Carol Burnett Movies
American entertainer Carol Burnett and her sister were both raised by their loving grandmother. It has long been a matter of public record that Burnett credits her grandmother for encouraging her to utilize her comic and musical talents to the fullest. Working her way through UCLA, she majored in English and Theater arts, gradually developing the poise and self-confidence to tackle an entertainment career. After nightclub work, Burnett was spotlighted on the variety programs of Steve Allen, Ed Sullivan, and Jack Paar, bringing down the house on Paar's program with the specialty ballad "I Made a Fool of Myself over John Foster Dulles." In 1956, Burnett co-starred with Buddy Hackett in the live TV sitcom Stanley, which unfortunately was scheduled opposite the indestructible Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts. A near-star several times over, Burnett finally grabbed the brass ring with her bravura performance in the 1959 off-Broadway musical Once Upon a Mattress, which led to a three-season stint as a regular on The Garry Moore Show. An Emmy award resulted from her contribution to Moore, and another Emmy followed for a 1962 joint appearance with Julie Andrews at Carnegie Hall. Some of her comedy of the era was the self-deprecating sort allotted to women who weren't raving beauties, but she transcended the cruelty of the jokes with an inner beauty that one would have to be blind to miss. As a slapstick comedienne Burnett was unrivalled, even by the sainted Lucille Ball, and on occasion she was allowed to drop the comic mask and deliver a heart-rending ballad. In 1962, CBS signed Burnett to a long term contract under the supervision of her then-husband, producer Joe Hamilton. After an uncomfortable few months in 1964 in which the producers of the Broadway production Fade Out Fade In sued Burnett for abandoning the play to appear in a weekly variety series The Entertainers, her post-Garry Moore career moved along unevenly. She was advised to sign for another series but avoided the option of situation comedy (she once insisted that she didn't want to be trapped playing someone named Agnes every week). In 1967, virtually out of desperation for a workable idea, The Carol Burnett Show premiered on CBS. Burnett patterned the program after Garry Moore's opening monologue, brief sketches with continuing characters, parodies, musical bits, and a closing all-star musical comedy production number. With such first-rate supporting talent as Harvey Korman, Vicki Lawrence, Lyle Waggoner and Tim Conway, The Carol Burnett Show was a ratings-grabber until its final telecast in 1978. Carol Burnett's life and career since then has been distinguished by as many valleys as peaks. Her film career never truly got off the ground, despite excellent performances in such pictures as Pete 'N' Tillie (1972) and A Wedding (1978). Nevertheless, Carol Burnett has more than earned her place in the pantheon of television giants. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide- 1997
Melanie Mayron guest stars as Doris, the astrologer sister of the Buchmans' dog-walker, Nat (Hank Azaria). When Doris offers to draw up charts for the Buchman family, Jamie (Helen Hunt) is reluctant to cooperate -- and not without good reason. Originally slated to air in the U.S. on February 4, 1997, this episode was bumped to March 11 due to an unexpected pre-emption (though it ran on Canadian TV on February 4, as scheduled). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1998
The time has come for baby Mabel to choose between breastfeeding or bottle-feeding. Her choice does not please Paul (Paul Reiser) or Jamie (Helen Hunt), by try to reason with an infant. Meanwhile, Jamie's flamboyant mother, Theresa (Carol Burnett), begins dating a much-younger member of the Lord of the Dance ensemble. ~ All Movie Guide
- 1997
Season six of Mad About You picks up where season five left off, as Paul and Jamie Buchman (Paul Reiser, Helen Hunt) bring their new baby daughter home from the hospital. The next step: What to name the kid? Surprisingly, Jamie's scatterbrained mother, Theresa (Carol Burnett), solves this knotty problem. Paxton Whitehead returns to the role of the Buchmans' snooty British neighbor Hal Conway. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1996
Carol Burnett and Carroll O'Connor join the cast as Jamie's parents, Theresa and Gus Stemple, the latest in a long line of actors to essay these roles. When the Stemples arrive for a two-day visit, Paul (Paul Reiser) and Jamie (Helen Hunt) try to determine the best time to tell Theresa and Gus that Jamie is pregnant. Turns out, however, that the Stemples have a little surprise of their own: After 37 years together, they're on the verge of a divorce. Though officially the 100th episode of Mad About You, this installment is listed as number 101 in the current syndication package. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1996
Paul and Jamie Buchman (Paul Reiser and Helen Hunt) have decided to hold off telling everyone that Jamie is pregnant until the couple can make a formal announcement at their Thanksgiving dinner. This plan is undermined by a number of "security leaks" in the office of gynecologist Joan Golfinos (Suzie Plakson). The ending offers six degrees of surprises thanks to an unheralded guest star. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1999
