victims are all authoritarian or overtly racist figures, including Daphne Heap and the aged and wealthy but vicious landlord Abraham Wright (Stacy Keach). Haskell Weeks (William Windom), a prominent figure in Houston, pulls strings to have the Houston police call "San Francisco super cop" Frank Shaft (Michael Murphy) to investigate. Shaft immediately fixates on the bird droppings and soon finds a link to Brewster. Brewster eludes the police with the apparent help of Louise but he eventually drives her away—and dooms himself—when he ignores her advice about sex by hooking up with Astrodome tour guide Suzanne Davis (Shelley Duvall). Suzanne saves Brewster by evading Shaft in her stolen Road Runner. Severely injured after losing Brewster, Frank kills himself. Brewster eventually confesses his responsibility in the killings to Suzanne, who betrays him to the police. A small army of Houston policemen enter the Astrodome but fail to nab Brewster before he takes flight using his completed wings. However, as a human he cannot overcome his inherent unsuitability for flight. Exhausted by the effort, he falls out of the air, crashing in a heap on the floor of the Astrodome. The film ends with a circus entering the Astrodome, played by the cast of the film costumed as clowns, strongmen and other circus performers. The ringmaster announces the names of each cast member, finishing with Brewster, who remains crumpled on the floor. Cast Bud Cort as Brewster McCloud Sally Kellerman as Louise Michael Murphy as Detective Frank Shaft William Windom as Haskell Weeks Shelley Duvall as Suzanne Davis René Auberjonois as The Lecturer Margaret Hamilton as Daphne Heap Corey Fischer as Officer Hines Stacy Keach as Abraham Wright John Schuck as Officer Johnson Bill Adair as Detective Bert Remsen as Officer Breen Jennifer Salt as Hope G. Wood as Captain Crandall Dean Goss as Officer Ledbetter William Baldwin as Bernard Ronnie Cammick as Wendel Marilyn Burns as Tour Guide Cultural references Scenes and characters often allude to other films, some of which include the following: Daphne Heap is played by Margaret Hamilton, whose best-known role was as the Wicked Witch of the West in the 1939 film version of The Wizard of Oz. When Daphne is killed, she is wearing sparkling red shoes like those that the Witch wants to take from Dorothy, and a few bars of the film's most famous song, "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" are heard. During the final