Monty Python's Flying Circus (1969 - 1974) * * *

MONTY PYTHON'S FLYING CIRCUS was a group of six comedians who created a British television comedy sketch show that first aired on the BBC on October 5, 1969. The troupe included John Cleese, Eric Idle, Michael Palin, Terry Jones, Terry Gilliam, and Graham Chapman. Forty-five episodes were made over four series with their distinctive brand of irreverent and often surreal comedy and satire on BBC-1 from 1969 through 1973 and on BBC-2, without Cleese, for the last few months of 1974--plus 2 episodes for German TV, both entitled "Monty Python's Fliegender Zirkus". The final episode of Series 4 was recorded on November 16 and broadcast on December 5, 1974.

BBC Announcer: We interrupt this program to annoy you and make things generally irritating.
Hermit: It's...

The first three series contained 13 episodes each, but the fourth ended after six. MONTY PYTHON offered savage broadsides against the pomposity and repression of the British establishment, spoofs of European history, satires of leading intellectual and cultural figures, and lots of cross-dressing men in drag. These ugly "women" were referred to as pepperpots, and usually Carol Cleveland appears for sexy female roles. The show is noted for its surreality, risqué or innuendo-laden humour, sight gags, and sketches without punchlines. It also features the animations of Terry Gilliam, which are often sequenced or merged with live action.

Announcer: And now for something completely different.

Loosely structured as a sketch show but with an innovative stream-of-consciousness approach, it pushed the boundaries of what was acceptable in style and content on TV. The irreverent skits are often surreal, baudy, uncompromising, tasteless, but inevitably hilarious. The troupe wrote and performed their work, changing the way performers entertained audiences. Monty Pythons' creative control allowed them to experiment with form and content, discarding rules of television comedy. Their influence on comedy has been overwhelming in the UK and in North America, influencing shows such as SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE.

The members of Monty Python were highly educated. Terry Jones and Michael Palin are Oxford graduates. Eric Idle, John Cleese and Graham Chapman are Cambridge graduates, and American-born member Terry Gilliam is an Occidental College graduate, with their comedy often pointedly intellectual by way of numerous references to philosophers and literary figures.

Graham Chapman was born in Melton Mowbray, Leicestershire, England on January 8, 1941. He was originally a medical student, but changed to theater when he joined Footlights at Cambridge. He completed his medical training and was legally entitled to practice as a doctor. Chapman was well known for his roles as straight-faced men of any age or class, frequently an authority figure such as a military officer, policeman or doctor, who could, at any moment, engage in "Pythonesque" maniacal behavior and then return to their former sobriety. Some of his sketches include "An Appeal from the Vicar of St. Loony-up-the-Cream-Bun-and-Jam", "The One-Man Wrestling Match", "Johann Gambolputty" and “The Argument Clinic". He was also skilled in abuse, which he used in sketches such as "The Argument Clinic" and "Flying Lessons". Chapman died of spinal and throat cancer on October 4, 1989. He is now lovingly referred to by the surviving Pythons as "the dead one."

Mr Barnard: What do you want?
Man: Well I was told outside that...
Mr Barnard: Don't give me that, you snotty faced heap of parrot droppings!
Man: What?
Mr Barnard: Shut your festering gob, you tit! Your type really makes me puke you vacuous, toffy-nosed, malodorous pervert!
Man: What? I came in here for an argument.
Mr Barnard: Oh, oh, oh, I'm sorry, this is "abuse'. You want Room 12-A just along the corridor.
Man: Oh sorry. Thank you very much, sorry, thank you.

John Cleese was born on October 27, 1939 in Weston-super-Mare, North Somerset, England, making him the oldest Python. Cleese’s surname was originally Cheese, but his father changed it to Cleese when he joined the army during World War I. John Cleese usually played ridiculous authority figures. Gilliam claims that Cleese is the funniest of the Pythons in drag, as he barely needs to be dressed up to look hilarious. Cleese is also well known for playing very intimidating maniacs. His character of Eric Praline, the put-upon consumer, is featured in some of the most popular sketches, most famously in "Dead Parrot". One skit that proved very memorable was the "Ministry of Silly Walks", where he worked for the eponymous government department. Another Cleese trademark is his over-the-top delivery of abuse, particularly his screaming "You bastard!" Having considered the possibility at the end of the second series, Cleese left the Flying Circus at the end of the third. He later explained that he felt he no longer had anything fresh to offer the show.

Doctor: Now I know some hospitals where you get the patients lying around in beds.
(man whispers into Doctor's ear)
Blood Bank Doctor: No. I'm sorry, but, no.
(man whispers again)
Blood Bank Doctor: No, you may not give urine instead of blood.

Terry Gilliam was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA, on November 22, 1940. He is the only member of the troupe of non-British origin, though he married a British citizen, makeup and costume designer Maggie Weston, and held dual American-British citizenship for 38 years before renouncing the former. Gilliam's unique visual style is characterized by sudden and dramatic movements and errors of scale set in surrealist landscapes populated by engravings of large buildings with elaborate architecture, grotesque Victorian gadgets, machinery, and people cut from famous pieces of art. All of these elements are combined in incongruous ways to obtain new and humorous meanings in surrealist collage assemblies. Initially only hired to be the animator of the series, Gilliam was not considered as an on-screen performer at first. However, the others felt they owed him something and so he sometimes appeared before the camera, generally in the parts that no one else wanted to play. Gilliam has gone on to become a celebrated and imaginative film director of such notable titles as TIME BANDITS (1981), BRAZIL (1985), THE FISHER KING (1991), TWELVE MONEYS (1995), and FEAR AND LOATHING IN LAS VEGAS (1998).

Eric Idle was born on March 29, 1943 in South Shields, Tyne and Wear, England. When Monty Python was first formed, two writing partnerships were already in place: Cleese and Chapman, Jones and Palin. That left two in their own corners: Gilliam, operating solo due to the nature of his work, and Idle. Regular themes in his contributions were elaborate wordplay and musical numbers. Younger than his colleagues and not from an already-established writing partnership prior to Python, Eric Idle is perhaps best remembered for his roles as a cheeky, suggestive, slightly perverted, upper middle class "playboy" in sketches such as "Nudge Nudge", and a crafty, slick and the shop keeper who loves to haggle in MONTY PYTHON'S LIFE OF BRIAN (1979). He is acknowledged as "the master of the one-liner" by the other Pythons, and is also considered the best singer/songwriter in the group, for example writing and performing "Always Look on the Bright Side of Life" from THE LIFE OF BRIAN. Unlike Jones' high level in drag, he often plays female characters in a more straight-forward way. His appearances as upper-class, middle-aged females are his most notable.

Alan: Well last week, we showed you how to become a gynaecologist. And this week on "How to Do It" we're going to show you how to play the flute, how to split an atom, how to construct a box girder bridge, how to irrigate the Sahara Desert and make vast new areas of land cultivatable, but first, here's Jackie to tell you all how to rid the world of all known diseases.
Jackie: Hello, Alan.
Alan: Hello, Jackie.
Jackie: Well, first of all, become a doctor and discover a marvellous cure for something, and then, when the medical profession really starts to take notice of you, you can jolly well tell them what to do and make sure they get everything right so there'll never be any diseases ever again.
Alan: Thanks, Jackie, great idea. How to play the flute.
(produces a flute)
Alan: Well here we are. You blow there and you move your fingers up and down here.
Noel: Great, great, Alan. Well, next week we'll be showing you how black and white people can live together in peace and harmony, and Alan will be over in Moscow showing us how to reconcile the Russians and the Chinese. So until next week, cheerio!
All: Bye!

Terry Jones was born on February 1, 1942 in Colwyn Bay, Conwy, Wales. He has rarely received the same attention as his colleagues, but has been described by other members of the team as the "heart" of the operation. Recent Python literature has highlighted his lead role in maintaining the group's unity and creative independence. Python biographer George Perry has commented that should you "speak to him on subjects as diverse as fossil fuels, or Rupert Bear, or mercenaries in the Middle Ages or Modern China... in a moment you will find yourself hopelessly out of your depth, floored by his knowledge." Renowned by the rest to be "The best Rat-Bag woman in the business", his portrayal of a middle-aged housewife was louder, shriller and more disheveled than that of any of the others. He also often plays upper-class reserved men, such as in the famous "Nudge, Nudge" sketch and the "It's A Man's Life" sketch, and incompetent authority figures. Generally, he deferred to the others as a performer, but proved himself behind the scenes, where he would eventually end up pulling most of the strings.

Hungarian: If I said you had beautiful body, vould you hold it against me? I... I am no longer infected.
Milkman: Don't you shout at me, madam, don't use that tone. Now then, I must ask you to accompany me down to the dairy and do some aptitude tests.
Mrs. Pim: I've got better things to do than come down to the dairy!
Milkman: Mrs. Ratbag! If you don't mind my saying so, you are badly in need of an expensive course of psychiatric treatment. Now I'm not going to say that a trip down to our dairy will cure you, but it will give hundreds of lower-paid workers a good laugh.
Mrs. Pim: All right... but how am I going to get home?
Milkman: I'll run you there and back in my psychiatrist's float.
Mrs. Pim: ...All right.

Michael Palin was born on May 5, 1943 in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. The youngest Python by a matter of weeks, Palin is often referred to as "the nice one". He attended Oxford, where he met his Python writing partner Jones. Michael Palin was regarded by the other members of the troupe as the one with the widest range, equally adept as a straight man or wildly over the top character. He portrays many working-class northerners, often portrayed in a disgusting light. On the one hand, he plays weak-willed, put-upon men such as the husband in the Marriage Guidance Counsellor sketch, or the boring accountant in the "Lion Tamer" sketch. However, he is equally at home as the indefatigable Cardinal Ximinez of Spain in The Spanish Inquisition sketch. Another high-energy character that Palin portrays is the slick TV show host, constantly smacking his lips together and generally being over-enthusiastic. Palin eventually announced his retirement from comedy in the late 1990s and has written books and produced travel documentaries. His book "Michael Palin Diaries 1969-1979", published in 2007, gives a remarkable, and extremely amusing, inside view of the Python years.

Michael Palin: Mount Everest: forbiding, aloof, terrifying. The mountain with the biggest tits in the world.
Cardinal Ximinez: Nobody expects the Sp -
("THE END" appears on screen)
Cardinal Ximinez: Oh, bugger!

Writing started at 9 am and finished at 5 pm. Typically, Cleese and Chapman worked as one pair isolated from the others, as did Jones and Palin, while Idle wrote alone. After a few days, they would join together with Gilliam, critique their scripts, and exchange ideas. Their approach to writing was democratic. If the majority found an idea humorous, it was included in the show. The casting of roles for the sketches was a similarly unselfish process, since each member viewed himself primarily as a writer, rather than an actor desperate for screen time. When the themes for sketches were chosen, Gilliam had carte blanche to decide how to bridge them with animations, using a camera, scissors, and airbrush.

The usual Flying Circus opening began without the traditional opening titles or announcements. An example of this is the "It's" man: Palin in Robinson Crusoe garb, making a tortuous journey across various terrains, before finally approaching the camera to state, "It's...", only to be then cut off by the title sequence and the Liberty Bell theme song. The Liberty Bell, a march by John Philip Sousa, was chosen partly because the composition is in the public domain.