Paul (Paul Reiser) and Jamie (Helen Hunt) vow to assure their respective families that, with all their faults, they still love them. Things don't go quite as planned when Paul accidentally runs over his mother-in-law, Theresa (Carol Burnett), with his car. On the other hand, Theresa's hospital stay does bring her estranged hubby, Gus (Carroll O'Connor), back into the family fold. ~ All Movie Guide
- 1997
After innumerable false alarms, it looks as though Jamie (Helen Hunt) is going to have her baby. This expected blessed event coincides with the unexpected film-festival triumph of Jamie's husband, Paul (Paul Reiser) -- who'da thunk that "Buchman" would win an award over a Michael Moore project? Originally telecast as the hour-long finale of Mad About You's fifth season, this episode has since been divided into two half-hour installments for syndication. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1997
After innumerable false alarms, it looks as though Jamie (Helen Hunt) is going to have her baby. But before this blessed event can take place, Jamie is unexpectedly reunited with old flame Alan (Eric Stoltz), while her husband, Paul (Paul Reiser), is given a guided hospital tour by a very big movie star. Originally telecast as the hour-long finale of Mad About You's fifth season, this episode has since been divided into two half-hour installments for syndication. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1997
Paul's mother, Sylvia (Cynthia Harris), and Jamie's mother, Theresa (Carol Burnett), both purchase cribs for the Buchman's new baby. This sparks a family feud that makes the Hatfields and McCoys seem like pikers. Meanwhile, Paul (Paul Reiser) wins a poker game from handyman Marvin (Jeff Garlin), who squares his debt "in trade." ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1999
This final episode of Mad About You is set approximately 22 years in the future. Mabel Buchman (Janeane Garafolo), grown-up daughter of Paul and Jamie Buchman (Paul Reiser, Helen Hunt), follows in her dad's footsteps by producing a documentary film about her family. Several former series regulars and guest stars make cameo appearances as Mabel tries to trace the progress of her parents' marriage after a startling discovery made by Paul's sister Debbie (Robin Bartlett). Series star Helen Hunt directed this one-hour closer, which since its original network telecast has been divided into two half-hour episodes for syndication. ~ All Movie Guide
- 1988
Carol Burnett makes a return appearance as the redoubtable Susan Johnson, who has given up her career as bank clerk to become a private eye. Much to Magnum's dismay, he learns that he and Susan are working on the same case: to locate the missing will of a man who was killed in a highly suspicious boating accident. As Magnum (Tom Selleck) and Susan wade through a morass of lies and deceptions--most of them perpetrated by the dead man's covetous children--the two P.I.s develop a grudging respect for one another. But Susan is still Susan, and by episode's end she has managed to get herself and Magnum trapped in a deserted warehouse! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1984
Carol Burnett guest stars as bank teller Susan Johnson, who hires Magnum (Tom Selleck) to track down her recently paroled father Herbie Norton. Herbie is better known as "Rembrandt" because of his skills as a forger, and Susan is worried that her dad is back in the counterfeit-money business. While searching for clues, Magnum and Susan manage to get locked in a bank vault--which is rapidly filling with water. Meanwhile, Higgins (John Hillerman) looks askance at a wild party held by Rick (Larry Manetti) and T.C. (Roger E. Mosley), who of course are oblivious to Magnum's plight. This episode marks the first appearance of T.C.'s girlfriend Gloria, played by Deborah Platt, the then wife of Magnum, P.I executive producer Donald P. Bellisario. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Directed and edited by Chris Hegedus and D.A. Pennebaker (one of the key figures of the cinema verite style of documentary-making) and filmed in 1995, this documentary offers an intimate look at the staging of a major Broadway show from casting through endless rehearsals to the almost anti-climactic opening night. The production is Ken Ludwig's Moon Over Buffalo and stars Phil Bosco and comedienne Carol Burnett. Though producers Elizabeth Williams and Rocco Landesman seem relatively laid back about the show, the director Tom Moore, playwright Ludwig, and the stars are all on edge during a lengthy rehearsal schedule that takes them from New York to Boston back to New York. In between, all must suffer through previews and rewrites before the show is fit for the Great White Way. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1983
In this drama, two disparate divorcees become close friends after an automobile collision. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
