Scatman Crothers Movies

While the train he is riding on is temporarily stalled by a blizzard, effusive old rancher Mr. Kilmer (Chill Wills) regales the other passengers with one of his tall tales. Throughout Kilmer's monologue, he is constantly interrupted by an obnoxious eight-year-old boy named Johnny (Peter Lazer). Finally, Kilmer offers Johnny a silver dollar if he can remain quiet for ten minutes. Dutifully, Johnny shuts up -- while outside, the blizzard rages on, and the search for an escaped mental patient continues. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Robert Wagner stars as insensitive Southern landowner who gets a much-overdue dose of humility and democracy when he's drafted into the army. Unable to curb his arrogance, Wagner runs afoul of a sadistic military officer (Broderick Crawford), who makes it his mission in life to break the recalcitrant recruit. After rescuing a fellow soldier (Buddy Ebsen), Wagner discovers he has the inner strength to change his outlook on life, and to stand up to the vicious Crawford. Based on a novel by Francis I. Gwaltney, Between Heaven and Hell features uncredited appearances by Frank Gorshin, Scatman Crothers, and Carl "Alfalfa" Switzer. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Shelley Winters, who once played the spoofish "Ma Parker" on Batman, brings the same larger-than-life approach to her portrayal of real-life Ma Barker in Bloody Mama. Presiding over her outlaw gang, consisting mainly of her goonish sons, Ma goes on a Depression-era rampage of bank robbery, murder and kidnapping. Obviously filmed in a hurry-watch as the Barker mob drives past modern shopping centers-- Bloody Mama strives for an entertaingly sleazy aura, especially when dealing with the incestuous subtext of Ma's relationship with her boys. And look who plays the Barker brood: Clint Kimbrough, Robert Walden and Robert De Niro! Bloody Mama was scripted by Robert Thom, whose previous collaboration with producer Roger Corman was the cult classic Wild in the Streets (former 1950s ingenue Diane Varsi appears in both films). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Bronco Billy stars Clint Eastwood (who also directed) as the impresario of a seedy wild west show. Going along for the ride is spoiled socialite Sondra Locke, who is "initiated" by being pressed into service as the wrong end of a knife-throwing act. The rest of the troupe, like Eastwood himself, are losers in life who yearn for the freedom and opportunity of the long-gone Old West. Despite its raucous ad campaign, Bronco Billy is at base a wistful character study, avoiding the usual trappings of car chases and redneck villains and offering quiet chuckles instead of belly laughs. Unfortunately it failed to click with the public, compelling Eastwood to temporarily return to his old crash-bang-pow formula in his next few films. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Chesty (Shari Eubank), a member of the U.S. Navy, is notified that her sister has been found dead in a garbage chopper. She suspects the head of the local trash-hauling company is responsible. She enlists three of her fellow female sailors (who are also kung fu experts) to go after him and get proof that he was the killer. ~ Brian Gusse, All Movie Guide

Produced by James Komack (Welcome Back, Kotter), the weekly, half-hour NBC sitcom Chico and the Man was built around the talents of 20-year-old standup comedian Freddie Prinze, who had scored a sensation during his first appearance on The Tonight Show. Born in the LA barrio, the "Hugarican" (Hungarian-Puerto Rican) Prinze based his comedy act upon the eccentricities of various ethnic groups, peppering his routines with such catchphrases as "Looking Goooood" and "Is not MY job!" Cashing in on Prinze's gift for dialects and his inherent likability, producer Komack cast him as Chico Rodriguez, a flamboyant, good-hearted Latino youth who sweet-talked his way into a mechanic's job in the garage owned by crusty Ed Brown, the only Anglo-Saxon in a predominantly Mexican-American neighborhood. To help teach Prinze the pacing and rhythm of TV situation comedy, Komack cast Jack Albertson, veteran vaudevillian and Oscar-winning film actor, as Ed Brown. Despite old Ed's grouchiness and disdainful opinion of anyone who spoke with an accent and wasn't lily-white, Chico knew deep down that his boss had a heart of gold--and, of course, he was right. Even before the series debuted on September 13, 1974, Chico and the Man was under fire from several prominent Chicano organizations, who complained that, although Ed's garage was supposed to be in an Mexican-American area, there were no Mexicans in the cast or on the crew. This was quickly remedied