Many sketches are well-known and widely quoted, such as: "Dead Parrot", "The Lumberjack Song", "Spam", "Nudge Nudge", "The Spanish Inquisition", "Upper Class Twit of the Year", "Cheese Shop" and "The Ministry of Silly Walks". The Pythons play the majority of the series characters themselves, including the majority of the female characters, but occasionally they required regular supporting cast members including Carol Cleveland, referred to by the team as the unofficial "Seventh Python", Connie Booth (Cleese's then-Wife), Series Director Ian MacNaughton, Neil Innes (in the 4th series) and The Fred Tomlinson Singers for musical numbers.

The title Monty Python's Flying Circus was partly the result of the group's reputation at the BBC. Michael Mills, BBC's Head of Comedy, wanted their name to include the word circus because the BBC referred to the six members wandering around the building as a "circus". The group added flying to make it sound less like an actual circus and more like something from World War I. Monty Python was added because they claimed it sounded like a really bad theatrical agent, the sort of person who would have brought them together. A title considered instead of MONTY PYTHON'S FLYING CIRCUS was "Baron Von Took’s Flying Circus". "It’s" was also an early candidate for the title of the series.

The cast also includes: Carol Cleveland (Various in 34 episodes, 1969-1974), Ian Davidson (Algy Braithwaite in 8 episodes, 1969-1970), The Fred Tomlinson Singers (Amantillado Chorus in 7 episodes, 1969-1973), Connie Booth (Animated mother in 6 episodes, 1969-1974), Bob Raymond (Dad in 5 episodes, 1974), Lyn Ashley (Algon Girl in 5 episodes, 1970-1972), John Hughman (Alfred, Lord Tennyson in 5 episodes, 1970-1974), Rita Davies (The Black Spot Narrator in 4 episodes, 1969-1972), Stanley Mason (Clapper Man in 4 episodes, 1970-1971), David Ballantyne (Ivan the Terrible in 3 episodes, 1970-1971), Peter Brett (Door-to-Door Martial Arts Salesman in2 episodes, 1974), Flanagan (Anona Winn in 2 episodes, 1969-1970), Frank Lester (The Late Professor Thynne in 2 episodes, 1972-1974), Katya Wyeth (Elsie in 2 episodes, 1969), Richard Baker (Himself as BBC News Anchor in 2 episodes, 1972), Douglas Adams (Dr. Emile Koning, Surgeon in2 episodes, 1974), and Neil Innes (Hesitant guitarist in2 episodes, 1974). The script writers were: Graham Chapman (46 episodes, 1969-1974), Eric Idle (46 episodes, 1969-1974), Terry Jones (46 episodes, 1969-1974), Michael Palin (46 episodes, 1969-1974), Terry Gilliam (44 episodes, 1969-1974), John Cleese (43 episodes, 1969-1974), and Neil Innes (2 episodes, 1974). The series was directed by Ian MacNaughton (46 episodes, 1969-1974) and John Howard Davies (5 episodes, 1969).

In 2005 The Complete Monty Python's Flying Circus 16-Ton Megaset was released as a 14-DVD set with the two-disc Monty Python Live in space-saving Thinpaks. Some fans may want to pick and choose among the previously released individual volumes of Monty Python for their collection, but many will want to own this definitive megaset that contains all 45 episodes of MONTY PYTHON'S FLYING CIRCUS. This "persistently silly" collection encompasses three-and-a-half seasons of dead parrots, cross-dressing lumberjacks, loonies, upper class twits, baked beans, spam, spam, and spam. You get every episode put out on the BBC, and the extras give some insight into the making of the series through some written blurbs about each episode. They have spliced together some thematic skits and animations, you can test your trivial knowledge of the Pythons, and learn some history of the players. Also, some of the skits that they later performed live are available in the extras. The menu is also well done using Terry Gilliam's animations.

There is also the MONTY PYTHON Movie Box set that contains all 4 Python movies: AND NOW FOR SOMETHING COMPLETELY DIFFERENT (1971), MONTY PYTHON AND THE HOLY GRAIL (1974), the 2 disc set MONTY PYTHON'S LIFE OF BRIAN (1979) including a 50 minute documentary, and MONTY PYTHON'S MEANING OF LIFE (1983).

Gorgo (1961) * * ½

Captain Joe Ryan (Bill Travers) is salvaging for treasure off the coast of Ireland when a volcano erupts and nearly sinks his ship. Ryan and his first officer Sam Slade (William Sylvester) take the ship to Nara Island for repairs. As they enter the harbor, they discover the floating carcasses of marine animals, the first hint that something dangerous was awoken by the volcano eruption.

Ryan and Slade land on Nara Island and consult the shady harbor master McMartin (Christopher Rhodes), who has archeological pretensions and is in no mood for anybody snooping about in his work, despite the fact that several island divers have gone missing following the undersea disturbance, and one died of fear. He has been salvaging a Viking longship in the harbor. After dark, a monstrous creature surfaces, attacks a group of fishermen, then comes ashore to wreak havoc on the island. This dinosaur-like creature is about 65 feet tall, and the people on the island manage to drive it away.

Ryan and his crew capture the monster, haul it aboard their ship, and tie it to the deck. Soon scientists arrive on Nara, hoping to collect the monster for study, but Ryan has been offered a better deal by the owner of a circus in London. Ignoring the pleas of the Edinburgh Museum, the ship takes off for London, with young orphan Sean (Vincent Winter) stowing away. When the ship arrives in London, the circus owner Dorkin (Martin Benson) names it "Gorgo", after the Gorgons of classical mythology. It is exhibited to the public as a carnival attraction at Dorkin's Circus in Battersea Park, billed as the Eighth Wonder of the World. Sean comes to pity Gorgo and says, "It's a bad thing ye're doin'! A teddible bad thing!"

The scientists examine Gorgo, and conclude that he is not yet an adult, and that his mother must be nearly 200 feet tall. On that note, the film cuts to Nara Island as Gorgo's mother Ogra attacks. Ogra trashes the island, sinks a Royal Navy destroyer, and resists attack from other warships. Later, Ogra comes ashore in London, still looking for her son, and destroys Tower Bridge and Big Ben, despite being bombarded by tanks and infantry. Royal Air Force jets attack Ogra with no effect. Having demolished much of London, Ogra rescues Gorgo, and both mother and son return to the sea. The film is sometimes praised for its innovative ending, which has an environmental moral. Unusual for such films, the monsters, which are presented as innocent victims of human interference, survive and prevail. This idea came from Lourié's daughter, who was upset when he killed off the monsters at the end of his previous pictures. His new monster is as sympathetic as possible--and it wins in the end!

GORGO is a British science fiction rip-off of Godzilla with hints of King Kong. Director Eugène Lourié recycled the plots of his earlier BEAST FROM 20,000 FATHOMS (1953) and the London setting of BEHEMOTH THE SEA MONSTER (1959) but this time used a man in a rubber costume rather than stop-motion animation. Lourié tried to secure the talents of Willis O'Brien or Ray Harryhausen for GORGO (he had worked with them previously), but neither was available. Gorgo attacks a rollercoaster in Battersea Funfair, like The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms did in Coney Island. Although GORGO is made like a Godzilla movie, it is a peculiarly unique British monster film. The modelwork and special effects are from some of the finest technicians of the time, who later went on to work on 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY (1968), but with a much bigger budget. Gorgo's special effects are sometimes hit and miss, but easily on a par with the Japanese monster flicks of the time, though crude by contemporary standards. The monster suit looks fantastic on film, the creature's actions make it look huge, and the modelwork is detailed and large scale. There is even a full scale Gorgo transported around London on a flatbed lorry, and a full-size prop of its claw to interact with unwary sailors. Acting is above par, there is no dubbing of voices, and the music score is also quite good.

Britain's answer to the popular Godzilla movies was originally set to take place in Japan, then France, and then finally changed to the UK. Australia was also considered. The location where Gorgo first appears, the fictional Nara Island, is likely a tribute to the Godzilla series: Nara being a city in southern Honshu, Japan. Scenes where Gorgo is driven through the streets of London were shot on a Sunday morning when there was no traffic. The film studio wanted Gorgo to fight the military despite Lourié's objections. Later, Lourié acquired a print of the film and removed the footage. A novelization of the film was released in paperback at the time of its original release ("Gorgo" by Carson Bingham). The film was also given a comic book series, published by Charlton Comics and included work by Spider-Man co-creator Steve Ditko, from 1961 to 1965 for 23 issues. Another series, titled "Return of Gorgo" was published for 2 issues in 1963/64, as well as a one-shot "Gorgo's Revenge" in 1962.

The villains are a bit harder to point out in GORGO than in the Japanese monster films. Joe, Sam, McMartin, and the Dorkin Circus people are all garishly portrayed as greedy bastards with never a tinge of remorse over their money-grubbing indiscretion. However, GORGO is a cute little film, a pleasant diversion on a lazy Saturday afternoon that will appeal to fans of Godzilla and Japanese monster movies.

The cast also includes: Joseph O'Conor (Professor Hendricks), Bruce Seton (Professor Flaherty), Maurice Kaufmann (Radio Reporter), Basil Dignam (Admiral Brooks), Barry Keegan (Mate), Tommy Duggan (First Naval Officer), Howard Lang (First Colonel), Dervis Ward (Bosun), John Breslin (Soldier), Nigel Green (Bulletin Announcer), and Harvey Hall (Squadron Leader). Angelo Francesco Lavagnino composed the original music. Robert L. Richards and Daniel James wrote the screenplay. Eugène Lourié directed. GORGO was his final directorial credit, and he returned to production design, art direction, set dressing, and special effects.

Fans of the film will welcome the new DVD release from VCI. It is definitely an improvement over the previous laserdisc release that was generally murky. Transferred from an original source print and presented in a widescreen aspect ratio, this time the picture looks significantly better than its large-format predecessor. It's no full-on restoration effort, however, despite the back cover copy proclaiming it as a digital remaster. The image is much brighter and sharper, showing a great deal more detail. Some bits are too sharp, looking slightly over-processed. The colors look OK but are generally muted and detail level is not as crisp as it could be. Since much of the picture is set in underwater sequences, there's a considerable amount of murkiness. But it's better than what you may have seen before. The audio is presented in a serviceable Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono mix. The few extras include a new documentary from fan/film historian Tom Weaver, some bio notes on Lourié and the actors, a photo gallery of film stills and poster art, and an overdramatic theatrical trailer: "The Most Astonishing Event in Our Lifetime!"

That's Entertainment! (1974) (1976) (1994) * * *

In 1974 Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer studios celebrated its 50th anniversary with a compilation documentary looking back on the golden years of the studio when it produced lavish musicals starring some of the era's top entertainers. With the end of silent films in the 1920s, musicals were a favorite choice to take advantage of the new "talkie" technology. Technicolor and other photography methods ushered in color filmmaking during the same time period and the costumes and decorative sets of musicals allowed MGM to showcase their stars in full color and with singing. For much of the 1930s, 40s and 50s, the musical was a popular choice for theater-goers with stars such as Fred Astaire and Gene Kelley in their stable of performers. MGM was king of the musical genre and this compilation includes clips from nearly 100 musicals. It was followed by two sequels and a related film titled THAT'S DANCING!.

