Dick Yarmy Movies
- 1985
Charlie the bartender (Danny Wells) has the opportunity to multiply his profits by hosting a big party. When Charlie is unexpectedly called out of town, Louise (Isabel Sanford) offers to serve drinks in his place. What Louise doesn't know is that the party is a reunion for a gang of tough, unruly bikers. A strong all-male supporting cast, including Warren Berlinger and Reid Shelton, lifts this episode out of the ordinary. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Sherman Hemsley, Isabel Sanford, (more)
- 1985
- PG
The "movers and shakers" in this weak comedy limned by Charles Grodin do not refer to a religious sect, but the big-wigs in Hollywood who determine how the next many millions are to be spent. Two parallel stories occupy center stage. On the one hand, Joe Mulholland (Walter Matthau) has made a promise to a dying producer that he would put together a film on "Love in Sex." The problem is that there is no script to go with that title -- a minor hurdle by Hollywood standards. On the other hand, Herb Derman (Grodin) is hired to make up the story, but he is neck-deep in marriage woes and will have a hard time holding down his personal life long enough to write. Mixed into both of these tales are parodies of behind-the-scenes Hollywood at its worst. These scenarios are helped along by a fine cast of actors and actresses. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Walter Matthau, Charles Grodin, (more)
- 1983
- R
This made-for-TV comedy postulates that, someday, members of carpools will be selected by computer. The four so anointed herein are Harvey Korman, Peter Scolari, T.K. Carter and Stephanie Faracy. Their lives go along in their usual luckless fashion until the quarter of mismatched "poolers" find themselves in possession of a million dollars that has fallen from an armored car. But ex-cop Ernest Borgnine has his eyes on the loot as well, and the chase is on. Basically a bargain-basement It's a Mad Mad Mad Mad World, Carpool first aired October 5, 1983. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1980
A private detective (played by Dick Yarmy, brother of comedian Don Adams) shows up at the garage in search of one of the cabbies: burned-out hippie minister Jim Ignatowski (Christopher Lloyd). It seems that the detective has been dispatched by Jim's wealthy father (Victor Buono) -- whose name, by the way, is not and never has been Ignatowski -- to bring him back to Boston. As the proverbial black sheep of his family, Jim looks forward to the "reconciliation" with fear and loathing...but there are few surprises in store for all concerned. ~ All Movie Guide
- 1979
Laverne (Penny Marshall) is certain that she has seen an industrial spy snooping around in the brewery, but she can't get anyone to believe her. To prove that she's not hallucinating, Laverne talks Shirley into making a nocturnal foray into the plant to catch the spy in the act--and as result, the girls not only get dunked into a foamy beer vat, but alson nearly end up in jail! Dick Yarmy, the brother of Get Smart star Don Adams, appears as "secret agent" Ludwig Stenger. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1978
The made-for-TV Guide for the Married Woman was conceived by screenwriter Frank Tarloff as an "answer" to his frolicsome 1968 theatrical feature Guide for the Married Man. If the sequel isn't quite as much fun as the original, it may be because what was deemed "risque" in 1968 was kid's stuff in 1978. In her TV-movie debut, Cybill Shepherd plays a bored housewife who yearns for romance and excitement. With the help of a steady stream of celebrity guest stars, Shepherd is able to fantasize about extramarital hijinks to her heart's content. The supporting cast includes such luminaries as Peter Marshall, Eve Arden, John Beradino, John Byner, Bill Dana, Bonnie Franklin, George Gobel, Tom Poston, Barbara Feldon and Chuck Woolery (the guest-star list of the original Guide for the Married Man included Art Carney, Jack Benny, Lucille Ball, Carl Reiner, Terry-Thomas, Joey Bishop and Jayne Mansfield: guess which film had the bigger budget?) Guide for the Married Woman originally aired October 13, 1978. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1978
- R
In this extremely violent copy of Dirty Harry, a cynical cop tires of seeing guilty crooks get off scott-free and so decides to leave the force and become a one-man vigilante force. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
