Faber College has one frat house so disreputable it will take anyone. It has a second one full of white, anglo-saxon, rich young men who are so sanctimonious no one can stand them except Dean Wormer. The dean enlists the help of the second frat to get the boys of Delta House off campus. The dean's plan comes into play just before the homecoming parade to end all parades for all time.

Delta Tau Chi fraternity at Faber College is the bane of Dean Vernon Wormer's existence. It's members don't attend class, are the source of endless pranks on campus and have broken every rule imaginable. As a group, they have a negligible GPA and their main reason for living is to party. When Wormer finally finds a way to expel them all, the men of Delta Tau Chi decide to give the college a homecoming parade they will never forget. 

At a 1962 College, Dean Vernon Wormer is determined to expel the entire Delta Tau Chi Fraternity, but those trouble-makers have other plans for him. 




In 1962, college freshmen Lawrence "Larry" Kroger (Tom Hulce) and Kent Dorfman (Stephen Furst) seek to join a fraternity at Faber College. They visit the prestigious Omega Theta Pi House's invitational party, but are not welcomed there. They then try next door at Delta Tau Chi House, where Kent's brother was once a member, making Kent a "legacy." There they find John "Bluto" Blutarsky (John Belushi) urinating outside the fraternity house. The Deltas "need the dues" so they permit Larry and Kent to pledge. They receive the fraternity names "Pinto" (Larry) and "Flounder" (Kent).

Vernon Wormer (John Vernon), dean of Faber College, wants to remove the Delta fraternity from campus due to repeated conduct violations and low academic standing. Since they are already on probation, he puts the Deltas on something he calls "double secret probation" and orders the clean-cut, smug Omega president Greg Marmalard (James Daughton) to find a way to get rid of the Deltas permanently.

Flounder is bullied by Omega member and ROTC cadet commander Doug Neidermeyer (Mark Metcalf), so Bluto and Daniel Simpson "D-Day" Day (Bruce McGill) persuade Flounder to sneak Neidermeyer's horse into Dean Wormer's office late at night. They give him a gun and tell him to shoot it. Unbeknownst to Flounder, the gun is loaded with blanks. Unable to bring himself to kill the horse, he fires into the ceiling. The noise frightens the horse so much that it dies of a heart attack.

In the cafeteria the next day, smooth-talking Eric "Otter" Stratton (Tim Matheson) tries to convince the stuck-up Mandy Pepperidge (Mary Louise Weller) to abandon her boyfriend, the uninteresting Marmalard, and date him instead. Bluto proceeds to provoke Marmalard with his impression of a popping zit by stuffing his mouth with a scoop of mashed potatoes and propelling it at Marmalard and table mates, Chip Diller (Kevin Bacon) and Barbara "Babs" Jansen (Martha Smith). Bluto then starts a food fight that engulfs the cafeteria.

Bluto and D-Day steal the answers to an upcoming psychology test, but it turns out the Omegas planted the exam stencil and the Deltas get every answer wrong. Their grade-point averages drop so low that Wormer needs only one more incident to revoke the charter that allows them to remain on campus.

To cheer themselves up, the Deltas organize a toga party, during which Otis Day and the Knights perform "Shout". The dean's alcoholic, lecherous wife, Marion (Verna Bloom), attends the party at Otter's invitation and has sex with him. Pinto hooks up with Clorette (Sarah Holcomb), a girl he met at the supermarket, and makes out with her only to learn she is the mayor's 13-year-old daughter. He later takes her home in a shopping cart. Due to the party, Wormer organizes a kangaroo court with the Omegas and revokes Delta's charter and all belongings are confiscated.

To take their minds off their troubles, Otter, Donald "Boon" Schoenstein (Peter Riegert), Flounder and Pinto go on a road trip. Otter picks up some girls from Emily Dickinson College by pretending to be the fiancé of Fawn Liebowitz, a girl who recently died on campus. They stop at a roadhouse because Otis Day and the Knights are performing there, not realizing that it caters to an exclusively black clientele. The hulking patrons intimidate the guys and they flee, damaging Flounder's borrowed car and leaving their frightened dates behind.

Boon breaks up with his girlfriend Katy (Karen Allen) after discovering her sexual relationship with a professor (Donald Sutherland). Marmalard is told that his girlfriend is having an affair with Otter, so he and other Omegas lure him to a motel and beat him up. The Deltas' midterm grades are so poor that an ecstatic Wormer expels them all. He even notifies their draft boards of their eligibility. In the process, before Bluto attempts to speak to the dean, Wormer orders Flounder to speak with the words, "Well? Out with it!", whereupon Flounder vomits on the dean.