(first lines)
Frank Sinatra: The year is 1929; the singer, Cliff Edwards, also known as Ukelele Ike. The film: HOLLYWOOD REVIEW. it is the first all-talking, all-singing, all-dancing movie ever made. In the years that followed, "Singin' in the Rain" would become a theme song for MGM.

Some of the movies MGM produced during their first fifty years constitute an incredible list. THE WIZARD OF OZ (1939) is only one film of dozens of very memorable pictures. The image of Gene Kelley dancing with an umbrella and singing the title song of SINGIN' IN THE RAIN (1952) is a familiar image to just about anybody who has turned on a television. TAKE ME OUT TO THE BALL GAME (1949) and MEET ME IN ST. LOUIS (1944) are two memorable musicals from the mid Forties. SEVEN BRIDES FOR SEVEN BROTHERS (1954) is one of the liveliest and strenuous films ever made. ZIEGFELD FOLLIES (1946) is a classic fondly remembered by many. Some non-musical films were also part of MGMs wondrous past and celebrated in the THAT'S ENTERTAINMENT! trilogy. TARZAN THE APE MAN (1932), ABBOTT AND COSTELLO IN HOLLYWOOD (1945), GONE WITH THE WIND (1939), and THE PHILADELPHIA STORY (1940) are just a few.

MGM used to brag that the studio had "More stars that there are in the heavens." Archival footage of Judy Garland, Eleanor Powell, Lena Horne, Esther Williams, Ann Miller, Kathryn Grayson, Howard Keel, Jeanette MacDonald, Cyd Charisse, June Allyson, Mickey Rooney, Mario Lanza, and many others are featured. In addition to Fred Astaire, many of the finest singers and dancers to ever be filmed are shown. Bing Crosby and Frank Sinatra are two performers who are still popular, long after their deaths. Jimmy Durante is one of the most underappreciated stars to ever be filmed, at least by today's audiences. James Stewart, Mickey Rooney and Cary Grant are three more leading men that helped MGM produce so many amazing musicals and films during their earlier days. A strong leading woman was another powerful part of the MGM family. Contracted stars included Elizabeth Taylor, Liza Minnelli, Ginger Rogers and Jean Harlow. Other familiar ladies of MGM golden age included Ava Gardner, Lena Horne, Lucille Ball and Joan Crawford.

The first film features a number of hosts, all of them household names. Frank Sinatra is the first host, followed by Gene Kelly, Fred Astaire, Mickey Rooney, Bing Crosby, James Stewart, Elizabeth Taylor and Liza Minnelli. Peter Lawford, Debbie Reynolds and Donald O'Connor also share hosting duties. These stars recollect fond memories and films they starred in during the heyday of MGM musicals and introduce many important musical numbers from the multitude of musicals produced. THAT'S ENTERTAINMENT! was the final production on MGM's former backlot and many of the sets appear in various states of disrepair with trash strewn about. But this is show biz and the "disrepair" is very artfully done. They could have easily cleaned up the trash. Obviously, it's just another authentic looking Hollywood set.

(last lines)
Frank Sinatra: Through the years, MGM has produced over 200 musical films. And if you had to select one number from one film, that would best represent the MGM musicals, I have a feeling that the vote would be unanimous, especially among the people who worked here, and that's why we've saved the best for the last: "AN AMERICAN IN PARIS, starring Gene Kelly and Leslie Caron. It won an Oscar as the Best Picture of the year over 20 years ago; but the ballet from that film is as timeless as the day you and I first saw it. Produced by Arthur Freed, directed by Vincente Minnelli, and choreographed by Gene Kelly, it can only be described as MGM's masterpiece.

The second film in the THAT'S ENTERTAINMENT series was released two years later, in 1976. Their first film had been one of the highest grossing films of its year, so MGM was quick to produce a follow-up. They have more than enough musicals to produce a great number of sequels, but instead of completely focusing on the music, a very nice and lengthy segment of this second film looks at some of the memorable moments and lines from MGM's library. The Marx Brothers and Abbott and Costello are part of this nicely edited collection of clips. Unlike the first film, THAT'S ENTERTAINMENT II has only two hosts. Fred Astaire and Gene Kelly appear together and co-host the film. They sing and dance and fondly remember the days when they worked on MGM's backlot producing these magical musicals. Whereas the first documentary was the last time anything was filmed on MGM's famous and expansive backlot, this sequel marked the final time that Fred Astaire was filmed dancing. Part of the attraction of this sequel is in the reunion of these legendary stars, and Kelly directed the introductory segments featuring him and Astaire.

For this second documentary, archivists featured more obscure musical numbers from MGM's vaults, and also included tributes to some of the studio's best known comedy teams such as the Marx Brothers and Laurel and Hardy, romantic teams such as Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn, and a montage of iconic stars such as Clark Gable, Mickey Rooney, John Barrymore, Wallace Beery, Joan Crawford, Jean Harlow, James Stewart, Lana Turner, and Greta Garbo.

The film is highlighted by several newly-filmed musical numbers featuring Astaire and Kelly, including a couple of routines in which they dance together for the first time since the 1946 film ZIEGFELD FOLLIES (1946), and for only the second time in their careers. It was the last time 76-year-old Astaire danced on film. According to film historian Robert Osborne, in specially-filmed introductions produced for Turner Classic Movies, it was Astaire who suggested to Kelly that the two take advantage of this potentially last-in-a-lifetime opportunity to perform together, something Kelly had actually wished for during his narration of the first THAT'S ENTERTAINMENT! film. The sequel received more critical acclaim, but was not as successful at the box-office as the first entry.

In 1985 THAT'S DANCING! was released, a retrospective that looks back at the history of dancing in film. However, unlike the THAT'S ENTERTAINMENT films, this documentary does not focus exclusively on MGM productions. This film is sometimes considered part of the THAT'S ENTERTAINMENT series, especially since its starting credits include a card with the THAT'S ENTERTAINMENT III title--not to be confused with the 1994 film--but even though it shared studio and producers, it is considered a separate production.

THAT'S DANCING! includes more recent performances by the likes of John Travolta in SATURDAY NIGHT FEVER (1977) and Michael Jackson and from the then-popular films FAME (1980) and FLASHDANCE (1983), as well as classic films from other studios, including CAROUSEL (1956), released by 20th Century Fox, and OKLAHOMA (1955), released by Magna Corporation and 20th Century Fox. A highlight of the film was the first theatrical release of a complete dance routine by Ray Bolger for his "If I Only Had a Brain" number that had been shortened in THE WIZARD OF OZ (1939).

The hosts for this film are Gene Kelly, Ray Bolger, Liza Minnelli, Sammy Davis Jr., and Mikhail Baryshnikov. Pop singer Kim Carnes was commissioned to sing an original song that plays over the closing credits. THAT'S DANCING! was not included when the three THAT'S ENTERTAINMENT films were released on DVD in 2004. Instead it was released on its own in 2007. The DVD includes several behind-the-scenes promotional featurettes from 1985 on the making of the film, as well as its accompanying music video featuring Kim Carnes although the DVD omits the video itself.

It took eighteen years, but in 1994 MGM celebrated their 70th Anniversary with a third entry in the THAT'S ENTERTAINMENT series with THAT'S ENTERTAINMENT III. This last sequel provides many musical numbers and history of the MGM musicals, but adds a new aspect to the documentary series. It features more retrospectives with a focus on previously unreleased or rarely seen material cut from the MGM films, culling together lost performances that had been edited out of MGM's vast library. These scenes include performances from familiar names, including Judy Garland, Lena Horne, Debbie Reynolds and Cyd Charisse. June Allyson, Cyd Charisse, Lena Horne, Howard Keel, Ann Miller, Debbie Reynolds and Esther Williams join Gene Kelly in hosting duties. This film marks the final time Gene Kelly appears on camera.

Although posters and home video versions use the title without an exclamation mark, the actual on-screen title of the film uses it. Many changes had occurred since the first two films--including the deaths of Fred Astaire, who had co-hosted the first two films, and many other MGM stars of the past. Plus, the advent of home video and cable TV had made many of MGM's films readily accessible to audiences, a luxury they did not have in the mid-1970s. In order to provide a "hook" for audiences, the producers decided to feature film footage cut from famous MGM musicals. Many of these numbers are shown for the first time in THAT'S ENTERTAINMENT III. Unfortunately, this is definitely the weakest entry in the series, although still well worth watching.

(last lines)
Gene Kelly: MGM's dream factory created a rich, romantic, compelling world of illusion. And although we may not see anything like it again, we're blessed with memories and miles and miles of film. In the words of Irving Berlin, "The song has ended, but the melody lingers on."

The four documentaries are nostalgic and very entertaining. However, the procession of brief and unrelated film clips is like watching a variety vaudeville show, or if you're not in the mood, like watching movie trailers. But most of the scenes are first rate seldom-seen treasures and the commentaries from the many movie star hosts is very educational. We learn, for example, that the singing voices of Lucille Ball, Elizabeth Taylor, and Debbie Reynolds were dubbed in.

Jack Haley Jr. wrote and directed the first THAT'S ENTERTAINMENT! film, and also directed, produced and wrote THAT'S DANCING! Gene Kelly directed THAT'S ENTERTAINMENT II, and Leonard Gershe wrote the narration. THAT'S DANCING III was directed and written by Bud Friedgen and Michael J. Sheridan. All three films were released on DVD in 2004. The box set collection of the films comes with a bonus DVD that includes additional musical numbers that had been cut from MGM films as well as the first release of the complete performance of "Mr. Monotony" by Judy Garland. The version used in THAT'S ENTERTAINMENT III is truncated. THAT'S DANCING! received a separate DVD release in 2007.

Saturday Night Live (1975 - 2009) * * *

"And now, from New York, the most dangerous city in America, it's Saturday Night Live!"

Saturday Night Live (SNL) is a weekly late-night sketch comedy and variety show filmed in New York City. It made its debut on October 11, 1975. The show features a regular cast of comedic actors, joined by a guest host and musical act. SNL is broadcast live from Studio 8H at the GE Building on floors 8 and 9 in New York's Rockefeller Center. It was created by Lorne Michaels, who, excluding seasons 6–10, has been with the show throughout, first as producer and writer and later its executive producer. The offices of SNL writers, producers, and other staff can be found on the 17th floor of "30 Rock". Currently in its 34th season, SNL is one of the longest-running network programs in American television history. For over three decades, Saturday Night Live has been the source of young comedic talent and helped to launch the careers of countless performers, making them household names.

Chevy Chase: Good evening, I'm Chevy Chase and you're not. Well, it's official, murder is now legal in the state of California. Guess what folks, that's the news and I am outta here!
Dennis Miller: You know, today marks the birthday of Ludwig van Beethoven, the noted eighteenth century composer who inspired the hit song, "Roll Over, Beethoven".
John Belushi: My name is Nooney. Look at my lips. Nooooooney!