Comedy writers David and Jerry Zucker and Jim Abrahams of Airplane and The Naked Gun fame got their start at the University of Wisconsin at Madison, when they formed a theatrical group known as The Kentucky Fried Theater. The Kentucky Fried Movie is based on the KFT's gag-filled theatrical skits. Including well-known stars such as Bill Bixby, Donald Sutherland, Tony Dow, George Lazenby and Henry Gibson, the film has over 22 different segments of varying lengths. Some are seconds long. Longer segments include such highlights as: "Zinc Oxide," which spoofs school educational films; "Cleopatra Schwartz," a spoof of female blaxploitation action films, whose heroine is married to a rabbi; "Sex Record," which depicts a couple who are attempting to follow the step-by-step instructions of a how-to-do-it record; "Catholic High School Girls In Trouble," and "A Fistful of Yen," (the longest episode), which is an elaborate spoof of martial-arts films. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Donald Sutherland, George Lazenby, (more)
- 1977
- R
Based loosely on the real-life relationship between political activist Angela Davis and convict-turned-author George Jackson, Brothers stars Bernie Casey as David Thomas, who begins corresponding with college professor and outspoken black activist Paula Jones (Vonetta McGee) after he's convicted of a crime he didn't commit. David's relationship with Paula gives him strength and insight as he tries to survive in the brutally violent and racist environment of prison. A great deal more serious and politically minded than most of the other "blaxploitation" films of its era, Brothers was directed by Arthur Barron, in a severe departure from his previous film, the sweet teenage love story Jeremy. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bernie Casey, Vonetta McGee, (more)
- 1976
- R
In this thriller, a serial killer is freed and goes out to slaughter a string of cocktail waitresses. One hard-bitten cop attempts to stop the slaughter, but it isn't easy. The film was later renamed Eager Beavers. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bruce Watson, Laura Hippe, (more)
- 1975
James Gregory guest stars as Neal Brackett, the father of Rampart's chief surgeon Kelly Brackett, who checks into the hosptial to be treated for phlebitis. It's a tense situation, to be sure--but not quite as tense as the one facing the emergency squad as they try to rescue a man from a power transformer which has crashed into his bedroom, and another man whose fireplace has exploded. And in a lesser crisis, the squad helps an elderly magician (Tony Giorgio) extricate himself from a malfunctioning trunk. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1975
During a practice drill designed to teach the emergency squad various methods of handle chemical spills, a fireman falls into a trench filled with deadly sulfur trioxide. Elsewhere, a woman tries to force Dr. Morton (Ron Pinkard) to violate his ethics involving presciption drugs, a man has a heart attack on the way to the station, and a hiker requires an air rescue when he is stranded on a Catalina Island cliff. And in a lighter moment, John (Randolph Mantooth) and Roy (Kevin Tighe) think they've found a buyer for their 1932-vintage fire engine. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1973
With precious little time on their hands, the doctors at Rampart try to diagnose a mysterious ailment that has befallen a marijuana smoker. Elsewhere, the team rushes to a boat explosion; a worker is pinned to a wall by a semi; a boy falls in a gravel pit; and while trying to avoid running down a dog, a motorist and his son are seriously injured. No wonder John (Randolph Mantooth) is having so much trouble getting to sleep these days (actually, there are other reasons, but why give away too much of the plot?) ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1973
John (Randolph Mantooth) is pushed to the brink by the bad driving habits of others, and also joins Roy (Kevin Tighe) as he teaches a CPR class formerly conducted by John's late mentor. Meanwhile, the emergency staff tries to rescue a child stuck in a hollow tree, and to determine the source of a college football star's mysterious back pains. Also on the docket is a cardiac victim, trapped on the third floor of a burning hotel. Appearing as a football coach is Dick Yarmy, the brother of comedian Don Adams. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1971
Danny (Danny Bonaduce has once again embraced a scheme that he is certain will make him a millionaire: This time, he has gone into the hamster-raising business. Trouble is, the little creatures breed like. . .well, like hamsters, so now Danny has to get rid of the dozens of extra "samples" yielded by the original two hamsters. This results in a series of strategies the range from the sublime to the really ridiculous...and along the way, The Partridge Family makes TV sitcom history with actual footage of a hamster's birth. Songs: "Twenty-Four Hours In a Day" and "I Woke Up in Love This Morning." ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