when Komack hired two semi-regulars of Mexican descent: Rodolfo Hoyos as Ed's buddy Rudy and (Isaac Ruiz) as Chico's pal Mondo. Also, certain pressure groups complained that the name "Chico" was considered derogatory in many Chicano circles, resulting in a number of hastily added closeups in which Chico Rodriguez explained his true ethnic heritage and the "harmless" origin of his nickname. Finally, the writers were chastised for Ed Brown's occasional racial slurs, and as result such lines as "Get outta here--and take your flies with you" were carefully weeded out of late scripts. Eventually, a handful of African American organizations chimed in with their casting "suggestions", but Komack beat them to the punch by hiring veteran black showman Scatman Crothers to play affable neighborhood garbage collector Louie Wilson. During the second season, only Prinze, Albertson and Crothers remained of the original cast; added to the lineup was Ronny Graham as Reverend Bemis. Season three began with a two-parter introducing Della Reese as Della Rogers, an old "friendly enemy" of Ed Brown's who'd become his landlady. Things proceeded along smoothly thereafter until tragedy struck on January 27, 1977, when Freddie Prinze, who despite his "carefree" TV persona suffered from a variety of personal problems, committed suicide. Since Prinze had already taped most of the season's episodes, his death would not be addressed on the show until the beginning of Season Four (surprisingly those media pundits who assumed that, without Chico, there would be no Season Four for Chico and the Man!) At that time, Ed Brown adopted an 11-year-old Mexican orphan named Raul Garcia (played by 12-year-old Gabriel Melgar), who'd stowed away in Ed's car when he and his pal Louie had gone on a south-of-the-border fishing trip. Conveniently enough, Raul preferred to be called "Chico", enabling the series to retain its title. But audiences, already depressed by the devastating loss of Freddie Prinze, did not warm up to the Ed-Raul combination, nor did the addition to the cast of flamboyant entertainer Charo as Raul's eccentric Aunt Charo help matters any. The final episode of Chico and the Man was telecast on July 21, 1978. Throughout its run, the series had been introduced by a lively theme song, written and performed by Jose Feliciano. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Freddie Prinze (Chico Rodriguez) and Jack Albertson (Ed Brown) are still on hand as the title characters in the warm-hearted ethnic sitcom Chico and the Man as the series enters its second season. Likewise, Scatman Crothers is back in the supporting role of ebullient neighborhood garbage collector Louie Wilson. Missing from the scene this season are such first-series semiregulars as Bonnie Boland, Rodolfo Hoyos and Isaac Ruiz). The one newcomer to the cast is Ronnie Graham (an accomplished farceur and director, then best known as "Mr. Dirt" in a series of popular commercials), as Reverend Bemis, the new curate in the Mexican-American neighborhood where curmudgeonly Ed Brown owns a garage, with Chico as his best (and only) employee. Appearing in guest roles during the season's 24 episodes are impressionist Rich Little in the opener "Paint Job", comedian and future informercial personality Avery Schreiber in "Play Gypsy" and "Misfortune Teller", a post-Star Trek George Takei in "Mister Butterfly" and a pre-Laverne and Shirley Penny Marshall in "Chico and the Van", singer Tony Orlando in "The Big Brush-Off" and the ubiquitous Joey Bishop in "Too Many Crooks". The most unexpected of the guest performers is former silent screen star Carmel Myers in "Bird in a Gilded Cage"; the most prescient is Della Reese, soon to be a series regular in the role of landlady Della Rogers, but for the time being cast as an acerbic judge in "The Juror". Although Chico and the Man still had millions of faithful fans, the series suffered a considerable ratings drop-off during its second season, descending from 3rd to 25th place. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Many viewers were astonished (and some were offended!) when the NBC sitcom Chico and the Man returned in the fall of 1977 for its fourth season. After all, how could the show include the name "Chico" in the title when everybody knew that the young comedian who'd played garage mechanic Chico Rodriguez, Freddie Prinze, had killed himself earlier in the year? But both NBC and producer James Komack were grimly determined that the show would go on--even if it meant shoehorning a new and entirely different "Chico" into the proceedings. Filmed at the tail end of the third season but aired as the opening installment of Season Four, the episode "Who's Been Sleeping