Throughout its history (except for season 7 and other rare exceptions), the show has traditionally begun with an opening that ends with someone breaking character and yelling "Live, from New York, it's Saturday Night!" The show is never live in the western half of the USA, although there was a brief experiment in which it did air live on the west coast in 2001 after live XFL football games. Also, the show was forced by the network to run on a five-second delay on three separate occasions when Richard Pryor, Sam Kinison, and Andrew Dice Clay each hosted.

Chevy Chase: Ok, you're qualified for this job, how about a starting salary, $5000?
Richard Pryor: Yo mama!
Chevy Chase: Um, $7500 a year...
Richard Pryor: Yo GRAND-mama!
Chevy Chase: Fifteen thousand dollars a year, Mr. Wilson, you'll be the highest paid janitor in America, just don't, don't hurt me!
Richard Pryor: Ok. You want me to start now?
Chevy Chase: Oh, no no no, it's alright, I'll clean all this up. Take a couple weeks off, you look tired!

The show began as a replacement for THE BEST OF CARSON and the series was intended to have a few episodes. Originally, the show was called NBC's SATURDAY NIGHT, as the current title was in use by rival network ABC. NBC purchased the rights to the name in 1976 and adopted the new title on March 26, 1977. The original cast nicknamed the "Not Ready for Primetime Players," started a comedy revolution with their mix of irreverent characters and satirical impressions of political figures and pop culture icons. Because SNL is initially broadcast live, often skits are topical and deal with current affairs, and for this reason some do not pass the test of time and become dated or even incomprehensible in reruns and on DVD.

Tina Fey: During an interview this week, Macaulay Culkin said that he is still good friends with Michael Jackson, saying, "I think we understand each other in a way that most people can’t understand either of us." He then added, "Basically, we both still wish I was nine."

After five years, Lorne Michaels chose not to renew his contract, and was joined in departure by the cast members and writers. Jean Doumanian took over the show for the 1980 season, hiring a new cast and writers that included Eddie Murphy. Doumanian was replaced after one year by Dick Ebersol, who had hired Michaels as the show's creator. Murphy and Joe Piscopo continued as cast members under Ebersol, remaining with the show until 1984. For fall 1984, Ebersol added several cast members with TV experience, including Billy Crystal, Martin Short, Harry Shearer, and Pamela Stephenson. After one season, Ebersol wanted a major revamp of SNL, which was rejected in favor of bringing back Lorne Michaels.

Darrell Hammond as Sean Connery: Suck on it, Trebek. Suck it long, and suck it hard.
Sean Connery: I pose a conundrum to you. A riddle, if you will.
Will Ferrell as Alex Trebek: I don't want to hear it.
Sean Connery: What's the difference between you and a mallard with a cold? One's a sick duck... I can't remember how it ends, but you're mother's a whore. Knock, knock.
Alex Trebek: Who's there?
Sean Connery: Me, the guy who slept with your mother last night.
Alex Trebek: Let's just go to Final Jeopardy, shall we? The category is... I can't believe this, the Final Jeopardy category is "Famous Mothers".
Sean Connery: Hah, Hah, Hah; My day has finally come, Trebek.

Michaels' return for the 1985-6 season restored an association with NBC that has lasted nearly thirty years. The show has helped launched the careers of Dan Aykroyd, John Belushi, Chevy Chase, Billy Crystal, Jane Curtin, Joan Cusack, Robert Downey, Jr., Jimmy Fallon, Chris Farley, Will Ferrell, Tina Fey, Janeane Garofalo, Gilbert Gottfried, Phil Hartman, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Dennis Miller, Tracy Morgan, Mike Myers, Eddie Murphy, Bill Murray, Conan O'Brien, Amy Poehler, Gilda Radner, Chris Rock, Adam Sandler, Rob Schneider, Paul Shaffer, Molly Shannon, Harry Shearer, Martin Short, Sarah Silverman, Ben Stiller, David Spade, Gilda Radner, Damon Wayans and many others. As head of Broadway Video and SNL Films, Michaels has leveraged the talent he's helped introduce, producing shows and films such as ALL YOU NEED IS CASH (1978), WAYNE'S WORLD (1992), LATE NIGHT WITH CONAN O'BRIEN, and CONEHEADS (1993).

George Carlin: I enjoy watching reruns of Saturday Night Live and counting all the dead people... The term Jumbo Shrimp has always amazed me. What is a Jumbo Shrimp? I mean, it's like Military Intelligence--the words don't go together, man... I think it’s the duty of the comedian to find out where the line is drawn and cross it deliberately.

Don Pardo has served as the announcer for the series since it began--except for season 7, when Mel Brandt and Bill Hanrahan filled that role. Pardo, who was 57 when the show debuted and who retired from NBC in 2004 at age 86, still flies in from his home in Tucson, Arizona, to introduce the show as of 2009.

Don Pardo: It's Saturday Night Liiiiiiiiive!
Dana Carvey as the Church Lady: So, Anne, you call yourself "bisexual". I guess that means that when you reach your little hand down the front of someone's pants, you're happy with whatever you find.
Billy Crystal as Fernando: You Look Mahvelous!

The Saturday Night Live Band, also known as "The Live Band", is the house band for SNL. It has featured New York studio musicians including Paul Shaffer (1975-1977, 1977-1980), G.E. Smith, Lou Marini (1975-1983), David Sanborn (1975), Michael Brecker, Ray Chew (1980-1983), Alan Rubin (1975-1983), Georg Wadenius (1979-1985), Steve Ferrone (1985), David Johansen (performing as Buster Poindexter) and Tom Malone, who served as leader of the band from 1981 to 1985. The band is currently under the leadership of Tower of Power alumnus Lenny Pickett and keyboardists Leon Pendarvis and Katreese Barnes.

Dan Aykroyd: Jane, you ignorant slut!
Parent: My kid saw that Tim Allen movie nine times. He loves Santa.
Dan Aykroyd: Kid, let me tell you something. I did time with Tim Allen. He's real people but he's no Santa Claus.

A typical episode of SNL will feature a single host, who delivers the opening monologue and performs in sketches with the cast, and a single musical guest, who will perform two or occasionally three musical numbers. In some cases, the musical guest will also be the host and fill both duties. George Carlin was first to host the show, and Candice Bergen was the first female to host the show a few weeks later and again hosted only six weeks after that. Guests that have hosted five or more times are sometimes referred to as belonging to the Five-Timers Club, a term that originated on a sketch performed on Tom Hanks' fifth episode.

Gilda Radner as Roseanne Roseannadanna: It just goes to show ya, it's always something! My father always used to say, it's always something. If it's not one thing, it's another.
Gilda Radner: Comedy is very controlling. You are making people laugh. It is there in the phrase "making people laugh". You feel completely in control when you hear a wave of laughter coming back at you that you have caused.

The early days of SNL spawned several movies, including the successful THE BLUES BROTHERS (1980). However it was the success of WAYNE'S WORLD (1992), that encouraged Lorne Michaels to produce more film spin-offs, based on several popular sketch characters. Michaels revived 1970s characters for CONEHEADS (1993), followed by IT'S PAT (1994), STUART SAVES HIS FAMILY (1995), A NIGHT AT THE ROXBURY (1998), SUPERSTAR (1999), and LADIES MAN (2000). Some did moderately well, though others did not--notably IT'S PAT, which did so badly at the box office it was pulled one week after release, and STUART SAVES HIS FAMILY which lost $15 million. Many of these films were produced by Paramount Pictures. The films based on The Blues Brothers were produced by Universal Studios, which merged with NBC in 2004 to form NBC Universal.

Chris Farley: You remember when you went to Japan and at the airport they arrested you because you had some pot and it made all the papers and everything?
Paul McCartney: Well to be honest, Chris, I'd kinda like to forget all that.
Chris Farley: Remember when you were with the Beatles and you were supposed to be dead, and there were all these clues, like you play some song backwards and it'd say, like "Paul is Dead" and everybody thought you were dead and, um, that was a hoax right?
Paul McCartney: Yeah, I wasn't really dead.

Saturday Night Live: The Complete First Season was released on DVD, in the UK, by Universal Studios on December 5, 2006. Upon the set’s release, some criticism of its authenticity as complete and uncut arose from reviewers and fans. This was due to the existence of original live copies, which in comparison to the "complete" episodes reveal edits and omissions, which are common among the rerun versions of the shows in the set. One example is a Wrigleys gum parody which originally aired in two episodes live, but was removed for the repeat broadcasts for time, and the DVD uses the repeat versions of these episodes.

Steve Martin & Dan Aykroyd as the Festrunk Brothers: We are two wild and crazy guys!
Will Ferrell: Saturday Night Live is such a comedy boot camp in a way, because you get to work with so many different people who come in to host the show and you get thrown into so many situations and learn how to think on your feet, so filmmaking actually feels slow, in a good way.

The complete second season was released in the US on DVD on December 4, 2007, the third season on May 13, 2008, and the fourth season on December 2, 2008. The complete second season of SNL contains legendary musical performances by artists Joe Cocker, The Band, Brian Wilson, Paul Simon, George Harrison, Frank Zappa, Chuck Berry, The Kinks, Santana and Tom Waits and classic appearances by hosts Lily Tomlin, Norman Lear, Steve Martin, Dick Cavett, Jodie Foster, Candice Bergen, Ralph Nader, Fran Tarkenton, Sissy Spacek, Elliott Gould and Shelly Duvall.

Eddie Murphy as Velvet Jones: You could make $1500 a week without leaving the comforts of your own bedroom. Sound too good to be true? Just send for my new book entitled, "I Wanna Be A Ho".
Eddie Murphy as Mister Robinson: Do you know what these are, boys and girls? They're drums! Do you know where drums come from? From Africa! Do you know where "these" drums come from? Smokey Robinson was at the Apollo theater and left his van open in the back of the place. I ripped him off! I wonder how Smokey gonna sound wit' no percussion! Oh look, an eviciton notice brought by Mr. Landlord. My landlord is a scumbucket. Can you say scumbucket boys and girls? I bet you can.

In addition to the full season releases, there have been over 40 releases on DVD featuring the "Best Of" former cast members and guest hosts in addition to documentaries, musical performances and themed compilations of sketches as well as a release of the show's 25 year anniversary. In 2001, the Presidential Bash 2000 was released on VHS, but it has not thus far been released on DVD.

Chris Farley: So, um, you remember when Bill Murray came, when you were the medieval barber and he came with his legs broken from being dragged by the ox cart after having too much mead?
Steve Martin: Yeah what about it?
Chris Farley: Um, that was awesome.
Steve Martin: That was a long time ago.
Chris Farley: Mr. Martin, before I go, I was wondering, I found this in wardrobe and I was wondering if you could sign it.
Steve Martin: My old King Tut costume! I remember this. This was back when the show meant something.

