Ed Sullivan Movies

George Sidney's adaptation of the satiric Broadway musical smash by Michael Stewart, Charles Strouse, and Lee Adams -- about an Elvis Presley-inspired rock star, who is drafted into the army and who creates a near-riot in a small Midwestern town when he stops there for one last publicity junket -- takes good-natured swipes at popular culture, rock n' roll, and American family life. Dick van Dyke re-creates his Broadway role of Albert Peterson, a down-on-his-luck songwriter for the rock-n'-roll idol Conrad Birdie (Jesse Pearson). When Birdie is drafted into the army, Peterson is worried about his future as a songwriter. His secretary, Rosie (Janet Leigh in a brunette wig), with whom Albert has long been romantically attached, convinces Albert to write a farewell song for Birdie that he will sing on The Ed Sullivan Show to a specially selected fan. The lucky fan turns out to be Kim McAfee (Ann-Margaret) of Sweet Apple, Ohio. When Birdie arrives in this hick town, the population goes crazy and in the ensuing madness, Albert must deal with the celebrity-fawning population, Kim's manic father (Paul Lynde, also re-creating his Broadway role), and his own domineering mother (Maureen Stapleton), while he loses Rosie to the Shriners. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide

Ed Sullivan's variety show was in its day the most popular variety show on television. Many of the world's most loved musical artists got their big break in America playing on Sullivan's show. This release compiles memorable musical moments from that show dating from the mid sixties. The Rolling Stones, he Supremes, Tom Jones, The Animals, The Mamas & the Papas, The Association, and others perform their biggest hits. The DVD release offers discographies for some of the artists. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide

The Ed Sullivan Show was the definitive variety show on television for over two decades. This compilation is comprised of a series of musical performances by some of the greatest names in rock history including a half-dozen appearances by Elvis Presley as well as songs by The Beatles, Sly & the Family Stone, and "The Killer" Jerry Lee Lewis. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide

Elvis on Television is a collection of filmclips dating back to "The King's" first video appearances in 1956. We see Elvis making his small-screen debut on January 28, 1956, as a guest on the Dorsey Brothers' Stage Show. We watch Presley trade quips with a gloriously clueless Milton Berle. We observe Elvis gamely participating in a comedy sketch with Steve Allen and Imogene Coca. And, of course, we are treated to highlights of Elvis' appearances on The Ed Sullivan Show, including the infamous "from the waist up" performance. Since the film vignettes highlighted in Elvis on Television are taken from kinescopes (films made directly off the TV screen), pictorial quality varies dramatically. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Perhaps hoping to emulate the Hollywood success of his arch-rival Walter Winchell, New York gossip columnist Ed Sullivan starred in the cheaply produced musical hodgepodge Mr. Broadway. As stiff and unsmiling as he'd be on his much-later TV series, Sullivan appears as himself, taking the viewer on a guided tour of Manhattan's night life. He visits three of the more famous clubs, the Paradise, the Hollywood and the Casino. Among the celebrities seen at work and play in this "rilly big shew" are entertainers Bert Lahr, Hal LeRoy, Joe Frisco, Ruth Etting, Blossom Seeley, Jack Benny, Mary Livingstone, Gus Edwards, Jack Haley, Eddy Duchin and Abe Lyman; and sports figures Jack Dempsey, Primo Carnera, Tony Canzoneri and Maxie Rosenbloom. At the film's three-quarter mark, Ed tells the viewer that there's a broken light for every heart on Broadway, whereupon the film segues into a corny dramatic sketch involving a stolen necklace. In later years, Ed Sullivan did his best to hide the existence of Mr. Broadway, but bootlegged prints continued to surface, providing future audiences with a fascinating (if poorly photographed) encapsulation of a bygone era. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Senior Prom is another of those musical salads of the 1950s, heavy on the guest stars but very light on plot. The story concerns the romance between pretty high-schooler Gay Sherridan (Jill Corey) and wealthy BMOC Carter Breed III (portrayed by future "Billy Jack" star-auteur Tom Laughlin). Actually, the right boy for Gay is poor-but-likeable Tom Harper (Paul Hampton), so guess who winds up taking Gay to the senior prom? Well, nobody really cares, not with such topnotch musical talents on hand as Louis Prima & Keely Smith, Sam Butera & The Witnesses, Connee Boswell, Bob Crosby, Toni Arden, Jose Melis, Freddy Martin & His Orchestra, Les Elgart, and even Mitch Miller. And, oh yes, Ed Sullivan shows up too. Senior Prom was produced by Harry Romm and directed by David Lowell Rich, the same team responsible for the Three Stooges' comeback feature Have Rocket Will Travel; in fact, this musical's associate producer was Moe Howard! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Have you ever longed for the day when James Brown, Martha Raye, and Col. Harland Sanders would appear in a movie together? Well, that's barely the tip of the improbable casting iceberg in this bizarre cold-war spoof. The leaders of the American intelligence organization the S.S.A. ("Super Secret Agency") are becoming increasingly alarmed by the disappearance of a number of B-list celebrities, who are being spirited off to Communist Albania. Eager to bring the fading stars back to the Land of the Free, the S.S.A. come up with a simple plan: They'll find four typical guys in their mid-twenties, have them form a rock group, make them into international stars, and wait until they get invited to play a gig in Albania, which will allow them to find out what's become of Rudy Vallee, Butterfly McQueen, and Huntz Hall, among others. Unemployed philosopher Michael A. Miller, Native-American honor student Ray Chippeway, phys-ed major Dennis Larden, and male model Lonny Stevens are drafted by the S.S.A., and after some intensive training by experts (Trini Lopez shows them a few guitar chords, and Richard Pryor gives them a crash course in soul), they become an overnight sensation as The Phynx (yes, it's pronounced "Finks"). Their album sells 17 million copies on the strength of songs like "What Is Your Sign?," and their groupies have to be cleared away by forklift. But fun and games have to go to the back burner when Albanian ruler Markevitch (George Tobias) and his wife, Ruby (Joan Blondell), invite the Phynx to perform at the behest of their son. Pat O'Brien, Xavier Cugat, Patty Andrews, and Dick Clark are just a few of the other notables who make cameo appearances in The Phynx, which had a very brief theatrical release before being sold to television in the early '70s. Legendary songwriters Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller penned the songs performed by The Phynx (and Stoller composed the background score), though for some reason they're not covered nearly as often as "Jailhouse Rock," "Hound Dog," or "Yakkety Yak." ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

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