Robert Klein Movies
A graduate of Alfred University, American actor Robert Klein spent the 1960s and 1970s amassing a respectable list of stage and film credits (he played George Segal's befuddled roomie in The Owl and the Pussycat [1970]), but his bread and butter turned out to be his career as a stand-up comic. First gaining national attention as host of the 1970 TV variety series Comedy Tonight, Klein went on to transcribe his comedy routines in a series of popular record albums. A "reporter" of humor, the raspy-voiced, heavily eyebrowed Klein is at his best commenting offhandedly on the absurdities of everyday life. Some of his best routines involve the dissection of such pop-culture icons as The Little Rascals, My Little Margie, and Babe Ruth; other monologues recall such childhood experiences as civil defense drills and the first dance (complete with imitations of the Johnny Mathis records heard on the PA). Klein continued taking acting jobs into the 1970s and 1980s: one of his longer engagements during this period was in the Neil Simon Broadway musical They're Playing Our Song. In 1991, Robert Klein found himself the unofficial spokesperson for the Comedy Central cable service, hosting the weekly series Dead Comics Society and Stand Up Stand Up. He also appeared occasionally on the NBC drama Sisters. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Add New York Yankees: Team of the Century to QueueAdd New York Yankees: Team of the Century to top of Queue
Founded in 1903, The New York Yankees are frequently touted by fans as the leading sport franchise in the history of American athletics. In this retrospective, vintage footage, photographs, interviews, and highlights featuring such pin-striped all-stars as Lou Gehrig, Mickey Mantle, Joe DiMaggio, Babe Ruth, and Reggie Jackson combine to offer the definitive portrait of a team that always shoots for the grand slam. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robert Klein
- 1970
- PG
Wealthy, insensitive young Beau Bridges buys an inner-city tenement, planning to evict the present occupants and construct a luxury home for himself. But once he ventures into the tenement, he grows quite fond of the low-income ethnic types who dwell within. He even kicks over the traces of his WASP upbringing by romancing black tenants Diana Sands and Marki Bey. Though essentially a comedy, The Landlord offers several painful truths about ghetto existence. Essentially, Beau Bridges acts as the audience's "eyes:" we learn as he learns, we grow as he grows. The Landlord represents the first directorial effort of Oscar-winning film editor Hal Ashby. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Beau Bridges, Lee Grant, (more)
The Owl and the Pussycat began life as a two-character Broadway play by Bill Manhoff, about a stuffy author who entered into an explosive relationship with his neighbor, a foulmouthed, freewheeling prostitute. Manhoff wrote the part of the hooker for a black actress, but all that changed when Barbra Streisand was cast in the role for the film version. George Segal portrays the male lead, and the play's two-character austerity was expanded to a cast of 19 speaking parts. Beyond the added characters (including Robert Klein as Segal's swinging roommate), the heart and soul of the film is the Segal-Streisand relationship; he is utterly appalled by her lifestyle, she is turned off by his prudishness, and both are made for each other. The Owl and the Pussycat was adapted for the screen by Buck Henry, who shows up in a cameo role in one of the bookstore scenes. The film represented the last work of cinematographer Harry Stradling, who'd previously photographed Streisand in Funny Girl; Stradling died during production, and was replaced by Ernest Laszlo. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Barbra Streisand, George Segal, (more)
- 1970
William Popper (Michael Sarrazin) is the son of a stockbroker and is thoroughly disenchanted with "the system." So much so that even though he can prove that he ran over a woman in his car entirely by accident, he accepts a sentence for manslaughter. His participation in some prison violence motivates him to attempt to escape, though he has only a week to go on his sentence. Having escaped, he and his old girlfriend (Barbara Hershey) make a run for Canada. The story is adapted from the novel The Pursuit of Happiness by Thomas Rogers. As William's starchy grandmother, Ruth White, notable for her work in To Kill a Mockingbird and Midnight Cowboy makes her last film appearance. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- 1975
This 1975 episode of Saturday Night Live is hosted by Robert Klein and features musical guests ABBA and Loudon Wainwright III. ~ Skyler Miller, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robert Klein, ABBA, (more)
Following the blockbuster success of Smokey and the Bandit, Burt Reynolds, Sally Field and director Hal Needham reunited to make the very similar Hooper, an action-laced comedy about a Hollywood stunt man who enters a dangerous rivalry with a younger stunt man. Hooper (Reynolds) and the younger stunt man (Jan-Michael Vincent) compete in a series of increasingly complex stunts in order to earn the title of "the greatest stunt man alive." Hooper is lightweight, mindless fun that doesn't have much story, but it is a stronger film than Smokey and the Bandit, largely because the characters are somewhat stronger. Everyone involved looks like they're having fun; the good-humor translates on screen. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Burt Reynolds, Jan-Michael Vincent, (more)
- 1978
This videotape contains a 1978 episode of the popular sketch comedy, featuring guest host Robert Klein--who performs his uproarious routine, "I Can't Stop My Leg"--as well as an appearance by the Muppets. The musical guest is Bonnie Raitt. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robert Klein, Bonnie Raitt, (more)
- 1979
- R