in My Car" introduces 12-year-old Gabriel Melgar as 11-year-old Mexican orphan Raul Garcia, who stows away in the car of LA garage owner Ed Brown (Jack Albertson) while Ed and his friend Louie (Scatman Crothers) are on a fishing trip in Mexico. Feeling lonely after the death of his former mechanic Chico Rodriguez, the crotchety-but-softhearted Ed decides to adopt Raul--who, fortuitously enough, insists upon being referred to by his nickname "Chico"! Also welcoming Raul with open arms is Ed's landlady Della Rogers (Della Reese), while in a later episode flamboyant South American entertainer Charo joins the cast as Raul's fun-loving Aunt Charo. For the most part, the Ed-Raul teaming doesn't come off, with audiences feeling uncomfortable watching a TV series that, by rights, should have ended with Freddie Prinze's death. Even so, this season yields one of the series' most memorable and moving episodes, the 2-part "Raul Runs Away", which boldly addresses the issue of Gabriel Melgar's inadequacy as a Prinze substitute by having the tearful youngster run back to Mexico when he feels he can't measure up to the memory of the "original" Chico. The episode was not only the only Chico and the Man installment to be filmed rather than videotaped, but was also the only one to be shot on location in Mexico. Despite this high point, Chico and the Man was doomed to extinction at the end of its fourth season, wrapping things up with a finale which finds Ed Brown anxiously preparing for a visit from President Jimmy Carter (not to give anything away, but Carter doesn't appear). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Titled Detroit Heat for video release, this blaxploitation flick concerns two Motor City detectives (Hari Rhodes, Alex Rocco) on the trail of a gang of thieves who attacked a political rally. Noted blaxploitation fan Quentin Tarantino sponsored a theatrical re-release in 1998, with a video reissue following. ~ John Bush, All Movie Guide

A woman looking for adventure finds romance, excitement and danger in her viewfinder in this action-packed comedy-drama. Friday Foster (Pam Grier) is a beautiful and ambitious young photographer who is working as an assistant at Glance Magazine, edited by the hard-boiled Monk Riley (Julius Harris). When Riley can't get in touch with his first-call photographer, he calls Foster with a very important New Year's Eve assignment -- reclusive billionaire Blake Tarr (Thalmus Rasulala), often called "the black Howard Hughes," is expected to be coming to Los Angeles, and Riley wants pictures of Tarr's arrival. But Foster gets more than she bargained for when Tarr is ambushed by a gang of assassins disguised as security guards. The next day, Foster is helping to shoot a fashion show introducing new creations from flamboyant designer Madame Rena (Eartha Kitt) when Clorils Boston (Rosalind Miles), a model who has known Friday since childhood, is stabled to death. Colt Hawkins (Yaphet Kotto), a private detective who is on the scene, offers to help Friday track down Clorils' killer after she notices that the same mysterious man (Carl Weathers) was present at both crimes. Foster and Hawkins discover the two killings are connected by a plot hatched by an underground group called "Black Widow" to kill off powerful and influential African-Americans. But who is behind the conspiracy, and can they be stopped in time? Also starring Godfrey Cambridge, Paul Benjamin, Scatman Crothers and Ted Lange, Friday Foster was based on the comic strip by Jim Lawrence and Jorge Longeron; running from 1970 to 1974, it was the first syndicated strip with an African-American woman as the leading character. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Much against the wishes of Chief Ironside (Raymond Burr), Mark (Don Mitchell) goes undercover to smash an extortion ring preying on ghetto dwellers. It's a personal crusade for Mark: one of the ring's victims is his friend Gilbert, who is forced to pay huge sums of money each week lest harm befall his mother. This episode was cowritten by frequent Ironside guest star Felton Perry, who also appears as Gilbert. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Not long after a brand-new staff goes to work at the Duchess Jewelry Company, the owner is found murdered. At first, it looks like a simple mugging, but Kojak (Telly Savalas) suspects that something more sinister is afoot. Launching an investigation, Kojak ends up targeting a smuggling ring trafficking in stolen jewelry--but first he must find out the identity of the inevitable "inside" person, and figure out how the crooks are transporting their illicit cargo without arousing suspicion. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide