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- 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
Jimmy Stewart had a certain something that drew audiences and held their attention. A true "screen hero," Stewart's sincere, slightly befuddled persona as George Bailey in the Christmas classic It's a Wonderful Life and Elwood P. Dowd in the ever-fresh Harvey is the marker of an era. Indeed, Stewart's Everyman in the Frank Capra directed hits Mr. Smith Goes to Washington will make the most cynical stand up and cheer. Learn about Stewart's childhood in Indiana, prolific career, his heroism in WWII, and his family life. Richard Kiley narrates this biography. ~ Leslie Birdwell, 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
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)
- 1994
Originally aired in 1994 on NBC, this Christmas special features Harry Connick, Jr. singing holiday favorites such as "Sleighride," "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer," "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen," "All I Want for Christmas," "Jingle Bells," What Are You Doing New Year's Eve?," and "I'll Be Home for Christmas," among others. This video also features a rare duet performance of Connick and fellow musician Aaron Neville singing "The Christmas Song.".
~ Tracie Cooper, 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)
- 1992
Arachnophobia rears its ugly head in the third episode of HBO's popular late-night talk show satire The Larry Sanders Show. With a spider-wrangler scheduled to appear on the upcoming show, Larry's (Garry Shandling) reluctance to gracefully accommodate his eight-legged guests finds him attempting to avoid the arachnids by arranging a skit with guest Carol Burnett. In addition to Burnett, this episode also features a guest appearance by popular comedic actor Jon Lovitz. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- 1991
The Ed Sullivan Show was responsible for introducing young America to the performers and performances that would come to define a generation. In this particular compilation of performance segments from the "Really Big Show," viewers are introduced to many of the young comedians who made the world laugh throughout the 1960s, including Carol Burnett and Jerry Lewis. ~ Rob Ferrier, All Movie Guide
This concert and interview documentary features the racy wit of Canada and the U.S.'s most popular female comedians, including Jenny Jones, Whoopi Goldberg, Phyllis Diller, Ellen DeGeneres, and Paula Poundstone. In addition to screening their stand-up gigs and providing interviews with these funny ladies, the documentary provides some historical perspective about the origins of present-day feminine humor using clips of performances by Eve Arden, Lucille Ball and Carol Burnett. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Phyllis Diller, Whoopi Goldberg, (more)
- 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
- 1987
Hosted by the funny lady herself, this compilation video contains four of her favorite vignettes gleaned from her highly-rated, long-running television variety series. ~ Sandra Brennan, 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
- 1985
Based on a 1978 play by Pulitzer Prize-winner Marsha Norman, The Laundromat was made for cable by acclaimed director Robert Altman. Late in the middle of one night, two women from different backgrounds meet at a laundromat. Alberta (played by Carol Burnett) is a middle-aged ex-school teacher who normally does her wash in the safety of her home. Unfortunately, her washing machine is broken and, self-conscious about what it would mean if her neighbors saw her leaving home to do her laundry, she has traveled across town late at night to clean her clothes. Deedee (played by Amy Madigan) lives down the block from the laundromat. A newlywed, Deedeeis already discovering that her marriage is loveless and her husband is an adulterer. The two women -- one proper and controlled, the other free-spirited -- seem to have little in common, but as the night goes on, they let down their guards and air out their dirty laundry. ~ Craig Butler, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Carol Burnett, Amy Madigan, (more)
Including such songs as "Broadway Baby," "I'm Still Here," "The Ladies Who Lunch," and "Losing My Mind," this video features a filming of the well-known Stephen Sondheim musical as it was performed at New York's Lincoln Center in 1985. ~ Iotis Erlewine, 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
- 1983
In this drama, two disparate divorcees become close friends after an automobile collision. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1983
