Ruthless People Inspired Dog Names

The 1986 comedy film Ruthless People is considered one of the best comedies during that year, thanks in large part to Bette Midler’s impressive acting and Danny DeVito’s constantly entertaining quality. Aside from the human characters in the movie, Ruthless People also features funny scenes involving a Doberman Pinscher named Adolph (owned by DeVito’s character) and a smaller dog named Muffy (owned by Barbara). The two dogs are a constant source of entertainment because they are always pitted against each other.

In the film, DeVito plays the role of millionaire Sam Stone, who has developed a hatred for his wife, Barbara (portrayed by Midler). He starts an affair with Carol Dodsworth and wants to start a new life with her. Hence, he plots to kill his wife in order to gain access to her family fortune, worth $15 million. When he returns home, however, Barbara is nowhere to be found. He then receives a call from an anonymous person, who informs him that his wife has been kidnapped. The kidnapper also stipulates that if Sam tells the police or the media about the kidnapping or fails to meet their demands, they will murder Barbara.

Sam is relieved to learn about the kidnapping because it will save him the trouble of murdered his wife by himself. He decides to disobey all of the stipulations of the kidnappers so that his wife will be killed. However, things do not go according to plan as the kidnappers, who are revealed to be Ken and Sandy Kessler, are unable to push through with the killing. The Kesslers are former employees of Sam Stone and they kidnap Barbara as revenge for Sam stealing Sandy’s designs and the couple’s savings.

Meanwhile, Carol learns about Sam’s intention to kill his wife and initiates a plan to blackmail him. He orders her dumb boyfriend, Earl, to film the act. Instead, however, Earl films an anonymous man in a rendezvous with a woman who isn’t his wife. Carol sends the copy to Sam, thinking that it is a video of the murder. She also sends a copy to police chief Henry Benton, who is revealed as the man in the video, which he assumes as someone blackmailing him.

This starts a series of events where the plans of the people involved all go wrong; Barbara starts to work out to combat boredom and befriends the Kesslers and Benton captures Sam for the death of his wife, under Carol’s orders. To prove his innocence, Sam’s withdraws all his savings to save Barbara. Barbara has also learned about Sam’s affair and decides to take work with the Kesslers and take all of his money. Towards the end of the film, Barbara lies to the police and says that her kidnapper is a schizophrenic and that she was able to escape. Meanwhile, the Kesslers get away with Sam’s money and together, the three celebrate the success of their plan.