It seems time for the Deltas to give up, but Bluto, supported by the injured Otter, rouses them with an impassioned, historically inaccurate speech ("Was it over when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor?!") and they decide to take revenge on Wormer and the Omegas. The Deltas construct a rogue parade float with Flounder's car as its base and wreak havoc on the annual homecoming parade. During the ensuing chaos, the futures of many of the main characters are revealed. The last shot of the film is of Bluto driving away in a white convertible with his soon-to-be wife, Mandy Pepperidge. 


 Cast (in credits order) verified as complete  
Tom Hulce 	Tom Hulce 	... 	
Larry Kroger (as Thomas Hulce)
Stephen Furst 	Stephen Furst 	... 	
Kent Dorfman
Mark Metcalf 	Mark Metcalf 	... 	
Doug Neidermeyer
Mary Louise Weller 	Mary Louise Weller 	... 	
Mandy Pepperidge
Martha Smith 	Martha Smith 	... 	
Babs Jansen
James Daughton 	James Daughton 	... 	
Greg Marmalard
Kevin Bacon 	Kevin Bacon 	... 	
Chip Diller
John Belushi 	John Belushi 	... 	
John Blutarsky
Douglas Kenney 	Douglas Kenney 	... 	
Stork
Chris Miller 	Chris Miller 	... 	
Hardbar (as Christian Miller)
Bruce Bonnheim 	Bruce Bonnheim 	... 	
B.B.
Karen Allen 	Karen Allen 	... 	
Katy
James Widdoes 	James Widdoes 	... 	
Robert Hoover
Tim Matheson 	Tim Matheson 	... 	
Eric Stratton
Peter Riegert 	Peter Riegert 	... 	
Donald Schoenstein
Bruce McGill 	Bruce McGill 	... 	
Daniel Simpson Day
Joshua Daniel 	Joshua Daniel 	... 	
Mothball
Donald Sutherland 	Donald Sutherland 	... 	
Dave Jennings
John Vernon 	John Vernon 	... 	
Dean Vernon Wormer
Junior 	Junior 	... 	
Trooper
Cesare Danova 	Cesare Danova 	... 	
Mayor Carmine DePasto
Sunny Johnson 	Sunny Johnson 	... 	
Otter's Co-Ed (scenes deleted)
Verna Bloom 	Verna Bloom 	... 	
Marion Wormer
Sarah Holcomb 	Sarah Holcomb 	... 	
Clorette DePasto
Stacy Grooman 	Stacy Grooman 	... 	
Sissy
Stephen Bishop 	Stephen Bishop 	... 	
Charming Guy with Guitar
Otis Day 	Otis Day 	... 	
Otis Day (as DeWayne Jessie)
Eliza Roberts 	Eliza Roberts 	... 	
Brunella (as Eliza Garrett)
Lisa Baur 	Lisa Baur 	... 	
Shelly
Aseneth Jurgenson 	Aseneth Jurgenson 	... 	
Beth
Katherine Denning 	Katherine Denning 	... 	
Noreen
Raymone Robinson 	Raymone Robinson 	... 	
Mean Dude
Robert Elliott 	Robert Elliott 	... 	
Meaner Dude
Reginald Farmer 	Reginald Farmer 	... 	
Meanest Dude (as Reginald H. Farmer)
Jebidiah R. Dumas 	Jebidiah R. Dumas 	... 	
Gigantic Dude
Priscilla Lauris 	Priscilla Lauris 	... 	
Dean's Secretary
Rick Eby 	Rick Eby 	... 	
Omega
John Freeman 	John Freeman 	... 	
Man on Street
Sean McCartin 	Sean McCartin 	... 	
Lucky Boy
Helen Vick 	Helen Vick 	... 	
Sorority Girl
Rick Greenough 	Rick Greenough 	... 	
Mongol
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Judith Belushi-Pisano 	Judith Belushi-Pisano 	... 	
Bluto's Dance Partner at Toga Party (uncredited)
Robert Cray 	Robert Cray 	... 	
Bandmember, Otis Day and the Knights (uncredited)
Lorraine Furst 	Lorraine Furst 	... 	
Cashier (uncredited)
Tracy K. Shaffer 	Tracy K. Shaffer 	... 	
Party goer (uncredited)
Fred Simonds 	Fred Simonds 	... 	
Grim - Balding Professor (uncredited)
James 'Izzy' Whetstine 	James 'Izzy' Whetstine 	... 	
Man who Measures Dead Horse (uncredited) 


