Ted Bessel Movies
After five years of playing uptight Donald Hollinger, the boyfriend of Marlo Thomas in her groundbreaking proto-feminist sitcom That Girl for five years, Ted Bessell as an actor was hopelessly typecast as the perennial second fiddle. This was a shame for despite the bland image he projected on the show, he was a vital, creative, talented, and passionate man who excelled at painting, music, directing, and acting. A native of Flushing, NY, Bessell was a piano prodigy and at age 12 performed a recital at Carnegie Hall. By the time he graduated from college in 1958, he had decided to become an actor and launched his career in 1961, playing an elevator operator in the feature film Lover Come Back. The following year he was cast as a college student on the series It's a Man's World. The series only lasted a season and Bessell went on to become a semi-regular on Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C. in 1966, the year That Girl went into production. Though the role of Donald made Bessell a television star, the actor stated that the role "took away the heart of me." During its run, he also played small roles in a few feature films, including Don't Drink the Water (1969). Following the end of the series, Bessell starred opposite a chimpanzee in the short-lived Me and the Chimp (1972) in which he played an uptight dentist/father of two forced to contend with the tame ape his children found abandoned in a park one day. The '70s were a slow time for him -- but for a few memorable appearances as the boyfriend of Mary Tyler Moore on her proto-feminist sitcom -- and he only appeared in a couple of films. The '80s continued in a similar vein, but included two unsuccessful attempts at TV sitcoms: Good Time Harry (1980) and Hail to the Chief (1985) in which he played Patty Duke's husband. By the late '80s, Bessell had largely abandoned acting and become a television director. In 1989, he shared an Emmy for directing an episode of Fox television's Tracey Ullman. In early October 1996, Bessell had just reunited with Marlo Thomas to present at the Emmys and was discussing a That Girl reunion movie with her. He was also busy preparing to direct a feature-film version of the '60s sitcom Bewitched (produced by himself and Penny Marshall through their jointly owned Parkway Productions, which they established in 1991) when he was felled by a fatal aortal aneurysm. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi- 1982
First telecast March 2, 1981, The Acorn People was adapted by director Joan Tewksbury from the book by Ron Jones. Ted Bessell plays a no-nonsense children's counselor who takes a job at a summer camp for severely handicapped children. The kids jokingly refer to themselves as "the acorn people"--a reference to the acorn necklaces that they've made for themselves, and to the fact that they'd never blossomed into full-grown "trees." Bessell is determined to remain detached from his charges, but with the help of nurse Cloris Leachman and assitant LeVar Burton, Bessell emerges from the two-week camp a compassionate, caring person, as fully concerned with the lives of the Acorns as the year-round staff. The Acorn People was filmed on location in Dallas, with several of the area's genuine handicapped children playing supporting roles. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- 1979
- R
Six recently divorced males gather 'round a restaurant table and talk about their past lives and their recently failed marriages while trying to piece their lives back together. This drama is somewhat interesting for presenting the topic of life after a divorce from a man's point of view. (And yes, Neil Sedaka sings the smash title song over the final credits - so don't change that dial!) Originally made for television, and broadcast on ABC in two parts - one on Wed., Sep. 5, 1979, and one on Friday, Sep. 7, 1979 -- this film was reissued on video about ten years later to capitalize on Billy Crystal's growing fame. When it arrived on home video, the picture received its first MPAA rating (R) and was edited down from its original running time of 150 minutes to 96 minutes. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi
- 1974
This comedy is comprised of three vignettes involving a school psychiatrist, a pair of police sergeants, and a beleaguered father. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi
- 1973
Bette Davis stars in the TV movie Scream, Pretty Peggy. She isn't Peggy, but instead the secretive matriarch of a spooky household. Peggy, played by Sian Barbara Allen, is a goggle-eyed college student hired by Davis as a housekeeper. Ted Bessell plays Davis's son, a crazed sculptor; but no one ever sees Bessell's maniacal sister (where's Anthony Perkins when you need him?). Be assured that pretty Peggy takes up the invitation proposed by the film's title and screams loud and often. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- 1973
In this comedy, a jealous wife tosses her husband out of the house after he spends the night at the home of a friend. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi
- 1972
In this made-for-TV comedy, the writer for a hit TV show learns that the lead actress is about to marry the show's wealthy sponsor, thus putting him (and the rest of the show's cast and crew) out of a job. To get his revenge, he writes her into a kidnaping scheme -- and then turns it into fact. ~ Brian Gusse, Rovi
Don't Drink The Water is taken from a play by Woody Allen. Walter Hollander (Jackie Gleason) is a middle-aged caterer from Newark, New Jersey who takes his wife Marion (Estelle Parsons) and his teenage daughter Susan (Joan Delaney) on a tour of Europe. When their plane is high-jacked to Vulgaria, Walter is mistaken for an international spy when he takes some photographs. Secret agent Krojack (Michael Constantine) is dispatched to capture the alleged spy. The family takes refuge in the American embassy where Axel Magee (Ted Bessell) is the son of the ambassador. Axel arranges for the family to stay there, but leaving then becomes the problem. Susan's problems are solved when she and Axel are married, providing her with diplomatic immunity. Walter and Marion are forced to disguise themselves as part of an Arab delegation to escape from Vulgaria. ~ Dan Pavlides, Rovi
- Starring:
- Jackie Gleason, Estelle Parsons, (more)
Before The Mary Tyler Moore Show, Murphy Brown and Ally McBeal, there was That Girl. Nominated for an Emmy® Award for these episodes, Marlo Thomas gives Ann Marie some of her most memorable moments in Season 4 of That Girl. From the banana spy camera she wields in the 2-part season opener, Mission Improbable through her unforgettable donning of a chicken suit in Nobody Here But Us Chickens she demonstrates her undeniable talent for physical comedy. Faithfully along for Ann's wild ride are her boyfriend Donald (Ted Bessell) and her parents(Lew Parker and Rosemary DeCamp).