Michael Frayn's frantic West End and Broadway farce makes a literal transformation to the screen in Peter Bogdanoch's faithful adaptation, which is transplanted from the London suburbs to Des Moines, Iowa to accommodate the (mostly) American cast. Michael Caine stars as director Lloyd Fellowes, assigned to bring the successful British sex farce "Nothing On" to the boards in America. In an intricate technical rehearsal, Lloyd puts his cast through their paces -- Garry Lejuene (John Ritter), an obliging feature actor; Dotty Otley (Carol Burnett), a fading theatrical star; Frederick Dallas (Christopher Reeve), a handsome leading man who demands to know the motivation behind every scene; Brooke Ashton (Nicollette Sheridan), the sexy leading lady; Belinda Blair (Marilu Henner), the seen-it-all second female lead; and Seldson Mawbray (Denholm Elliot), the inebriated character actor. The technical rehearsal goes off without a hitch, but as the play travels the country in pre-Broadway performances, the eccentricities of the cast come to the fore and the performances in Des Moines and Cleveland are complete disasters. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Carol Burnett, Michael Caine, (more)
A love-sick nobleman seeking to marry his sweetheart does his best to find his ruling prince a suitable bride so that he himself may wed in this screen adaptation of the popular Broadway musical The Princess and the Pea. No one in Prince Dauntless (Denis O'Hare)'s kingdom is permitted to marry until the prince himself exchanges vows -- a problem hindered by the fact that the prince's overprotective mother, Queen Aggravain (Carol Burnett), has thus far thwarted all efforts to marry her son. This does not sit well with the honorable Sir Harry, a man whose heart longs to wed the fair Lady Larkin (Zooey Deschanel), and after a long and arduous journey specifically designed to find the prince a bride, Sir Harry returns to his kingdom to present Princess Winnifred of the swamps (Tracey Ullman). Immediately stricken by the princess, Prince Dauntless sets into motion plans for a lavish wedding as his scheming mother cooks up a test that's sure to send his marital plans awry. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Carol Burnett, Tracey Ullman, (more)
- 1972
- PG
Based on Peter DeVries' novel Witch's Milk, Pete 'n' Tillie stars Walter Matthau and Carol Burnett in the title roles. Middle-aged when they first meet, eternally joking Pete and repressed "old maid" Tillie don't immediately hit it off. Gradually, their friendship deepens into love and culminates (reluctantly, on Pete's part) in marriage, eleven years of which is explored in this film. Throughout the funny and tragic moments, and despite the many breakups, their love endures. Oscar nominations went to screenwriter Julius J. Epstein and supporting actress Geraldine Page. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Walter Matthau, Carol Burnett, (more)
Recent college graduate Ryden Malby (Gilmore Girls star Alexis Bledel) has just survived four years of higher education, but when she's forced to move back into her childhood home, the stress of dealing with her eccentric family, landing a job, and finding the right guy leaves her with precious little time to ponder where her life is truly heading. Shrek and Shark Tale's co-director Vicky Jenson takes the helm for a comedy co-starring Michael Keaton, Carol Burnett, Zach Gilford, and Rodrigo Santoro, and produced by Ivan Reitman and Tom Pollock in collaboration with Joe Medjuck and Jeff Clifford. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Alexis Bledel, Zach Gilford, (more)
After her own daughter abandons her child, an ambitious and orderly publisher has little choice but to raise the grandchild as her own. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Carol Burnett, George Segal, (more)
- 2002
- Add Sondheim: Putting It Together - A Musical Review to QueueAdd Sondheim: Putting It Together - A Musical Review to top of Queue
Legendary performer Carol Burnett returns to the Broadway stage for the first time on over three decades to celebrate the music of composer Stephen Soundheim in an all-star tribute co-starring Bronson Pinchot and George Hearn. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- 1986
Hosted by the American Film Institute, this video is a tribute to career of Billy Wilder. Included are excerpts from the following: The Apartment, Some Like it Hot and Sunset Boulevard. ~ Tana Hobart, All Movie Guide
- 2005
- Add The Carol Burnett Show: Let's Bump Up the Lights! to QueueAdd The Carol Burnett Show: Let's Bump Up the Lights! to top of Queue
The Carol Burnett Show was one of the few television variety shows where the star made a point of talking with her studio audience every week, opening the broadcast with a brief question-and-answer session, and the warm relationship between Burnett and her audience was a large part of what made the series so special. The Carol Burnett Show: Let's Bump Up the Lights! is a documentary which features Burnett and her former co-stars Harvey Korman, Vicki Lawrence, Tim Conway, and Lyle Waggoner discussing their relationship with the show's audience and sharing anecdotes about the program's history, illustrated with clips demonstrating the spontaneous comedy the cast produced for the show. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