Produced by 
Ivan Reitman 	... 	producer
Matty Simmons 	... 	producer
Music by 
Elmer Bernstein 	
Cinematography by 
Charles Correll 	... 	director of photography
Film Editing by 
George Folsey Jr. 	
Casting By 
Michael Chinich 	
Don Phillips 	... 	(uncredited)
Art Direction by 
John J. Lloyd 	
Set Decoration by 
Hal Gausman 	
Costume Design by 
Deborah Nadoolman 	
Makeup Department 
Lynne Brooks 	... 	makeup artist (as Lynn Brooks)
Marilyn Patricia Phillips 	... 	hair stylist (as Marilyn Phillips)
Gerald Soucie 	... 	makeup artist
Production Management 
Peter Macgregor-Scott 	... 	unit production manager
Second Unit Director or Assistant Director 
Clifford C. Coleman 	... 	first assistant director (as Cliff Coleman)
Gary McLarty 	... 	second unit director (as Gary R. McLarty)
Ed Milkovich 	... 	second assistant director
Art Department 
Michael Milgrom 	... 	property master
Clint Robinson 	... 	assistant property master (uncredited)
Arthur Smedley 	... 	lead man (uncredited)
Sound Department 
Jack Gosden 	... 	dialogue editor
Alan Holly 	... 	sound re-recording mixer
William B. Kaplan 	... 	sound
Earl Sampson 	... 	boom operator
John Stacy 	... 	sound effects editor
Bill Varney 	... 	sound re-recording mixer
Howard S. Wollman 	... 	sound re-recording mixer (as Howard Wollman)
Dennis C. Salcedo 	... 	optical sound recordist (uncredited)
Roger Sword 	... 	sound editor (uncredited)
Marvin Walowitz 	... 	sound editor (uncredited)
Special Effects by 
Henry Millar 	... 	special effects
Stunts 
Pamela Bebermeyer 	... 	stunts (as Pam Bebermeyer)
Gilbert B. Combs 	... 	stunts (as Gilbert Combs)
Bud Ekins 	... 	stunts
James M. Halty 	... 	stunts (as Jim Halty)
Clifford Happy 	... 	stunts
Freddie Hice 	... 	stunts (as Fred Hice)
Billy Hank Hooker 	... 	stunts (as Bill Hooker)
Albert M. Mauro 	... 	stunts
Gary McLarty 	... 	stunt coordinator (as Gary R. McLarty) / stunts
Karen McLarty 	... 	stunts (as Karen Werner)
R.A. Rondell 	... 	stunts
Walter Wyatt 	... 	stunts
Camera and Electrical Department 
Joseph Cosko Jr. 	... 	assistant camera (as Joe Kosko)
Norman Glasser 	... 	gaffer
Pete Hill 	... 	second assistant camera
Richard Kamins 	... 	best boy
Tom Kessenich 	... 	key grip
Christine M. Loss 	... 	still photographer (as Christine Loss)
Charles Mills 	... 	second camera operator
John R. Shannon 	... 	still photographer (as John Shannon)
Michael Simpson 	... 	assistant camera
Steve Yaconelli 	... 	camera operator
Jon Falkengren 	... 	second grip (uncredited)
Mark Stanley 	... 	grip (uncredited)
Casting Department 
Katherine Wilson 	... 	location casting (uncredited)
Costume and Wardrobe Department 
Dan Chichester 	... 	wardrober
Gene Deardorff 	... 	wardrober
Editorial Department 
Malcolm Campbell 	... 	assistant film editor
Music Department 
Dave Kahn 	... 	music editor
Stephen A. Hope 	... 	music editor (uncredited)
David Spear 	... 	orchestrator (uncredited)
Kenny Vance 	... 	music supervisor (uncredited)
Transportation Department 
Don Newton 	... 	transportation captain
Tom Battaglia 	... 	transportation co-captain (uncredited)
Other crew 
Judith Belushi-Pisano 	... 	production associate (as Judith Jacklin)
Saul Kahan 	... 	unit publicist
Katherine Wooten 	... 	script supervisor
James Moffett 	... 	first aid (uncredited)
Katherine Wilson 	... 	location scout (uncredited)