- Starring:
- Marlo Thomas, Ted Bessel, (more)
- 1965
Newly engaged to an American girl named Sally Benner (Sally Kellerman), London policeman Tommy Bonn (Ron Randell) brings his sweetheart back home, only to find that he has been assigned to track down a strangler. The situation gets personal when, while taking a nocturnal stroll in the London fog, Sally disappears. The subsequent events not only involve Sally and Tommy, but also Tommy's partner, Stephen Leslie (Michael Pate), and a disturbed young man named Clarke (David Carradine) -- who apparently has a compulsion to confess to every crime that occurs. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Ron Randell, Sally Kellerman, (more)
Billie is a screen version of Ronald Alexander's perennial stage favorite Time Out For Ginger. Patty Duke plays a tomboyish high schooler who excels in athletics but who continues to strike out socially. Jim Backus and Jane Greer perform yeoman service as Duke's parents, who wonder how long it's going to be before their daughter stops trying to be their son. Backus is particularly concerned because he's running for mayor on a platform of "male supremacy" (this is 1965, remember?). From time to time, Duke expresses her frustration in song: her big number finds her holding her gym shoes in one hand, a bottle of perfume in the other. Warren Berlinger also stars as Duke's long-suffering boyfriend. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Patty Duke, Jim Backus, (more)
- 1965
In this comedy, another entry in the slapstick series based on a popular TV show, meek little Ensign Parker finds himself getting promoted for no apparent reason. He gets himself rip-roarin' drunk one night and finds himself wearing an Air Force uniform and mistaken for a big-wig. He continues to mess up, but to no avail, no matter what he does, he continues to get promoted. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Joe Flynn, Tim Conway, (more)
Gregory Peck plays a benevolent God-like figure in a white smock as Captain Josiah Newman, the head of a psych-unit at a Southwestern army base during the waning days of World War II. Newman is a patriarchal protector to his patients, preferring to keep him in his ward, rather than return them to certain death on the battlefield. The matriarchal figure of the ward is Lieutenant Grace Blodgett (Jane Withers), but Newman is more interested in his assistant Lieutenant Francie Corum (Angie Dickinson), with whom he is having an affair. Further help is provided by human nature expert, Corp. Jackson Laibowitz (Tony Curtis), the orderly. And Newman needs all the help he can get. Particularly with three patients: Colonel Bliss (Eddie Albert) is suffering from a guilt complex from all the men he has sent to death; Corporal Tompkins (Bobby Darin, in an Academy Award-nominated performance), although decorated for bravery in combat, calls himself a coward for failing to save his pal from a burning plane; and Captain Winston (Robert Duvall) is guilt-ridden and has lapsed into catatonia because he had hidden for over a year in the basement of a building in Germany. Although Newman wants to cure these men of their psychological problems, he doesn't want to see them returned to the war to be killed. ~ Paul Brenner, Rovi
- Starring:
- Gregory Peck, Tony Curtis, (more)
Although not as well known as Pillow Talk (1959), this romantic-comedy pairing of stars Rock Hudson and Doris Day earned an Oscar nomination for Best Screenplay. Hudson stars as Jerry Webster, a Madison Avenue advertising executive who has achieved success not through hard work or intelligence but by wining and dining his big-shot clients, even setting them up on dates with attractive girls. Jerry's equal at a rival agency is Carol Templeton (Day). Although she has never met him, Carol is disgusted by Jerry's unethical antics and reports him to the Ad Council. Jerry avoids trouble with his usual aplomb, sending a comely chorus girl, Rebel Davis (Edie Adams), to seduce the council members. When Jerry subsequently makes Rebel the star of television commercials for a nonexistent product called VIP, the spots are accidentally aired by perplexed company president Pete Ramsey (Tony Randall). Carol becomes determined to win the VIP account away from Jerry, but after she discovers the truth, she again reports him to the Ad Council. Jerry skirts out of trouble a second time by producing VIP, an intoxicating candy quickly whipped up by company research scientist Linus Tyler (Jack Kruschen). VIP's extreme effects lead to a one-night stand between bitter rivals Jerry and Carol, with unexpected consequences. ~ Karl Williams, Rovi
- Starring:
- Rock Hudson, Doris Day, (more)
- 1961
This is an uneven melodrama on the tragic life of Pima Indian Ira Hayes, one of the men who raised the U.S. flag on Iwo Jima. The story picks up with Hayes (Tony Curtis) leaving his reservation in Arizona to join the Marines, enter boot camp, and start to adapt to the life of a Marine. Hayes becomes good friends with Sorenson (James Franciscus), and it is this friendship that sustains him in a white man's world. But as time goes by and the moment immortalized on Iwo Jima ends, Hayes goes into a decline, being unconvinced there was any heroism involved in his actions during the war and never being able to adjust to civilian life. At this point in time, no one recognized the afflictions common to all soldiers after long years in battle, and the death of Sorenson is blamed for Hayes' downfall. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi
- Starring:
- Tony Curtis, James Franciscus, (more)
