Bill Hayes
- 2005
- AddCarol Lawrence: Bell Telephone Hour, 1960-1967to QueueAddCarol Lawrence: Bell Telephone Hour, 1960-1967to top of Queue
The Tony Award-winning actress and songstress Carol Lawrence, for years a toast of Broadway and the centerpiece of innumerable stage musicals, became one of the staple vocalists of the Bell Telephone Hour, a network musical showcase that drew significant audiences on NBC from 1959-61 by featuring performers of adult standards. Lawrence joined the program in 1960, under the aegis of producer Barry Wood and conductor Donald Voorhees. Carol Lawrence: The Bell Telephone Hour Appearances 1960-67 compiles excerpts from many of Ms. Lawrence's appearances on the program over the course of seven years, with a combination of rare black-and-white and color archival footage, in this release from VAI Distribution. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Carol Lawrence
- 2002
Frasier (Kelsey Grammer) thinks he has scored a professional coup when his Seattle-based radio advice show is syndicated to a station in Spokane. No such luck! The Spokane audiences resent Frasier because his show has replaced the one hosted by popular and venerable local radio personality Sully (Bill Hayes). Former Second City TV co-star Joe Flaherty makes a cameo appearance while the "guest voices" include a certain former mermaid! ~ All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bill Hayes, Catherine Bruhier, (more)
In this visually striking tale of adventure, Ruth (Maria Bello) is an American widow who during the 1930s travels to China in hopes of making her late husband's dream a reality by bringing Chinese pandas to the United States. Ruth is awed by the striking beauty of China and discovers several of the rare pandas as well as a number of other unusual animals; however, Ruth learns that the Chinese government is lax in their protection of wildlife, and that hunters are making short work of the pandas. China: The Panda Adventure was shot and originally released in the high-definition IMAX film process. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Maria Bello, Xander Berkeley, (more)
- 1973
In this comedy, the quiet life of an airplane pilot living in Switzerland is terribly disrupted when his sister gets married for the fourth time and bequeaths him her 250-pound St. Bernard. The bachelor and the big slobbery dog do not immediately become friends. Later they bond when the St. Bernard saves the bachelor's life during an avalanche. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1957
Originally telecast live and in color, this NBC special would be especially valuable to see again, especially if one is a dyed-in-the-wool baseball fanatic. Emceed by Gene Kelly, the 90-minute extravaganza brings together dozens of special guests from Baseball and Showbiz to commemorate in song, sketch and story, the opening of the 1957 baseball season. Among the special's many highlights: The introduction of 1956's MVPs, Mickey Mantle and Don Newcombe; comedy playlets starring the likes of Robert Alda (father of Alan Alda) and Ed Gardner of Duffy's Tavern radio fame; songs performed by Janis Paige, Tony Bennett, and ventriloquist Paul Winchell (with the help of dummy Jerry Mahoney); a "dream outfield" segment built around Stan Musial, Leo Durocher and Ted Williams; a "baseball rock-n-roll" specialty sung by Bill Hayes; old-time baseball newsreel clips, narrated by radiocaster Mel Allen; and a special closing messege, delivered by then-Commissioner of Baseball Ford Frick (long before his vilification as the architect behind the "asterisking" of Roger Maris' 61st homer). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gene Kelly, Robert Alda, (more)
- 1952
Previously filmed in 1938 with Edward G. Robinson in the lead, the Damon Runyon-Howard Lindsay stage farce A Slight Case of Murder was musicalized in 1952 as Stop, You're Killing Me. Broderick Crawford stars as Remy Marko, a soft-hearted Prohibition beer baron who turns honest when the 18th amendment is repealed in 1933. Trouble is, Marko's beer tastes awful and his business plummets. Compounding this headache, Marko's daughter Mary (Virginia Gibson) intends to wed Chance Whitelaw (Billy Hayes), a police officer from a wealthy family. Hoping to put up a respectable front for their prospective in-laws, Marko and his wife Nora (Claire Trevor) rent a fancy mansion-spa in Saratoga -- where, unbeknownst to the ex-bootlegger, four gangster types have been shot to death by a desperado named Innocent (Harry Morgan). The rest of the film finds Remy trying to dispose of the cumbersome corpses while avoiding the baleful stares of both his future in-laws and the police. Not quite as good as its 1938 predecessor, Stop You're Killing Me at least affords viewers the rare opportunity of hearing Broderick Crawford sing! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Broderick Crawford, Claire Trevor, (more)