The Masque of the Red Death (1964) * * *

Prince Prospero (Vincent Price) is an evil aristocrat in semi-mythical 12th century Europe. The local peasants are devastated by a deadly plague called "The Red Death", but Prospero terrorizes them even more and has their village burned to the ground. When he discovers a beautiful young Christian woman Francesca (Jane Asher) in the village, he is determined to corrupt her soul. Francesca begs for the lives of her father Ludovico (Nigel Green) and Gino (David Weston), the young man she loves. Prospero tells her she can choose who will live and who must die. He stabs her father to death, then takes Francesca to his castle. This is just a prelude to the main part of the film where Prospero and his court are holed up in his castle.

Prospero: That cross you wear around your neck--is it only a decoration, or are you a true Christian believer?
Francesca: Yes, I believe. Truly.
Prospero: Then I want you to remove it at once! And never to wear it within this castle again! Do you know how a falcon is trained my dear? Her eyes are sown shut. Blinded temporarily she suffers the whims of her God patiently, until her will is submerged and she learns to serve--as your God taught and blinded you with crosses.
Francesca: You had me take off my cross because it offended...
Prospero: It offended no one. No--it simply appears to me to be discourteous to... to wear the symbol of a deity long dead. My ancestors tried to find it. And to open the door that separates us from our Creator.
Francesca: But you need no doors to find God. If you believe...
Prospero: Believe? If you believe you are gullible. Can you look around this world and believe in the goodness of a god who rules it? Famine, Pestilence, War, Disease and Death! They rule this world.
Francesca: There is also love and life and hope.
Prospero: Very little hope I assure you. No. If a god of love and life ever did exist... he is long since dead. Someone... something, rules in his place.

The "Red Death" is spreading around the countryside so Prospero invites several dozen of the local nobility to his castle for protection against the oncoming plague, and orders his guests to attend a masked ball with the stipulation that no one is to wear red. He find ways to keep himself amused with a series of sadistic games and actions.

The peasants are virtually wiped out by the plague, and six lonely survivors, including a very young girl, come to the gates of Prospero's castle, begging sanctuary in his castle which is still uncontaminated by the "Red Death". He orders his archers to kill them all, but he spares the little girl. It is things like this that change Francesca forever and make her realize just how cruel and merciless Prospero is. Prince Prospero's consort Juliana (Hazel Court) brands her breast for his bored amusement. Subplots include the revenge of dwarf entertainer Hop-Toad (Skip Martin) upon the brute who abused his beloved miniature mistress, and the damnation and death of Juliana. The film includes one of director Corman's distinctive psychedelic dream sequences.

Francesca: Juliana betrayed us.
Prospero: She betrayed me.
(Juliana has been killed)
Prospero: I beg you do not mourn for Juliana. We should celebrate. She's just married a friend of mine.
Scarlatti: Sir, at least spare my wife. I give her to you to do what you please.
Prospero: I've already had that doubtful pleasure. I don't corrupt, I inform. The way is not easy, I know, but I will take you by the hand and lead you through the cruel light into the velvet darkness.
Francesca: Forgive them!
Prospero: Forgive them? If my hound bites my hand after I have fed and caressed him, should I allow him to go undisciplined?

At the ball Prospero insists that his guests indulge in numerous depraved games, most of them ending with someone's death. Only two innocents are permitted to escape intact, but they go through the torments of the Damned to do so. Alfredo (Patrick Magee) is horribly burned to death by "Hop Frog" (Skip Martin), Prospero's demonic flunky. Then amidst a general atmosphere of debauchery and depravity, Prospero notices the entry of a mysterious hooded stranger dressed all in red (John Westbrook). Believing the figure to be an ambassador from his master, Satan, Prospero addresses him as "your Excellency". As the ball is transformed into a danse macabre, the red-masked figure asks why Prospero keeps calling him "your Excellency", declaring "I have no title". Realizing his error, Prospero rips off the stranger's red mask, revealing his own face--and is horrified at the revelation of his true identity.

Prospero: But I made a pact with Satan!
Man in red: He alone does not rule the universe.
Prospero: No! There is no other ruler, God's dead!
Man in red: Man creates his own God, his own devil, his own heaven and his own hell. This is your hell.

The figure is not an emissary of the devil, but the "Red Death" itself, declaring that "When you look into the face of Death, you see yourself." Prospero attempts to flee through the now-infected crowd, but his red-cloaked self is always in front of him. The Red Death finally corners him, and asks him, "Why are you afraid to die, Prospero? Your soul died a long time ago", and strikes him down.

In the epilogue, the "Red Death" is playing with his Tarot cards with a young child, smiling as he shows her a card. He then picks up the cards and puts the deck in his robes as other similarly cloaked figures gather around him, each wearing a different colour: the "Green Death", the "Yellow Death", the "Black Death", etc. They discuss among themselves the numbers of people each of them had "claimed" that day, each remorseful of their endless terrible task. When asked of his work, the Red Death says to them "I claimed many, only six remain." The cloaked figures then file offscreen in a grim procession.

THE MASQUE OF THE RED DEATH is an American International Pictures horror film based on an 1842 short story of the same name by American author Edgar Allan Poe, and incorporates a sub-plot based on another Poe tale, "Hop-Frog". This movie is one in a series of 8 Roger Corman adaptations of Poe's works. Filmed in just five weeks, this gothic horror classic is one of Corman's best films and is also one of his most stylish. Corman had been given a bigger budget than usual and it really shows. From the beautiful photography of England to Juliana's nightmare sequence, this classic is a visual feast. The film uses costumes and sets from the historical film BECKET (1964).

Vincent Price, the master of the horror genre, gives a truly outstanding performance in one of his most evil roles. He is wonderfully sinister as Prince Prospero, who is relatively restrained, even when he is ordering people garroted or tossing a woman a dagger so she can kill herself. Price's performance is superbly complemented throughout by the crimson-dominated cinematography of Nicholas Roeg. Prospero's equally evil wife worships Satan with even more passion than he does. One of the best performances comes from Skip Martin as Hop Toad, who does a lot with the sadistic subplot. Finally justice in the form of the "Red Death" prevails and Prospero's reign of terror comes to an end.

The cast also includes: Paul Whitsun-Jones (Scarlatti), Robert Brown (Guard), Julian Burton (Señor Veronese), David Davies, Gaye Brown (Señora Escobar), Verina Greenlaw (Esmeralda), Doreen Dawn (Anna-Marie), Brian Hewlett (Lampredi), Sarah Brackett, David Allen, Dorothy Anelay, Gerry Atkins, Jill Bathurst, Julian Bolt, Norris Boyd, Ricky Clarke, Ronald Curran, Alan Dalton, Gladys Davison, Robert de Warren, Rosemarie Dunham, Jane Evans, Dorothy Fraser, Edith Gey, Terry Gilbert, Sally Gilpin, Bertie Green, Harvey Hall, Janet Hall, Janet Kedge, Brigitte Kelly-Espinoza, Joanna Kubik, Seraphina Lansdown, Gale Law, Delia Linden, Jean Lodge, Tony Manning, Len Martin, Norman McDowell, Stanley Meadows, Hugh Morton, Bill Owen, Joan Palethorpe, Fred Peters, Maureen Sims, Roy Staite, John Stone, Angela Symonds, Caroline Symonds, Stanley Tiller, Jenny Till, David Wishart, and Selina Wylie. David Leeco composed the original music. Charles Beaumont and R. Wright Campbell wrote the screenplay adapted from Edgar Allen Poe's "The Masque of the Red Death" and "Hop Frog". Roger Corman directed.

Gilligan's Island (1964 – 1967) * * ½

In Hawaii, bumbling first mate Gilligan and the blustery Skipper give tours on their boat the S.S. Minnow. Five passengers board for a 3 hour tour: a movie star from Hollywood, a General Store sale's clerk in Kansas, a professor, and a millionaire couple. A storm comes in, the crew are unable to handle the boat, and the castaways wake up on a deserted Island. Despite their situation, they manage to survive on a diet of fish and coconut cream pie, live in huts made from sticks and leaves, and are aided by their transistor radio and a never-ending parade of guest stars who drop by their "deserted" island. Guests include a big game hunter, a movie producer, a mad scientist, a rock band, Russian cosmonauts, foreign spies and a jungle boy. But they never manage to rescue the castaways to safety.

GILLIGAN'S ISLAND was an American TV sitcom originally produced by United Artists Television. It aired for three seasons on the CBS network, from September 26, 1964 to September 4, 1967. The show follows the comic adventures of seven castaways as they attempt to survive and ultimately escape from a previously uninhabited island where they were shipwrecked.

Bob Denver plays Gilligan as a bumbling, dimwitted, accident-prone idiot. Denver previously played beatnik Maynard G. Krebs in the TV sitcom THE MANY LOVES OF DOBIE GILLIS. None of the show's episodes ever specified Gilligan's full name, nor clearly indicated whether "Gilligan" was the character's first name or his last. On the DVD collection, Sherwood Schwartz states that he preferred the full name of "Willie Gilligan" for the character. Denver himself, in various TV/radio interviews said that "Gil Eggan" was his choice. The actor reasoned that because everyone yelled at the first mate, it ran together as "Gilligan". In the (unaired) pilot episode, it has been debated whether Lovey Howell refers to Gilligan as "Stewart", or steward. On RESCUE FROM GILLIGAN'S ISLAND, the writers artfully dodge the recitation of Gilligan's full name, when the other names are announced.

Gilligan: Skipper, should I pick the yellow bananas or the red bananas, because the yellow bananas are green.
Skipper: Then pick the red ones.
Gilligan: But the red ones are pink.
Skipper: Gilligan, I don't care if you pick red white and blue bananas, just pick some bananas!
Gilligan: Okay, Skipper... Blue bananas?

Alan Hale, Jr. plays Jonas Grumby, the "Skipper". A longtime actor in B-westerns and the lookalike son of Alan Hale, Sr., a legendary movie character actor, Hale loved his role so much that, long after the show went off the air, he would still appear in character in his Los Angeles restaurant, Alan Hale's Lobster Barrel. Although the Skipper was a father figure to Gilligan, Hale was only 14 years older than Denver. It is alluded in one episode that Gilligan pushed the Skipper out of the way of a loose depth-charge when they were both serving in the United States Navy.

Jim Backus plays Thurston Howell III, the condescending millionaire. Backus was already a well-known actor when he took the part. He is perhaps best known as the voice of the cartoon character Mr. Magoo, and reused some of the voice inflections and mannerisms of Magoo in the role. He was well known for his ad-libs on the set. The origin of the uber-rich Howell character dates back to 1940's radio when Backus portrayed Hubert Updike III on "The Alan Young Show".

Thurston Howell III: I'd like to charge Mary Ann with murder.
Professor Roy Hinkley: Murder?
Thurston Howell III: Her testimony's killing me.

Natalie Schafer plays Eunice "Lovey" Wentworth Howell, Thurston's wife. Schafer had it written into her contract that there were to be no close-ups of her, perhaps due to her advanced age. Schafer was 63 when the pilot was shot although no one on the set or in the cast knew her real age, and she refused to divulge that information. Originally, she only accepted the role because the pilot was filmed on location in Hawaii. She looked at the job as nothing more than a free vacation, as she was convinced that a show this silly show would "never go".

