Larry Gelbart
New interviews with Mel Brooks and Carl Reiner, footage from the reunion of Caesar's Writers (1996), and sketches from Your Show of Shows (1950) and Caesar's Hour (1954).
Documentary about the making of the 1982 film, featuring interviews with the cast and crew.
Fantasies and clichés about Brazil and Brazilians as reinforced by international films, even those actually shot in Brazil. This documentary features interviews with non-Brazilian directors, writers and stars who have been involved in some of those films.
The documentary Bob Hope: The Road to Laughter contains numerous clips from the film and television work of the beloved entertainer. These snippets are intercut with interview footage featuring people who worked with Hope as well as film historian Leonard Maltin who provides a context for Hope's career. ~ Perry Seibert, Rovi
In 1914, the Mexican revolutionary Pancho Villa (Antonio Banderas) invites studios to shoot his actual battles against Porfírio Diaz army to raise funds for financing guns and ammunition. The Mutual Film Corporation, through producer D.W. Griffith (Colm Feore), interests for the proposition and sends the filmmaker Frank Thayer (Eion Bailey) to negotiate a contract with Pancho Villa himself.
The M*A*S*H 30th Anniversary Reunion Special is a retrospective documentary on the CBS-TV series M*A*S*H that aired on the FOX TV network on May 17, 2002. The progam features interviews with past cast members, producers, and writers who contributed to the series, which originally aired on CBS-TV from September 17, 1972 to February 28, 1983.
One of the greatest comedians of early television, Sid Caesar hasn't had his work shown in perennial reruns, so it's especially gratifying to see a collection of his classic sketches released on video, with Caesar himself introducing the material. Besides being a truly gifted comic, Caesar benefited from having some brilliant supporting players, including Carl Reiner, Imogene Coca, and Nanette Fabray. Some of his illustrious writers, including Neil Simon, Woody Allen, and Mel Brooks, appear in interviews setting up the sketches. The sketches themselves include some all-time classics such as Caesar and company playing the figurines populating a medieval town clock (a brilliant bit partly written by Neil Simon and his brother, Danny, who reminisce after the sketch).
Elliot Richardson, a suicidal techno geek, is given seven wishes to turn his life around when he meets a very seductive Satan. The catch: his soul. Some of his wishes include a 7 foot basketball star, a rock star, and a hamburger. But, as could be expected, the Devil puts her own little twist on each of his fantasies.
The Big Daddy of televised comedy sketches, Sid Caesar had millions of Americans holding their sides and howling at his uproarious antics and those of his inspired sidekicks--Imogene Coca, Nanette Fabray, Carl Reiner, and Howard Morris. These are compilations of fan favorites--digitally remastered to be as crisp as they were in the 1950s. "The Fan Favorites" includes gems from the heyday of live TV, as well as interviews with writers and actors, including Mel Brooks, Woody Allen, and Neil Simon. 3-3/4 hours on 3 cassettes or 3 DVDs. Set 1 features live gut-busters from "Your Show of Shows" and "Caesar's Hour", including 18 of Caesar's own favorite sketches, plus revealing interviews with contemporaries, including Mel Brooks and Neil Simon. Three digitally remastered volumes: "The Magic of Live TV, Inside the Writer's Room," and "Creating the Comedy". Almost 4 hours on 3 cassettes or 3 DVDs.
The Big Daddy of televised comedy sketches, Sid Caesar had millions of Americans holding their sides and howling at his uproarious antics and those of his inspired sidekicks--Imogene Coca, Nanette Fabray, Carl Reiner, and Howard Morris. These are compilations of fan favorites--digitally remastered to be as crisp as they were in the 1950s. "The Fan Favorites" includes gems from the heyday of live TV, as well as interviews with writers and actors, including Mel Brooks, Woody Allen, and Neil Simon. 3-3/4 hours on 3 cassettes or 3 DVDs. Set 1 features live gut-busters from "Your Show of Shows" and "Caesar's Hour", including 18 of Caesar's own favorite sketches, plus revealing interviews with contemporaries, including Mel Brooks and Neil Simon. Three digitally remastered volumes: "The Magic of Live TV, Inside the Writer's Room," and "Creating the Comedy". Almost 4 hours on 3 cassettes or 3 DVDs.
As two warring media moguls grapple for ownership of a coveted professional football team, they use the newspapers, magazines and television stations they own to destroy each other's reputations.
A television movie based upon the book by Bryan Burrough and John Helyar, about the leveraged buyout (LBO) of RJR Nabisco.
A "play on words" about a fictional political scandal concerning covert arms deals and double-dealing government operatives, satirizing the Watergate hearings of 1972-1973.
Hosted by one-time M*A*S*H guest star Shelley Long, “Memories of M*A*S*H” included brand-new interviews with the cast as well as producers, creators and guest-stars. The 90-minute retrospective aired on November 25th, 1991 on CBS as part of its “Classic Weekend II,” which also included “The Bob Newhart 19th Anniversary Special” and “The Best of Ed Sullivan II.” Dozens of clips from over over sixty different episodes were shown. It was the brain-child of Michael Hirsh (also responsible for “Making M*A*S*H”) and coincided with the 20th anniversary of M*A*S*H.
Matthew Hollis is man on holiday in Rio with his best friend. Both men have teenage daughters with them. When Matthew falls for his best friend's amorous daughter named Jennifer, they embark on a secret, if slightly one-sided relationship. Jennifer's father is furious when he finds out about the 'older man' in his daughter's life, and sets out to hunt him down with the aid of Matthew!
This feature-length film is the last episode of the long-running television series, which follows an army surgical team during the Korean War. After years of serving together, the close-knit unit is about to be disbanded. Capt. "Hawkeye" Pierce (Alan Alda) is recovering from a nervous breakdown, while his friends, like easygoing Capt. B.J. Hunnicut (Mike Farrell) and uptight Maj. Charles Winchester (David Ogden Stiers), deal with the impending change in their own ways.
One man's quiet suburban life takes a sickening lurch for the worse when a young couple move into the deserted house next door. From the word go it is obvious these are not the quiet professional types who *should* be living in such a nice street. As more and more unbelievable events unfold, our hero starts to question his own sanity... and those of his family.
United States is a short-lived half-hour comedy-drama that NBC added to its Tuesday primetime schedule in March 1980. Larry Gelbart, the show's executive producer and chief writer, said the name United States was not a reference to the country but rather to "the state of being united in a relationship". Gelbart envisioned a series that would be "a situation comedy based on the real things that happen in my marriage and in the marriages of my friends". Episodes tackled such topics as marital infidelity, household debt, friends who drink too much, death within the family, and sexual misunderstandings. United States focused on Richard and Libby Chapin, an upwardly mobile couple who lived in a Los Angeles suburb. Beau Bridges played Richard, and Helen Shaver played Libby. Gelbart reverted to black-and-white script for the show's titles. He said that was to convey the mood of "a sophisticated '30s film." Gelbart also avoided use of background music and a laugh track. Scripts featured dialogue such as, "Just for once I'd like to be treated like a friend instead of a husband," and "Maybe you and Bob can go out and get yourselves one redhead with two straws." United States premiered at 10:30 p.m. on March 11, 1980. NBC pulled it from the schedule within two months, after only six of 13 episodes had aired. The remaining episodes were not broadcast until 1986, when the A&E cable channel aired United States.
Three movie genres of the 1930s, boxing films, WWI aviation dramas, and backstage Broadway musicals, are satirized using the same cast.
Roll Out is an American sitcom that aired Friday evenings on CBS during the 1973-1974 television season. Starring nightclub comedian Stu Gilliam and Hilly Hicks, and featuring Ed Begley, Jr. and Garrett Morris, the series was set in France during World War II and was loosely based on the 1952 film Red Ball Express. Actor Jimmy Lydon, familiar as a juvenile lead in the 1940s, was cast as an Army captain. His character's name was Henry Aldrich: the same name he used in Paramount's comedy features of the forties.
The 4077th Mobile Army Surgical Hospital is stuck in the middle of the Korean war. With little help from the circumstances they find themselves in, they are forced to make their own fun. Fond of practical jokes and revenge, the doctors, nurses, administrators, and soldiers often find ways of making wartime life bearable.
A detective gets involved with the beautiful daughter of an old friend. The daughter turns out to be a jewel thief, who in turn gets the detective involved in a caper in Austria.
A chastity belt provides an endless amount of grief for a woman whose jealous husband has gone off to the Crusades.
In Victorian England, a fortune now depends on which of two brothers outlives the other—or can be made to have seemed to do so.
During the Korean War, Italian nurse Virna Lisi falls in love with two American fliers, Tony Curtis and George C. Scott. Lisi marries Curtis after he convinces her that Scott has been killed in a plane crash. She soon discovers Scott is alive, but remains happily married to Curtis until Scott re-enters their lives 14 years later. Written by Jeanne Armintrout
A wily slave must unite a virgin courtesan and his young smitten master to earn his freedom.
The Danny Kaye Show is an American variety show hosted by Danny Kaye that aired on CBS from 1963 to 1967 on Wednesday nights. Directed by Robert Scheerer, the show premiered in black-and-white, but later switched to color broadcasts. At the time, Kaye was at the height of his popularity, having starred in a string of successful films in the 1940s and '50's, made successful personal appearances at such venues as the London Palladium, and appeared many times on television. His most recent films had been considered disappointing, but the television specials he starred in were triumphant, leading to this series. Prior to his television and film career, Kaye had made a name for himself with his own radio show, and numerous other guest appearances on other shows.
The story of the film centres around urban housewife Beverly Boyer (Doris Day) and her husband, a successful gynaecologist and devoted family man, Gerald (James Garner). Beverly is offered the opportunity to star for a television commercial advertising soap. After a shaky start, she gets a contract for $80,000 per year to appear on the weekly TV commercials.
This very special television event that aired February 1963 helped launch the famed Judy Garland Show which captivated TV audiences throughout 1963 and 1964. Along with co-stars Robert Goulet (who was at the time reeling from the Broadway success of Camelot) and Phil Silvers (enjoying similar success due to popular performances in TV's Sgt. Bilko) join Judy at her entertaining best for song dance and brilliant comedy.
An American junior diplomat in London rents a house from, and falls in love with, a woman suspected of murder.