Poet Sylvia Plath wrote an immensely popular roman à clef, The Bell Jar, which chronicles a woman's descent from functioning as a highly educated, motivated, and capable young woman to being completely incapacitated at the hands of mental illness. Sadly, Plath committed suicide at age 30, and did not have a chance to enjoy the success of her novel, which wasn't officially published in the United States until the early '70s. In this tragic tale, Esther Greenwood (Marilyn Hassett) is the central figure, a college student on a publishing internship with a woman's magazine in Manhattan. As she begins to experience psychological difficulties, her troubles are compounded by the incredible insensitivity of the people around her. On one occasion, her boyfriend condescendingly berates her for taking an overdose of pills. Critics complained that this movie, which did not do well at the box office, failed to capture the evocative emotional tone of the novel. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Marilyn Hassett, Julie Harris, (more)
- 1980
- PG
This comedy was filmed in Miami and follows the exploits of three frustrated misanthropes who try to sue the city after their car hits a pothole and ends up totaled. Unfortunately, the city has protected itself with a little loophole. When legal means fail, the three try other methods. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gabe Kaplan, Alex Karras, (more)
Only one of the mythological creatures escapes the evil King Haggard's (voice by Christopher Lee) plan to eliminate all unicorns from the land in Rankin-Bass's (Frosty the Snowman, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer) sophisticated production of The Last Unicorn. In hopes of rescuing her exiled breed, the last unicorn (voice by Mia Farrow) teams up with the kindly, if bumbling wizard Schmendrick the Magician (voice by Alan Arkin), who accompanies her on the far-reaching and treacherous quest to save her kind. ~ Tracie Cooper, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Alan Arkin, Jeff Bridges, (more)
- 1983
In this made-for-TV comedy, a group of single adults attempt to find their perfect mates in the harsh world of dating. ~ Iotis Erlewine, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bonnie Franklin, Robert Klein, (more)
- 1984
Comedian Robert Klein is taped in concert at NYU. ~ All Movie Guide
- 1984
Often cited as a rip-off of such "parent-kid personality switch" films of the 1980s as Like Father, Like Son and Vice Versa, this ABC Afterschool Special actually predates those projects by several years. Summer camper Ben Andrews (Scott Schwartz) would like to be a grown-up. Ben's father, Bill Andrews (Robert Klein), a harried movie executive, yearns for the carefree days of childhood. Inevitably, Ben and Bill switch personalities, with uproarious results. Amazingly, no one seems to notice the switch, not even when 12-year-old Ben puffs away on a pipe while heading a movie conference, and middle-aged Bill totes a teddy bear all around summer camp. (One would think that the overacting of both stars would rather give the game away, but we shouldn't be seeking logic here, should we?) Summer Switch is based on a novel by Bruce Rodgers. ~ All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robert Klein, Scott Schwartz, (more)
- 1984
Stockard Channing, Eileen Heckart, Robert Klein, and Dinah Manoff perform in this comedic tale of a three-generation Jewish family. This is a taped performance of James Lapine's work of the same title. ~ Kristie Hassen, All Movie Guide
- 1985
This lively made-for-television comedy is set at a summer camp and chronicles the romantic misadventures of the staff. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1985
Assembled long after John Belushi's death in 1982, The Best of John Belushi is at once hilarious and melancholy. From 1975 to 1979, Belushi was a member in excellent standing of the "Not Ready for Prime Time Players" on NBC's Saturday Night Live. This 60-minute video covers those amazing years, offering such highlights as "Samurai Delicatessen" and "The Honeybees." Best and most poignant of all the scenes is the elegiac "Don't Look Back in Anger". This is the one wherein an aged John Belushi strolls reflectively past the graves of all his SNL costars-then breaks into an exuberant dance. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Belushi
- 1985
In this drama, a married woman hires herself out as a surrogate wife and gets into big trouble. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1986
Based on the book by Virginia Burton, this is a classic story of Man vs. Machine. Mike Mulligan loves his steam shovel Mary Ann and thinks that they can dig more and faster than any man or machine. But when they are replaced by newer equipment, Mike and Mary Ann head to Popperville, where Mike offers to dig the town hall's foundation for free -- that is, if he can't finish it in one day. The townspeople gather around as Mike and Mary Ann dig faster and faster and finish just in time only to be stuck in the deep hole they created. One little boy has an ingenius idea that works for everyone. Recommeded for preschoolers. ~ Heather M. Fierst, All Movie Guide
- 1986
This 1986 effort presents comedian Robert Klein's act as presented live at Broadway's Nederlander Theater. ~ All Movie Guide
- 1987
Released by the now-defunct Simitar Entertainment rather than Rhino Video, which handles the other Comic Relief videos, Comic Relief II is featured on two separate 60-minute videos. A 1987 live charity event benefiting America's homeless, part one of Comic Relief II is hosted by Robin Williams, Whoopi Goldberg, and Billy Crystal, and features comic turns by Elayne Boosler, Louie Anderson, Judy Tenuta, and Michael J. Fox. Part two of Comic Relief II is a continuation of part one, boasting an all-star lineup that includes comic luminaries Richard Lewis, Steven Wright, Steve Allen, Arsenio Hall, and Roseanne. ~ Steve Blackburn, All Movie Guide
- 1988
Lensed in New York, the independently produced Secret Space has the look of a theatrical workshop project that was expanded into a feature film. Utilizing a coming of age theme, the story concerns the events leading up to a young Jewish boy's Bar Mitzvah. Raised by secular parents, the boy would like to get in touch with his heritage. He befriends several older folks who are likewise seeking out the true meaning of Judaism. Several well-known stage and TV personalities make cameo appearances in the course of the film's 80 minutes, among them Robert Klein, Phyllis Newman and Virginia Graham; also present is Sam Schacht, veteran of Chicago's Steppenwolf Theatre. Curiously, Secret Space is not mentioned in the "official" credits of any of the above-mentioned performers. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