Tina Louise plays Ginger Grant, the beautiful curvaceous movie star. When regular shooting began, Louise clashed with producers, because she believed that she was to be the main focus of the show. Her character was originally written as a sarcastic and sharp-tongued temptress, but Louise argued that this was too extreme and refused to play it as written. A compromise was reached and Louise agreed to play her as a cross between Marilyn Monroe and Lucille Ball. The evening gowns and hair style used were designed to re-create the look of Myrna Loy. Louise continued to clash with producers and was the only cast member who refused to return for any of the TV movies that followed the series' cancellation, and the fourth season, which was later canceled to make room for GUNSMOKE, saying that the role had destroyed her career as a serious actress. However, she did appear in a reunion of the cast on a late night TV talk show in 1988 and on an episode of ROSEANNE in 1995. In the first season, Ginger often wore gowns that looked as if they were tailored from S.S. Minnow tarps or similar cloth. Later on, she wore regular evening gowns with high heels. However, there were episodes where Ginger wore an almost tropical sarong style outfit while wearing flip flops or going barefoot. It was never explained why she brought so many changes of clothing on a "three-hour tour," though many fans postulate the trunk of silent movie props that washed ashore in one episode provided much of the wardrobe. In the pilot episode the character of Ginger, a secretary, was played by actress Kit Smythe.

Ginger: Wahine wiki huki luki nu, and I mean that from the bottom of my heart.
Gilligan: That's beautiful. What's it mean?
Ginger: It means this bar is off-limits to all military personnel.

Russell Johnson plays Roy Hinkley, the Professor. John Gabriel was originally cast, but the network thought he looked too young to have all the degrees attributed to the Professor. Incongruously, "the Professor" was in fact a high school science teacher, not a university professor. In the first episode, the radio announcer describes him as a research scientist and well-known Scoutmaster. Johnson stated that he had some difficulty remembering his more technically-oriented lines.

Professor: Listen, Gilligan, how far down was she? How many feet?
Gilligan: Professor, in navy circles, we don't say "feet". We say "fathoms".
Professor: Alright, how many fathoms?
Gilligan: Oh I don't know, about 15 feet.

Dawn Wells plays Mary Ann Summers, a sexy farm girl. Wells was a former Miss Nevada when she auditioned for the role. Her competition included Raquel Welch and Pat Priest. The pilot episode has a different character, "Bunny", played by actress Nancy McCarthy. After it was shot, the network decided to recast the roles of the Professor and the two young women.

Charles Maxwell is the uncredited voice of the "Radio Announcer", whose plot-advancing radio bulletins are eagerly tuned in to by the castaways in many episodes, who often pause between blurbs long enough for the characters to speak while reacting to what is reported, sometimes even following with immediate coincidental responses to their comments.

GILLIGAN'S ISLAND ran for a total of 98 episodes. The first season (consisting of 36 episodes) was filmed in black and white, though they were colorized in later syndication. However, the next two seasons (62 episodes) and three TV movie sequels were filmed in color. With solid ratings during its original run, the show grew in popularity during decades of syndication. Today, the title character of Gilligan is widely recognized as a comedic American popular culture icon.

The pilot episode was not broadcast, because of casting changes and restructuring of characters. In the pilot, the part of the Professor is played by John Gabriel. Instead of the movie star and the Kansas farm girl, the pilot has two secretaries: Ginger, a practical redhead played by Kit Smythe, and Bunny, portrayed by Nancy McCarthy as a cheerful, stereotypical "dumb blonde". The pilot has a different theme song, by the young not-yet-famous John Williams, with a Calypso beat and singer and somewhat longer opening credits shots, including scenes of Gilligan carrying the Howells' luggage to the boat, and spilling coffee on the Skipper during the storm. The plot for the pilot episode was eventually recycled into that season's Christmas episode, "Birds Gotta Fly, Fish Gotta Talk", in which the story, concerning the practical problems on landing, is related via a series of flashbacks. Some of the scenes from the pilot episode were re-shot using the current actors, while other scenes with Denver, Hale, Backus, and Schafer were simply reused.

Executive producer Sherwood Schwartz believed in avoiding exposition, and so he composed the theme song, "The Ballad of Gilligan's Isle", as a summary of the castaways' predicament. This was done so that first time viewers would instantly understand the premise. The episode "The Pigeon" places the island approximately 300 miles (480 km) southeast of Hawaii, while the episode "X Marks the Spot" gives a location near 140° longitude, 10° latitude, which puts it about 1,200 miles (1,900 km) to the southeast. In the episode "Big man on a little stick", however, the Professor give the position as "approximately 110° longitude and 10° latitude".

The first episode actually broadcast, "Two on a Raft", is sometimes wrongly referred to as the series pilot. This episode begins with the same scene of Gilligan and the Skipper awakening on the boat (cut slightly differently to eliminate most shots of the departed actors), and continues with the characters on the boat, listening to a radio news report about their disappearance. This is the scene that reveals the names of the Skipper (Jonas Grumby) and the Professor (Roy Hinkley), which appear nowhere else in the series except for an episode in which the Maritime Board of Review blames the Skipper for the loss of the ship. There is no equivalent scene or background information in the pilot, except for the description of the passengers in the original theme song. Rather than re-shooting the rest of the pilot story for broadcast, the show just proceeded on. The plot skips over the topics of the pilot, and the bulk of the episode tells of Gilligan and the Skipper setting off on a raft to try to bring help, but unknowingly landing back on the same island, but on the other side.

The show ran on Saturdays in its debut season, before moving to Thursdays in season two. Though GILLIGAN'S ISLAND's ratings had slumped, the series was still profitable. Nevertheless, it was cancelled at the last minute. Some of the cast had bought houses based on Sherwood Schwartz's news of verbal confirmation that the series would be renewed for a fourth season.

There were 18 directors, most notably Jack Arnold, and 34 writers, most notably Sherwood Schwartz. Others who appear on the show include: Vito Scotti (Dr. Boris Balinkoff), Janos Prohaska (Ape), Eddie Little Sky (Native), Mel Blanc (Parrot voice), Hans Conried (Wrongway Feldman), Denny Miller (Duke Williams), Russ Grieve (Native), George N. Neise (NASA Official), James Spencer (Copilot), and Chick Hearn (Commentator). Original music was composed by: John Williams (20 episodes, 1962-1965), Gerald Fried (9 episodes, 1965), Frank Comstock (3 episodes, 1964), Herschel Burke Gilbert (unknown episodes), and Morton Stevens (unknown episodes).

In a 1978 made-for-TV movie, RESCUE FROM GILLIGAN'S ISLAND, the castaways successfully leave the island, but have difficulty reintegrating into society. During a reunion cruise on the first Christmas after their rescue, fate intervenes and they are marooned on the same island at the end of the film. It stars the original cast except for Tina Louise as Ginger, who refused to participate and was replaced by Judith Baldwin. The plot involves Soviet agents seeking a memory disc from a spy satellite that landed on the island and facilitated their rescue. Gilligan and the Skipper "rescue" Mary Ann right as she is to marry her long time fiance, which contradicts the series where it was established that Mary Ann had no boyfriend after having made up a story about a boyfriend to keep the others from feeling sorry for her.

In a 1979 sequel, THE CASTAWAYS ON GILLIGAN'S ISLAND, they are rescued once again, and the Howells convert the island into a getaway resort, with the other five castaways as "silent partners". Ginger is again played by Judith Baldwin. This sequel was intended as a pilot for a possible new series in which the castaways would host new groups of tourists each week, using the all-star cast anthology format made popular by FANTASY ISLAND and THE LOVE BOAT. The series never materialized, though the premise was the basis of a short-lived 1981 series titled ALOHA PARADISE.

In a second sequel, THE HARLEM GLOBETROTTERS ON GILLIGAN'S ISLAND (1981), villains played by Martin Landau and then-wife Barbara Bain try to take over the island to gain access to a vein of Supremium, a valuable but volatile element. This time, Ginger is played by Constance Forslund. They are thwarted by the timely intervention of the Harlem Globetrotters. Jim Backus, who was in poor health at the time, only appeared at the very end of the episode, arriving back on the island. David Ruprecht played the role of Thurston Howell IV, which is odd, since it was established in the series that the Howells were childless, though he may have been adopted.

Warner Home Video released all three seasons of Gilligan's Island on DVD in Region 1 for the very first time between 2004-2005. The releases feature commentary by creator Sherwood Schwartz and cast members as well as trivia and featurettes. Also included is the pilot episode with a different Professor, Ginger, Mary Ann, and different opening and closing music. The only negative thing is the flipper discs, which require careful handling. In my first season set, the discs are fastened down with a design that makes it extremely difficult to remove the discs. I damaged a disc trying to remove it. GILLIGAN'S ISLAND is virtually unknown in the United Kingdom--only thirteen episodes were ever shown there.

Auntie Mame (1958) * * *

Mame Dennis (Rosalind Russell ) is an unconventional individualist socialite from the roaring 1920's. When her brother dies, she is forced to raise her 10 year-old nephew Patrick (Jan Handzlik). However, Patrick's father has designated social-climbing executor Dwight Babcock (Fred Clark) to his will to protect the boy from from the perspectives of Mame, who quickly introduces him to her free-spirited, flamboyant and eccentric lifestyle. Patrick and Mame fall in love with each other, and she spends the rest of the movie trying to rescue him from the stuffy, conventional people he's used to. Together they journey through Patrick's childhood and the great depression, and experience many adventures.

Determined to "open doors" for her nephew, Mame exposes to him everything from bootleg gin to oddball characters--all the while doing battle with her nephew's ultra-conservative trustee, who is equally determined that the boy's life remain free of "certain influences." He is raised in a world filled with acceptance and Mame's unconventional literati friends. Nothing is too bohemian. This unfolds in colorful episodic segments that allow us to watch Patrick grow as Mame oversees his unusual upbringing while she juggles a few spouses and an extended household. Most of the film is a succession of virtual skits, strung together in a loose chronological order that extends from the Prohibition era until the present. Anachronisms abound. But for all its exaggerations and inconsistencies, this picture of a tireless party-giver is a highly entertaining. And because of the gags that gush from it, it is constantly amusing.

Patrick Dennis: Libido, inferiority complex, stinko, blotto, free love, bathtub gin, monkey glands, Karl Marx... is he one of the Marx Brothers?
(Patrick reads a list of words he doesn't understand)
Patrick Dennis: ...Neurotic, heterosexual...
Mame Dennis: Oh, my my my my, what an eager little mind.
(takes the list)
Mame Dennis: You won't need some of these words for months and months.
Auntie Mame: Run along to Ito and tell him to bring me a light breakfast--black coffee and a side car. Oh, oh. And a cold towel for your Auntie Vera.
Patrick Dennis: Is she in the guest room again?
Auntie Mame: Since Sunday, dear. Now run along to Ito and hurry my tray, darling. Your Auntie needs fuel.

There are parties in Auntie Mame's duplex, the tryout of her one play in New Haven, and the foxhunt on the South Carolina estate where Mame snags herself wealthy husband Beauregard Jackson Pickett Burnside (Forrest Tucker). Tucker was one of the most well endowed actors in Hollywood, second only to Milton Berle. Many viewers watch this film mainly to see his impressive "crotch shots" in the South Carolina scenes. As the Southern gentleman who becomes Mame's knight in shining honor, Tucker is extremely charming in this, possibly his best film role. Unfortunately, he falls off the Matterhorn on their honeymoon.

