# Doctor Detroit
**Doctor Detroit** is a 1983 American comedy film directed by Michael Pressman and starring [Dan Aykroyd](https://www.edgepedia.org/dan-aykroyd) as Clifford Skridlow, a timid Chicago professor of comparative literature who is conned into impersonating a flamboyant fictional pimp named Doctor Detroit. It was released by [Universal Pictures](https://www.edgepedia.org/universal-pictures) on May 6, 1983, and was Aykroyd's first major film without his comedy partner [John Belushi](https://www.edgepedia.org/john-belushi).[1](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/doctor-detroit/) • [2](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Doctor-Detroit)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Release | May 6, 1983 (wide, United States), Universal Pictures[1](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/doctor-detroit/) • [2](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Doctor-Detroit) |
| Director and writers | Michael Pressman; screenplay by Carl Gottlieb, Robert Boris, and Bruce Jay Friedman, story by Friedman[3](https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1983/05/09/ailing-dr-detroit/6059f115-8519-4110-b6ed-8bc85e96aa58/) |
| Lead cast | Dan Aykroyd (Clifford Skridlow / Doctor Detroit), Howard Hesseman (Smooth Walker), Donna Dixon, Fran Drescher, Kate Murtagh[4](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/doctor-detroit-1983) |
| Runtime and rating | 89 minutes, rated R[3](https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1983/05/09/ailing-dr-detroit/6059f115-8519-4110-b6ed-8bc85e96aa58/) |
| Box office | Opening weekend $3,295,722, 31.7% of total domestic gross; reported budget $8.0 million against $10.4 million revenue[2](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Doctor-Detroit) • [5](https://cinegraph.org/movies/doctor-detroit-1983) |
| Critical scores | 29% on the Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer (7 reviews); Metascore 48 on Metacritic (8 reviews)[6](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/doctor_detroit) • [1](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/doctor-detroit/) |
| Music | Original score by Lalo Schifrin; soundtrack released on Backstreet Records[7](https://shotonwhat.com/doctor-detroit-1983) • [8](https://www.luckyfrogfarms.com/cook/NL/1980%27s/1983/1983_05.pdf) |
## Spoilers
### Plot
Clifford Skridlow is a mild-mannered professor at the financially strapped Monroe College in Chicago, a physical-culture enthusiast who power walks to work each day.[4](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/doctor-detroit-1983) • [9](https://jerrysaravia.blogspot.com/2012/02/detroit-is-manic-and-diluted.html?m=0) The pimp Smooth Walker ([Howard Hesseman](https://www.edgepedia.org/howard-hesseman)) owes money to Mom (Kate Murtagh), a dangerous Chicago crime boss, and invents a fictitious tough partner called Doctor Detroit to stall her.[4](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/doctor-detroit-1983) • [9](https://jerrysaravia.blogspot.com/2012/02/detroit-is-manic-and-diluted.html?m=0) When the deception collapses, Smooth and his four call girls coax the professor into actually taking on the persona, and Skridlow finds himself juggling his academic life with a new identity in the underworld, eventually enjoying the role.[1](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/doctor-detroit/) • [10](https://www.theaterbyte.com/doctor-detroit-theaterbyte-blu-ray-review/) The Doctor Detroit character is marked by a clenched-teeth growl and a metal hand.[11](https://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/72953/doctor-detroit/)
## Production
The film was produced by Robert K. Weiss for Universal Pictures, with Bernie Brillstein as executive producer, and came from the producers of *The Blues Brothers*.[3](https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1983/05/09/ailing-dr-detroit/6059f115-8519-4110-b6ed-8bc85e96aa58/) • [12](https://moviesanywhere.com/movie/doctor-detroit-1983) King Baggot was the director of photography and Christopher Greenbury the editor.[3](https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1983/05/09/ailing-dr-detroit/6059f115-8519-4110-b6ed-8bc85e96aa58/) The supporting cast included Donna Dixon as Monica McNeil, Fran Drescher as Karen Blittstein, T.K. Carter as Diavolo Washington, Lydia Lei as Jasmine Wu, Lynn Whitfield as Thelma Cleland, and [George Furth](https://www.edgepedia.org/george-furth) as Skridlow's father, the university president Arthur Skridlow.[4](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/doctor-detroit-1983) • [13](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0085450/fullcredits/) [James Brown](https://www.edgepedia.org/james-brown) appears as himself in a musical number that became one of the film's best-remembered sequences.[14](https://midwestfilmjournal.com/2026/06/01/evans-film-journal-may-2026/amp/) • [6](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/doctor_detroit) Aykroyd met his future wife, co-star Donna Dixon, on the film.[6](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/doctor_detroit)