One of television's most beloved commedians and one of Hollywood's greatest love goddesses appear together for the first time in this made-for-cable comedy drama. Mary Catherine Castelli (Carol Burnett) is a fifty-year-old real estage agent whose husband left her for a younger woman; since then she's been making up for lost time with short term relationships with a number of men, some of whom happen to be married. Deborah Shapiro (Elizabeth Taylor) is also middle-aged and freshly divorced, through she is still coming to terms with being single again and has had little luck finding a new beau. Mary and Deborah meet literally by accident when they get into a fender-bender outside Mary's office, but the two soon strike up a friendship after Deborah asks Mary to help her sell her house. Together, Mary and Deborah help each other deal with their new lives as single women, the difficulty of getting back into the dating pool, and the mildly terrifying onset of middle age and menopause. Based on a novel by Shelly List (who produced this film), Between Friends was produced for the permium cable network HBO. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- 1982
The 90-minute TV special Eunice reunites the "family" originally created for the weekly variety series The Carol Burnett Show. Carol Burnett plays Eunice, the frustrated, viper-tongued, ever-envious wife of dyspeptic, long-suffering Ed (Harvey Korman, who also directed). Eunice carries on a ceaseless battle with her cranky, obnoxious mother (Vicki Lawrence), who considers the day wasted if she can't spread a little gloom amongst her loved ones. The special is constructed in the form of a three-act play. Act One, set in 1955, delineates Ed and Eunice's courtship, and also introduces Eunice's easily hurt brother Philip (Ken Berry). Act Two takes place in 1963, with Philip encouraging Eunice to head to New York in pursuit of an acting career, which comes to naught when, in Act Three, she self-indulgently chooses a life of booze and broken dreams. And Act Four occurs in 1978, with the death of Eunice's unlamented mother (a character later revived for the TV sitcom Mama's Family) and the invasion of her snooty, judgmental sister Ellen (Betty White). Alternately hilarious and heartrending, Eunice was first telecast March 15, 1982. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1982
Life of the Party: The Story of Beatrice is a fact-based TV movie starring Carol Burnett and Lloyd Bridges. Burnett plays Beatrice (emphasis on the second syllable: "Be-AT-trice") who compensates for her shyness and lack of self-respect by drinking heavily. Bridges plays Beatrice's husband, who tolerates his wife alcoholic intake until he can stand no more. She begins attending Alcoholics Anonymous and cleans up her act. But that's not the end of the story: Beatrice then sets out to establish a halfway house for other female alcoholics. The domestic scenes between Burnett and Bridges are far more compelling than Burnett's climactic tiltings with bureaucracy during her efforts to realize her dream. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
This family classic is adapted from the Broadway musical, which was based on the comic strip Little Orphan Annie. During the Great Depression in New York City, a plucky red-haired scrapper named Annie (Aileen Quinn) is the voice of hope for her fellow orphans who live under the supervision of drunken floozy Miss Hannigan (Carol Burnett). Annie's spirit is fueled by the belief that her real parents dropped her off at the orphanage with a half of a locket, promising to return for her with the other half. One day, the dingy orphanage is visited by the sophisticated Grace Farrell (Ann Reinking), personal secretary to conservative politician Oliver Warbucks (Albert Finney). In order to improve his image, Grace brings Annie to the Warbucks estate for a weeklong visit. Annie quickly wins the hearts of servants and politicians alike, eventually even bringing her song of hope, "Tomorrow," to President Roosevelt in Washington. Warbucks and Grace even go so far as to perform a public search for Annie's parents, creating an opportunity for Miss Hannigan, Rooster (Tim Curry), and Lily (Bernadette Peters) to scam their way to the reward money. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Albert Finney, Carol Burnett, (more)
The Four Seasons follows the trials and tribulations of a group of middle-aged friends during a 12-month period. Alan Alda (who also directed) and Carol Burnett play a married couple who consider themselves paragons of sensitivity and sensibility. Alda and Burnett are the instigators of a series of vacations (from New England to the Virgin Islands), which they take in the company of two other couples: Jack Weston and Rita Moreno, and Len Cariou and Sandy Dennis. Everyone's interrelationships are put to the test when Cariou and Dennis divorce, and Cariou subsequently marries the much-younger Bess Armstrong. Not too surprisingly, the comings and goings of The Four Seasons are underscored by the music of Antonio Vivaldi. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Alan Alda, Carol Burnett, (more)
