-a556-faa44b309b01) Vincent Canby, chief critic of The New York Times, wrote of Somers's performance that her smile \"communicates no amusement, warmth, intelligence or interest.\"[9](https://hidden-films.com/2018/05/29/smut-for-general-audiences-nothing-personal-w-suzanne-somers-1980/) Retrospective assessments have been similarly unenthusiastic; the critic Jerry Roberts described the film as so wrapped up in money and union regulations that the characters and story take a back seat.[10](https://armchaircinema.com/nothing-personal-1980/) Aggregated scores reflect the consensus: [Google Play](https://www.edgepedia.org/google-play) shows a 50% Tomatometer rating, and [JustWatch](https://www.edgepedia.org/justwatch) lists an IMDb rating of 4.6.[4](https://play.google.com/store/movies/details/Nothing_Personal?id=t_OobCy3htg.P) • [5](https://www.justwatch.com/ca/movie/nothing-personal-1980)\n\nThe film remains available on streaming services, including Tubi, and can be rented or purchased digitally.[11](https://tubitv.com/movies/301931/nothing-personal) • [12](https://www.moviefone.com/movie/nothing-personal/1025551/where-to-watch/)\n\n## Other films of the same title\n\nThe title *Nothing Personal* has been used by several unrelated films. Urszula Antoniak's Dutch-Irish drama *Nothing Personal* (2009), starring Lotte Verbeek and Stephen Rea, won the Leopard for Best Debut Film, the FIPRESCI Prize, and the Leopard for Best Actress at the Locarno International Film Festival.[13](https://cineuropa.org/en/film/111756/en/index/en/filmsindex/111756/alt/2009/ctr/528/) Thaddeus O'Sullivan's *Nothing Personal* (1995, originally titled *Fanatic Heart*) is set in Belfast during the IRA ceasefire of 1975 and moves between Loyalist paramilitaries and their Catholic and Protestant victims.[14](https://doras.dcu.ie/17345/1/maeve_connolly_20120701121852.pdf) None of these is a 1968 release; the AFI Catalog's only 1968 entry with a similar title is *Nobody's Perfect*.[2](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/23890-NOBODY%27S-PERFECT)\n\n## References\n\n1. [Nothing Personal (1980), AFI Catalog of Feature Films](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/56476-NOTHING-PERSONAL)\n2. [Nobody's Perfect (1968), AFI Catalog of Feature Films](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/23890-NOBODY%27S-PERFECT)\n3. [Nothing Personal, NNDB](https://www.nndb.com/films/907/000206289/)\n4. [Nothing Personal, Google Play Movies](https://play.google.com/store/movies/details/Nothing_Personal?id=t_OobCy3htg.P)\n5. [Nothing Personal (1980), JustWatch](https://www.justwatch.com/ca/movie/nothing-personal-1980)\n6. [Nothing Personal: Full Cast & Crew, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/1015283-nothing_personal/cast-and-crew)\n7. [Nothing Personal - Full Cast & Crew, TV Guide](https://www.tvguide.com/movies/nothing-personal/cast/2030103257/)\n8. [Gary Arnold, \"'Nothing Personal'\", The Washington Post, 27 March 1980](https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1980/03/28/nothing-personal/be9c8617-151f-41b9-a556-faa44b309b01)\n9. [Sam Weisberg, \"Smut for General Audiences: 'Nothing Personal' w/Suzanne Somers (1980)\", Hidden Films](https://hidden-films.com/2018/05/29/smut-for-general-audiences-nothing-personal-w-suzanne-somers-1980/)\n10. [Jerry Roberts, \"Nothing Personal (1980)\", Armchair Cinema](https://armchaircinema.com/nothing-personal-1980/)\n11. [Watch Nothing Personal (1980), Tubi](https://tubitv.com/movies/301931/nothing-personal)\n12. [Nothing Personal - Where to Watch, Moviefone](https://www.moviefone.com/movie/nothing-personal/1025551/where-to-watch/)\n13. [Nothing Personal (2009), Cineuropa](https://cineuropa.org/en/film/111756/en/index/en/filmsindex/111756/alt/2009/ctr/528/)\n14. [Maeve Connolly, discussion of Thaddeus O'Sullivan's Nothing Personal (1995), DCU](https://doras.dcu.ie/17345/1/maeve_connolly_20120701121852.pdf)\n\n---\n*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Individual films by title and year › Comedy and romantic films (individual works) › Comedies of the 1980s › Comedy-dramas of the 1980s*\n\n*Initially written Oct 3, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*\n\n*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*\n\nLicense: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license\n", "same_as": [], "url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/nothing-personal-1968-film", "markdown_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/nothing-personal-1968-film.md", "license": { "name": "Edgepedia Community License 1.0", "url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license", "summary": "Free with credit, commercial use included. AI training is open to everyone. For other uses, organizations over USD 100M in revenue or 100M monthly users license separately.", "spdx": "LicenseRef-Edgepedia-Community-1.0" }, "credit": "\"Nothing Personal (1968 film)\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), https://www.edgepedia.org/nothing-personal-1968-film. Edgepedia Community License 1.0.", "credit_md": "\"[Nothing Personal (1968 film)](https://www.edgepedia.org/nothing-personal-1968-film)\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), [https://www.edgepedia.org/nothing-personal-1968-film](https://www.edgepedia.org/nothing-personal-1968-film). [Edgepedia Community License 1.0](https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license).", "credit_html": "\"Nothing Personal (1968 film)\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), https://www.edgepedia.org/nothing-personal-1968-film. Edgepedia Community License 1.0.", "speakable": "Nothing Personal: 1980 George Bloomfield comedy written by Robert Kaufman, starring Donald Sutherland and Suzanne Somers as a professor and lawyer saving Alaska harbor seals from a military-base developer; AFI Catalog, 96 min, PG." }