## Reception
**Contemporary critics.** The film received mixed to negative reviews. The Associated Press's Bob Thomas gave it an 88, writing that in his first major film without John Belushi, Aykroyd "proves a film comedian of first rank."[1](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/doctor-detroit/) Roger Ebert of the *Chicago Sun-Times* awarded 3 of 4 stars, calling the screenplay "Identikit sitcom" but finding "a lot of invention in Aykroyd's performance" and a "mad detachment" suggesting the actor was amused by the material.[4](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/doctor-detroit-1983) Vincent Canby of *The New York Times* called it "entertainingly slapdash" (60).[1](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/doctor-detroit/) At the negative end, Tom Shales of *The Washington Post* gave 30 and called it "as feeble a vehicle as any" Aykroyd could have chosen; the *Miami Herald* gave 25, saying the comedy "just doesn't have very many jokes"; and *TV Guide Magazine* gave 20, calling it unwatchable.[1](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/doctor-detroit/) The aggregated Metascore was 48, labeled mixed or average, from 8 reviews.[1](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/doctor-detroit/)
**Aggregates and box office.** On Rotten Tomatoes the film holds a 29% Tomatometer from 7 critics and a 40% Popcornmeter audience score from more than 2,500 ratings.[6](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/doctor_detroit) It opened wide on May 6, 1983 with a weekend gross of $3,295,722, which accounted for 31.7% of its total domestic gross, and it earned about $10.4 million against a reported $8.0 million budget.[2](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Doctor-Detroit) • [5](https://cinegraph.org/movies/doctor-detroit-1983)
## Later assessment and home video
Retrospective reviewers have generally treated the film as a flawed but energetic curiosity. TheaterByte's Blu-ray review called it "an outrageous, so-bad-maybe-it's-good '80s comedy" with kinetic energy and a strong 1980s soundtrack whose over-the-top comedy wears thin, rating it 3 of 5.[10](https://www.theaterbyte.com/doctor-detroit-theaterbyte-blu-ray-review/) DVD Talk found the story thin, with the college subplot serving mainly as motivation and a ticking clock, and judged that a character as bold as Doctor Detroit needed more unrestrained comedy than the standard studio film around him provided.[11](https://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/72953/doctor-detroit/) Audience retrospectives frequently single out the James Brown dance number and Aykroyd's dual-role performance.[6](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/doctor_detroit)
Shout! Factory released the film on Blu-ray on April 24, 2018, with theatrical trailers, TV and radio spots, a photo gallery, and a featurette on the film's audio press kit titled "Radio Free Detroit."[10](https://www.theaterbyte.com/doctor-detroit-theaterbyte-blu-ray-review/)
## References
1. [Doctor Detroit Reviews, Metacritic](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/doctor-detroit/)
2. [Doctor Detroit (1983) Box Office, The Numbers](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Doctor-Detroit)
3. [Ailing 'Dr. Detroit', The Washington Post (May 9, 1983)](https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1983/05/09/ailing-dr-detroit/6059f115-8519-4110-b6ed-8bc85e96aa58/)
4. [Doctor Detroit movie review (1983), Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/doctor-detroit-1983)
5. [Doctor Detroit, Cinegraph](https://cinegraph.org/movies/doctor-detroit-1983)
6. [Doctor Detroit, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/doctor_detroit)
7. [Doctor Detroit (1983) Technical Specifications, ShotOnWhat](https://shotonwhat.com/doctor-detroit-1983)
8. [Doctor Detroit press advertisement (1983)](https://www.luckyfrogfarms.com/cook/NL/1980%27s/1983/1983_05.pdf)
9. [Detroit is manic and diluted, Jerry Saravia on Cinema (2012)](https://jerrysaravia.blogspot.com/2012/02/detroit-is-manic-and-diluted.html?m=0)
10. [Doctor Detroit (TheaterByte Blu-ray Review)](https://www.theaterbyte.com/doctor-detroit-theaterbyte-blu-ray-review/)
11. [Doctor Detroit, DVD Talk (2018)](https://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/72953/doctor-detroit/)
12. [Doctor Detroit, Movies Anywhere](https://moviesanywhere.com/movie/doctor-detroit-1983)
13. [Doctor Detroit (1983) Full cast & crew, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0085450/fullcredits/)
14. [Evan's Film Journal: May 2026, Midwest Film Journal](https://midwestfilmjournal.com/2026/06/01/evans-film-journal-may-2026/amp/)
---
*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 › Satirical, black, and parody comedies of the 1980s*
*Initially written Oct 3, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license