The lavish décor of Mame's apartment is changed almost as frequently as her flashy costumes, and all of them are dazzling. Russell as the fluid and spirited sybarite who gives her orphaned nephew an abundance of attention and love, succeeds in creating a woman who is as comically engrossing as a clown and yet possesses tenderness that every now and then she suddenly reveals. It is this tenderness in Miss Russell that makes Auntie Mame endearing. Closest to reality are nephew Patrick (Roger Smith), who is quite appealing, Mr. Burnside, broadly humorous as the rich Southerner whom Mame weds, and Dwight Babcock as the banker who tries to make a prig of the boy.

Auntie Mame: What an honor it is to have you in our little home... though I wonder if it does make the best first impression on a sensitive young mind to see you drinking during business hours.
Dwight Babcock: I dropped by the Bixby School. And what do I find? I find he isn't even registered there, he never has been. So I've been hunting through every low, crockpot school in this town, and I finally found him in the lowest of them all.
Auntie Mame: Mr. Page is a progressive educator...
Dwight Babcock: There they were, a schoolroom full of them: boys, girls, teachers, romping around stark naked, bare as the day they were born.
Auntie Mame: I assure you that the children under Mr. Page's care were engaged in normal, healthful, broadening procedures.
Dwight Babcock: Broadening? You show them what you were doing when I broke into that place. Go ahead, show them.
Patrick Dennis: We just playing Fish Family.
Dwight Babcock: Fish Family.
Patrick Dennis: It's a sort of constructive play.
Dwight Babcock: Now, listen to this.
Auntie Mame: Show me now darling, show me.
Patrick Dennis: Well, we do it right after yogurt time. Mrs. Page and all the girls crouch down on the floor under the sun lamps. And they pretend to be lady fishes, depositing their eggs in the sand. Then Mr. Page and all the boys do what gentlemen fish do.
Auntie Mame: What could be more wholesome or natural?

Farcical and funny among the others are Agnes Gooch (Peggy Cass) as a frumpy myopic secretary who makes a mistake of a delicate biological nature, Vera Charles (Coral Browne) as an acid-tongued actress who drinks, and Doris Upson (Lee Patrick) and Claude Upson (Willard Waterman) as a Connecticut couple who raise provincialism and bias to a high level. Ito (Yuki Shimoda) as a houseboy, Norah Muldoon (Connie Gilchrist) as a maid, and Gloria Upson (Joanna Barnes) as a finishing-school's end product and Patrick's unbearable shallow fiance, perform lively caricatures. AUNTIE MAME is an unrestrained wild and innocent spoof, but it has a heart and it is in the right place.

Patrick Dennis' 1955 humorous, bittersweet novel was a runaway bestseller--and it was soon followed by the 1956 stage version starring Rosalind Russell, who created the title role she was born to play as the madcap Mame. The stage play as adapted by Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee from the novel was more like a movie script in its pile-up of pictorial business and its multitude of scenes. The invitation to expansion was hand-engraved in the play. Everything is expanded, especially Miss Russell, who lets herself go with even more gushiness and grandeur of gesture than she did on the stage. She is bright and brassy, but never goes too far over the top. Rosalind Russell delivers a knockout performance--easily her finest comedy performance since THE WOMEN (1939). From Mame's efforts to be a salesgirl at Macy's during the Christmas season, to her gentle put-down of an anti-semite, Russell is glorious as Mame--big-hearted, big-humored, and wonderfully off-center.

Do not confuse AUNTIE MAME with the lackluster musical version starring Lucille Ball, simply entitled MAME (1974). The Lucille Ball version, in which she looks as if she was filmed through Vaseline-covered cheesecloth is quite bad, going for cheap laughs. But there is nothing cheap about AUNTIE MAME. Production values are rich, the score is memorable, and everything about the show is a tremendous amount of fun. The infamous "production code" was still somewhat in force when AUNTIE MAME was filmed, and consequently several of the play's most famous lines had to be re-written--but this scarcely gets in the way of Russell and the others.

The cast also includes: Patric Knowles (Lindsay Woolsey), Pippa Scott (Pegeen Ryan), Robin Hughes (Brian O'Bannion), Brook Byron (Sally Cato MacDougall), Carol Veazie (Mrs. Burnside), Henry Brandon (Acacius Page), Cris Alexander (Mr. Loomis), Olive Blakeney (Dowager), Lela Bliss (Party Guest), Peter Bourne (Party Guest), John Caler (College boy), Evelyn Ceder Woman in White), Royden E. Clark (Stable Boy), Booth Colman (Alan a Party Guest), Max Cutler (Gangster), Jack Daly (Workman), Mark Dana (Reginald), Paul Davis (Stage Manager), Margaret Dumont (Noblewoman in Play), Saundra Edwards (Party Guest), Robert Gates (Actor as "Lord Dudley"), Gregory Gaye (Vladimir Klinkoff), Rand Harper (Pianist), Michael Harris (Party Guest), Sam Harris (Mr. Jackson), Charles Heard (Dr. Feuchtwanger), Butch Hengen (Emory MacDougall), Gloria Holden (Guest at garden party), Dick Hudkins (Stable Boy), Terry Kelman (Michael Dennis), Fred Kelsey (Front Row Audience at Play), Doye O'Dell (Cousin Jeff), Barbara Pepper (Mrs. Krantz), Richard Reeves (Mr. Krantz), Gladys Roach (Mrs. Klinkoff), Hazel Shermet (Macy's customer), Smokey (Mame's Horse), Dub Taylor (County Veterinarian), and Ruth Warren (Mrs. Jennings). Bronislau Kaper composed the original music. Betty Comden and Adolph Green wrote the screenplay derived from the novel by Patrick Dennis. Morton DaCosta directed.

This classic film was nominated for Academy Awards for Best Actress in a Leading Role (Rosalind Russell), Best Actress in a Supporting Role (Peggy Cass), Best Art Direction-Set Decoration, Black-and-White or Color (Malcolm Bert, George James Hopkins), Best Cinematography, Color, Best Film Editing and Best Picture. It was also nominated for three Golden Globes and won two. The DVD offers a visually stunning print of the film in its original ratio, and the sound is quite good as well. The few extras are nothing to speak of, but it hardly matters because this is a movie you can turn to if you need a good laugh, especially one with a slightly satirical edge from start to finish.

The Ed Sullivan Show (1948 - 1971)

The ED SULLIVAN SHOW is an American TV variety show that ran from June 20, 1948 to June 6, 1971, and was hosted by entertainment columnist Ed Sullivan. It ran on CBS every Sunday night at 8 p.m., and is one of the few shows to have been run in the same time slot, weekly on the same network, for more than two decades. Virtually every type of entertainment appeared on the show: opera singers, rock stars, songwriters, comedians, ballet dancers, circus acts, Broadway showgirls, and recitations from dramatic writings--usually juxtaposed on a single telecast. The format was essentially the same as vaudeville, and although vaudeville had died a generation earlier, Sullivan presented many ex-vaudevillians on his show. THE ED SULLIVAN SHOW is longest-running variety show in television history.

Sullivan began his career as a sportswriter, and then he took over Walter Winchell’s syndicated column. He hosted Broadway specials, charity events, and through the 1940’s various war relief efforts and his own radio show. In 1948 CBS hired him to host its first variety show endeavor, a new format that combined vaudeville and television and was nicknamed “vaudeo" The show was originally titled "Toast of the Town", but was widely referred to as THE ED SULLIVAN SHOW for years before September 25, 1955, when that became its official name. In the show's June 20, 1948 debut, Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis performed along with Broadway composers Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II previewing the score to SOUTH PACIFIC. His inaugural program also included pianist Eugene List, ballerina Kathryn Lee, a troupe of crooning firemen, a boxing referee whose next gig was the Joe Louis-Jersey Joe Wolcott match, and six of the original June Taylor Dancers, called the "Toastettes."

It became the definitive, the best, and longest running variety series on TV. The awkward, wooden, stone-faced, and fumbling former newspaperman was the improbable host for the Sunday night institution on CBS. For twenty-three years the Sullivan show fulfilled the democratic mandate of the variety genre: to entertain all of the audience at least some of the time. Many comic impersonators parodied his wooden stage presence and malapropisms, and a few actually performed their Ed Sullivan impressions on his "really big shew".

Alan King: "Ed does nothing, but he does it better that anyone else on television"

In 1965 CBS started televising the programs in color, as all three major networks began to switch to color in prime time schedules. The show was broadcast live from CBS-TV Studio 50 in New York City, which is now named The Ed Sullivan Theater and is the home of The Late Show with David Letterman. Although called "the great stone face" on screen, Sullivan was a man of intense passion off camera. He feuded with Walter Winchell, Jack Paar, and Frank Sinatra over his booking practices. He wrangled with conservative sponsors over his fondness for African American culture and openly embraced black performers throughout his career, including Bill "Bojangles" Robinson, Ethel Waters, Louis Armstrong, and Diana Ross. Unfortunately, he also capitulated to the blacklisting pressures of Red Channels and denounced performers for pro-Communist sympathies.

Countless stars appeared on his show, including: Diahann Carroll, Dionne Warwick, Sammy Davis Jr., Nat King Cole, Bo Diddley, The Fifth Dimension, James Brown, Aretha Franklin, Mahalia Jackson, The Supremes, The Four Tops, The Miracles, Little Anthony & The Imperials, The Jackson 5, Jackie Wilson, Nina Simone, Gladys Knight & The Pips, The Temptations, Alan King, Myron Cohen, Jack Carter, Mort Sahl, Woody Allen, Richard Pryor, George Carlin, Johnny Wayne and Frank Shuster, Monica Lewis, Dean Martin, Jerry Lewis, Peggy Lee, Irving Berlin, Bob Hope, Julie Andrews, Richard Burton, Robert Goulet, Nanette Fabray, Hope Emerson, Rudy Vallee, Luise Rainer, Jule Styne, Forrest Tucker, Skitch Henderson, Lon McCallister, Tony Martin, The Animals, Bobby Vinton, Connie Francis, The Dave Clark 5, The Everly Brothers, The Fifth Dimension, Frankie Laine, Gary Lewis and the Playboys, Gary Puckett and the Union Gap, Gerry and the Pacemakers, Gladys Knight and the Pips, Guy Mitchell, Jackie Wilson, Mamas and the Papas, Paul Anka, The Platters, The Rolling Stones, The Temptations, Teresa Brewer, Humphrey Bogart, Lena Horne, Dinah Shore, Albert Schweitzer, Irving Berlin, Fred Astaire, Jane Powell, Eddie Fisher, The Doors, Janis Joplin, Marvin Gaye and Bob Dylan.

The Ed Sullivan Show is especially famous for airing breakthrough performances by Elvis Presley and The Beatles.

"I wouldn't have Presley on my show at any time"--Ed Sullivan, early 1956

"And now, here is Elvis Presley!"--Ed Sullivan, October 28, 1956

After Elvis sings, Sullivan addresses the audience as he stands beside Elvis, who begins shaking his legs, eliciting screams from the audience. By the time Sullivan turns his head, Elvis is standing motionless. After Presley leaves the stage, Sullivan says, "I can’t figure this darn thing out. You know. He just does this and everybody yells." For the third and final appearance on January 6, 1957, Sullivan praised Elvis at the end of the show by saying, "This is a real decent, fine boy. We've never had a pleasanter experience on our show with a big name than we've had with you.... You're thoroughly all right."

Most of the episodes aired live from New York City, although the show also aired live on occasion from other nations, such as the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, and Japan. For many years, Ed Sullivan was a national event each Sunday evening, and was the first exposure for foreign performers to the American public. Sullivan was always on the lookout for novelty acts, especially for children. His interplay with the Italian mouse Topo Gigio his "Little Italian Mouse" puppet sidekick debuted April 14, 1963 with ventriloquist Señor Wences.

(Frank Sinatra and Bing Crosby are singing "Road to Morocco", when Frank spots Bob Hope walking down the stairs at the back of the Ed Sullivan stage)
Frank: Run for the hills.
(Bob Hope walks in on Frank Sinatra and Bing Crosby singing "Road to Morocco")
Bing: What's the problem?
Bob: (pointing at Frank) You're singing our song with him.
Frank: I said I was sorry.
Bob: After all, Dean wouldn't do this to Jerry.
Bing: Bob, I'll tell you what happened. I didn't know you were in town. I heard, or I figured at least, that you'd gone for a ride on the Russian moon.
Frank: (indicating Bob) Ladies and Gentlemen, here's the first man to entertain the troops in Outer Space.
Bing: You certainly get around.
Bob: I have to, with my kind of act.

In the late 1960s, Sullivan noticed that his program was waning as the decade went on. He realized that to keep viewers, the best and brightest in entertainment had to be seen, or else the viewers were going to keep on changing the channel. Along with declining viewership, Ed Sullivan attracted a higher median age for the average viewer as the seasons went on. These two factors were the reason the show was canceled by CBS after the end of the 1970-1971 season. THE ED SULLIVAN SHOW was the longest-running variety show in TV history, and an undisputed institution. However, time slot rivals The WALT DISNEY SHOW and THE F.B.I. were gaining momentum, and CBS, eager for youth-oriented programming and fearful that Sullivan was a vestige of older generations, canceled the show. Because there was no notice, Sullivan's landmark program ended without a series finale. The last ED SULLIVAN SHOW was episode # 1071, aired on March 28, 1971. Ed Sullivan continued to produce one-off specials for CBS until his death in 1974.

Many DVDs are now available including: "The Very Best of the Ed Sullivan Show" (volumes 1 to 4), "Ed Sullivan Presents: Topo Gigio and Friends", "The Four Complete Historic Ed Sullivan Shows Featuring The Beatles", "Ed Sullivan Presents: Rock 'N' Roll Revolution", "Ed Sullivan Presents The Beatles", "Ed Sullivan's Rock 'N' Roll Classics", "The Best of Broadway Musicals: Original Cast Performances From The Ed Sullivan Show", "Muppets Magic From the Ed Sullivan Show", "Holiday Greetings From the Ed Sullivan Show", "Elvis Presley: The Ed Sullivan Shows", "Inspirational Treasures... The Ed Sullivan Show", "Ed's Amazing Animal Acts", "The Ed Sullivan Show: A Classic Christmas", "Motown Gold on The Ed Sullivan Show", and "Great Moments In Opera from the Ed Sullivan Show".

Stay Tuned (1992) * * ¾

Roy Knable (John Ritter) is a couch potato and struggling Seattle plumbing salesman married to Helen (Pam Dawber), his neglected wife and a vitamin product manager. After a fight where Helen throws one of Roy's fencing trophies into the family television, smashing the screen, Mr. Spike (Jeffrey Jones) appears at the couples' door, offering Roy a high tech new satellite dish system filled with 666 channels of every program you can't get on the four big networks. Roy signs the contract which actually requires a one-time payment of his soul. He and Helen are sucked into their own TV set, an alternative TV dimension called Hellvision, where they are kept on the run through such monstrous fare as "I Love Lucifer" and "Northern Overexposure." If they can survive for 24 hours, they learn, they will be returned to their normal lives. But if they get killed, their souls will go to Satan. Eventually, their disenchanted kids Darryl (David Tom) and Diane (Heather McComb) discover mom and dad are trapped in the TV set and they set about rescuing them. Darryl is an electronics whiz and puts his ingenuity to work to get them back.

Helen Knable: You sadistic bastard!
Mr. Spike: Runs in the family! My father was an oil company president.
(Helen and Roy Knable are sucked into the HVTV dish)
Mr. Spike: Fasten your seat belts, folks. It's going to be a bumpy ride! Ha, ha, ha, ha!
You Can't Win host: Do you know the rules of our game?
Helen Knable: (not sure where she is) What game?
Mr. Spike: Screw up in here, and you're dead meat... dead meat.

The hellish television world is full of satirical shows and movies. In some shows, the Knables are transformed into various roles and forms that fit the plot of the movie they happen to be in at the time. There's Captain Jean-Luc Picard in the STAR TREK TNG scene, Clint Eastwood in a spaghetti western, and even Jack Tripper (a character portrayed by Ritter) on the set of THREE'S COMPANY. Others are "Facts of Life Support", "30 Something to Life", "Sadistic Hidden Videoes" , "Murder, She Likes", "You Can't Win", and commerical parodies. They are pursued by Mr. Spike (also known as "Mephistopheles of the Cathode Ray") who enters some shows along with the Knables in order to halt their advance. He too takes on alternate forms that reflect the themes of the various shows, such as the Klingon and Android in the STAR TREK scene, and the driver in "Driving Over Miss Daisy".

TV Announcer: How did James Dean really die? Find out tonight on "Autopsies Of The Rich And Famous".
Voice over on one of the HVTV channels: The next item we have for you on the "Home Shoplifting Channel"...
TV Announcer: Welcome to "Northern Overexposure", the story of a young doctor from New York who comes to Alaska, complains about everything, and freezes to death.
Voice over on one of the HVTV channels: And now the all-new mini-series about the French Revolution... "Off With His Head", the story of the Marquis de Knable, an enemy of the people, who tries to escape the guillotine by wearing a disguise. It's an epic drama of love, danger, and cross-dressing. Stay tuned for the final chapter of "Off With His Head", when the Marquis de Knable finally loses his.

Helen Knable: Where's my husband?
Murray Seidenbaum: What are you worried about him for? I ditched my wife five channels ago. She happened to meet the business end of a fifty-ton reptile. And I can tell you, I don't exactly miss dried meat loaf.
(Murray Seidenbaum gets shot. Roy Knable approaches him)
Murray Seidenbaum: (to Roy, just before dying) All I wanted was to be the big shot for once. Take my remote.

Salt-n-Pepa make a cameo appearance near the end of the film in a "Hell TV" (MTV) segment. Mr. Spike, the DJ in this segment of the film, throws records at Roy who is dressed in a satirical Prince outfit. Roy is pursued in an elaborate music video by the rap duo Salt-n-Pepa. A zany touch is in the middle of the chase the "mute" on the remote control is accidentally pressed. However, Roy dodges them all, confronts Mr. Spike, and wins back the remote. The music video ends and Roy uses the remote to save his wife from being run over by a train. Roy and Helen are beamed back to the real world through their satellite dish. At the end of the movie, Roy has dramatically cut back on his TV viewing time, and is teaching a fencing class. A student attempts to disarm him with a fancy move, but fails. When he asks "Where did you learn that?", she replies "I saw it on TV once." Roy replies, "Don't watch too much TV, trust me it will get you into trouble."

After the unwatchable SHOCK TREATMENT (1981) and before the witty PLEASANTVILLE (1998), this comedy also features a family taking its problems out of the real world and into the crazy fictions of television entertainment. A genuine novelty, STAY TUNED is powered along by a chain of imaginative sequences, most memorably an original cartoon by Warner legend Chuck Jones that cleverly integrates Ritter and Dawber's characters. This social satire about the overbearing nature of television on underachieving lives is an imaginative and entertaining movie. The old rivalry between TV and film carries on in this clever parody, with many supporting players including SCTV legend Eugene Levy, SNL announcer Don Pardo, and hip-hop performers Salt-n-Pepa.

STAY TUNED takes a satiric concept and reduces it to a mild-mannered suburban comedy with little bite. It's an innoovative cleverly plotted movie that offers ample opportunity for spoofing anything and everything that can be found on television. The film is a bit more on target in its takeoffs of actual TV shows. One of the best moments is a "Wayne's Underworld" segment of "Saturday Night Dead," in which adolescents in ghoulish masks bash Roy in the head with the camera that is actually filming him. Ritter and Dawber don't do much in the movie except act frantic. However, Mr. Spike is an amusing caricature. With his creepy grins, arching eyebrows and stifled fits of apoplexy when things don't go his way, he suggests a TV executive gone bonkers from all the competitive pressure. STAY TUNED has been rated PG-13, with a few slightly off-color jokes. It's bizarre and cute.

Rita Kempley of the Washington Post called the film "wonderfully silly" and a "zippy action spoof." Variety magazine said the film was "not diabolical enough for true black comedy, too scary and violent for kids lured by its PG rating and witless in its sendup of obsessive TV viewing...a picture with nothing for everybody", and noted that the "six-minute cartoon interlude by the masterful Chuck Jones, with Ritter and Dawber portrayed as mice menaced by a robot cat...has a grace and depth sorely lacking in the rest of the movie." Time Out called it "pointless 'satire'" with the "emotional depth of a 30-second soap commercial."

The cast also includes: Bob Dishy (Murray Seidenbaum), Joyce Gordon (Sarah Seidenbaum), Eugene Levy (Crowley), Erik King (Pierce), Don Calfa (Wetzel), John B. Destry (Sackler), Susan Blommaert (Ducker), Maurice Verkaar (Another Buyer), Ken Douglas (Skeletal Worker), Gerry Nairn (Newscaster), Dale Wilson (Guy Squirly), Don Pardo (Game Show Announcer), Lou Albano (Ring Announcer), George Gray (Mr. Gorgan), Faith Minton (Mrs. Gorgon), Alan C. Peterson (Wrestling Referee), Marlowe Dawn (Cyndi), Laura Harris, Andrea Nemeth, Tiffany Michas, Kristen Cloke (Velma), Gianni Russo (Guido), Bill Croft (Torpedo #1), John Bear Curtis (Torpedo #2", Victor A. Young (Handsome Guard), Jonathon Pallone (Heavy Set Guard), Ken Kramer (Innkeeper), Dave "Squatch" Ward (Peasant), David Longworth (Another Peasant), Gordon Masten (Executioner), and many others. Bruce Broughton composed the original music. Tom S. Parker and Jim Jennewein wrote the screenplay based on a story they wrote with Richard Siegel. Peter Hyams directed.

DVD special features include subtitles in English and French, animated menus, a motion menu, scene access, biographies, filmographies and much more